MSE 310

Introduction to Sensors and

Actuators
Module-1 Part-3

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Example
A lead screw unit is used to drive a load of mass up an incline of angle 𝜃, as shown in the figure below. Under
quasi-static conditions (i .e., neglecting inertial loads) determine the drive torque needed by the motor to operate
the device. The total mass of the moving unit (load, nut and fixtures) is m. The efficiency of the lead screw is 𝑒 and
the lead is 𝑙. Assume that the axial load (thrust) due to gravity is taken up entirely by the nut (in practice, a
significant part the axial load is supported by the end bearings, which have the thrust-bearing capability).

The effective load that has to be acted by

𝜃 the net torque is
𝐹 = 𝑚 𝑔 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
𝐹 Subst. In Eq. (4), the required torque at the
nut is
𝑚𝑔 𝑟 𝑚𝑔𝑟 𝑚𝑔𝑙
𝑇𝑅 = 𝐹 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 = 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 (8)
𝑒 𝑒 2𝜋𝑒

A lead-screw unit driving an inclined load

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Harmonic Drives
Usually, motors run efficiently at high speeds. Yet in many applications, low speeds and high
output torques are needed. A straightforward way to reduce the speed and increase the torque of a motor is to
employ a gear system with high gear reduction. But, backlash in gears becomes unacceptable in high-precision
applications. Frictional loss of torque and energy consumption by the mass of the gear system from the motor can
become additional problems.
A harmonic drive is a special type of transmission device that provides the following advantages:
- A very large speed reduction (e.g. 200:1) without backlash
- Much lighter than a standard gearbox
- Provides very high torques when used with conventional motors (or circular spline)

𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑡ℎ−𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑟 𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑡ℎ

𝑅𝑒𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜 =
𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑥𝑖𝑠𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑡ℎ

Applications
- Robotics: Zero backlash, high positional accuracy,
Low vibration, compact design
- Others: machine tools, medical, military/aerospace

Video
https://youtu.be/3mWemlMEzFk
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http://carpenterswoodworking.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harmonic-Drive.jpg
Other Gears
Spur Gear

http://www.mstworkbooks.co.za/technology/gr9/Tech_English_LG_Grade9_term2-web-
resources/image/spur-gears-(2)_opt.jpeg

Video on Backlash Video on manufacturing of Spur Gears

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqF_ETWvBCA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZgsV0AZJJ0
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http://carpenterswoodworking.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harmonic-Drive.jpg
Other Gears
Helical Gear

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http://carpenterswoodworking.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harmonic-Drive.jpg
Other Gears
Bevel Gear

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http://carpenterswoodworking.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harmonic-Drive.jpg
Other Gears
Worm Gear

- Large gear reduction

- How much does the gear move after one
complete rotation of the worm?
- The worm can turn the gear but not vise
versa.

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http://carpenterswoodworking.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harmonic-Drive.jpg
 Simple Steering (Spur pinion)
Other Gears
Rack and Pinion Gear

Hydraulic Power Steering (Helical pinion)

https://parixit35.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/rackandpinion.gif?w=687

https://www.mechanicalbooster.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Hydraulic-power-steering-system.jpeg

https://i0.wp.com/paulsgiganticgarage.com/wp-
content/uploads/2017/05/what-happens-when-rack-and-
pinion-goes-out.jpg?fit=1021%2C580&ssl=1
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http://carpenterswoodworking.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harmonic-Drive.jpg
Other Gears
Planetary Gear

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicyclic_gearing#/media/File:Epicyclic_gear_ratios.png

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http://carpenterswoodworking.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Harmonic-Drive.jpg
Bearings
There are many types of bearings, each used for different
purposes. These include ball bearings, roller bearings, ball
thrust bearings, roller thrust bearings and tapered roller
thrust bearings.

• Ball bearings
Probably the most common type of bearing. They are found
in everything from inline skates to hard drives.
In a ball bearing, the load is transmitted from the outer race
to the ball, and from the ball to the inner race. Since the ball
is a sphere, it only contacts the inner and outer race at a
very small point, which helps it spin very smoothly. But it
also means that there is not very much contact area holding https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_bearing#/media/File:BallBearing.gif
that load, so if the bearing is overloaded, the balls can
deform, damaging the bearing.
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 Bearings
• Roller bearings
- Used in applications like conveyer belt rollers, where they must hold heavy radial
loads.
- A variation of this type of bearing, called a needle bearing, uses cylinders with a very
small diameter. This allows the bearing to fit into tight places.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling-element_bearing#/media/File:Thrust-cylindrical-roller- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling-element_bearing#/media/File:Cylindrical-roller-
bearing_din722_120-ex.png 11
bearing_din5412-t1_type-n_ex.png
Electrical Components and Magnetism
Practically all mechatronic systems, including electromechanical sensors and
actuators, contain electrical circuits and components. To understand how to design
and analyze these systems, a firm grasp of the fundamentals of basic electrical
components (and also circuit analysis techniques) is a necessity.

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Electrical Components: Resistor
A resistor is a dissipative element that converts electrical energy into heat. Ohm's law
defines the voltage-current characteristics of an ideal resistor:
𝜌𝐿
𝑉 = 𝑖. 𝑅 where 𝑅 = , and 𝜌 is resistivity
𝐴

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Electrical Components: Capacitor
A capacitor is a passive element that stores energy in the form of an electric field. This
field is the result of a separation of electric charge, typically through a pair of parallel
conducting plates separated by a dielectric material, which is an electrical insulator.

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Electric Fields and Forces
Coulomb's Law: Like charges repel, unlike charges attract!

The electric force acting on a charge 𝑞1 as a result of the presence of a second point charge 𝑞2
is given by Coulomb's Law:

𝑘𝑜 𝑞1 𝑞2 𝑞1 𝑞2
𝐹= 𝑟Ƹ = 𝑟Ƹ [N]
𝑟2 4𝜋𝜖𝑜 𝑟 2

where 𝜖𝑜 = 8.85 × 10−12 F/m is the (absolute) permittivity of free space or vacuum, r is the
straight line distance between the two charges, and 𝑘𝑜 is the Coulomb's constant given by:
1
𝑘𝑜 = ≅ 9 × 109 [𝑁𝑚Τ𝐶 2 ]
4𝜋𝜖𝑜
In the presence of polarizable medium (i.e. a dielectric material), 𝜖𝑜 will have a different value,
which can be stated as a relative permittivity or a dielectric constant.

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Electric Fields and Forces
- Electric field strength (or intensity) is defined as the electric force, F, per unit charge. The
direction of the field is taken to be the direction of the force it would exert on a positive
charge. The electric field is radially outward from a positive charge and radially in toward a
negative point charge.

- The electric field from a point charge q1 (a source) can be obtained from Coulomb's law

𝐹 𝑞1
- 𝐸= = 𝑟Ƹ [V/m or N/C]
𝑞2 4𝜋𝜖𝑜 𝑟 2

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Electric Fields and Forces
The electric field of a point charge can be put in the form shown below where point
charge q (or Q in the figure below) is the source of the field. The electric force in
Coulomb's law follows the inverse square law:

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Factors affecting capacitance
There are three basic factors of capacitor construction determining the amount of
capacitance created. These factors all dictate capacitance by affecting how much
electric flux will develop between the two plates for a given amount of electric force
(voltage across the plates).
The electric flux is equal to (𝐸𝑐𝑜𝑠𝜃) [Vm], where 𝜃 is the angle between the electric
field and the normal (the perpendicular) to the surface.

𝜖𝐴
𝐶=
𝑑
𝜖 is the dielectric constant
A is the common surface area
d is the distance between the plates

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 𝜖𝐴
𝐶=
Factors affecting capacitance 𝑑

- Plate Area: All other factors being equal, greater plate area gives greater
capacitance; less plate area gives less capacitance.

Plate Spacing: All other factors being equal, further plate spacing gives less
capacitance; closer plate spacing gives greater capacitance.

Dielectric Material: All other factors being

equal, greater permittivity of the
dielectric gives greater capacitance;
less permittivity of the dielectric gives
less capacitance. 19
 Factors affecting capacitance
"Relative" permittivity means the permittivity
of a material, relative to that of free space. The
greater the number, the greater the
permittivity of the material. Glass, for instance,
with a relative permittivity of 7, has seven
times the permittivity of free space, and
consequently will allow for the establishment
of an electric flux (charge collected on the
plates) seven times stronger than that of a
vacuum, all other factors being equal. The
table shown lists the relative permittivity (also
known as the "dielectric constant" k) of
various common substances.
1
𝐸 = 𝐷, where D is the electric field density [C/m^2]
For weak ferroelectric, and weak electric fields 𝜖 20
Inductors
An inductor is a passive energy storage that stores energy in the form of a magnetic
field. The simplest form of an inductor is a wire coil, which has a tendency to maintain
a magnetic field once established.
- In 1831 , Faraday proved that the magnetic and electric phenomena are linked.
- Changing magnetic field produces a voltage (or the electromagnetic force, emf),
which induces current in a single loop of wire:

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Inductors
Because it is common for an electric conductor to be wound in a coil, it is convenient
to define a quantity called the flux linkage, i.e.

Φ = න 𝐵 𝑑𝑎 = 𝐵𝐴
𝑎
𝑑Φ 𝑑(𝐵𝐴)
𝑒𝑚𝑓 = −𝑁 = −𝑁
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

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