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Actuators are the key to allowing machines to become more sophisticated and perform complex tasks that were previously done by humans, providing motion in a safe, controlled manner.
As defined in this book, actuator design is a subset of mechanical design. It involves engineering the mechanical components necessary to make a product move as desired.
Fundamentals of Engineering High-Performance Actuator Systems, by Ken Hummel, was written as a text to supplement actuator design courses, and a reference to engineers involved in the design of high-performance actuator systems. It highlights the design approach and features what should be considered when moving a payload at precision levels and/or speeds that are not as important in low-performance applications.
The main areas covered in this book are:
- Fundamentals of actuator design
- Actuator performance
- Loads that the actuator and its surrounding structure must accommodate
- Constraints which determine the type of load the actuator needs to accommodate
- The design margin applied to components of any given design
- Environment which must include the interactions between product and the conditions it will have to perform under
- Component strength to ensure safety from failure
- Component stiffness
- Maintainability
- Reliability
- Cost
