Actuators.
1. What are they?
2. How do they work?
3. What can I possibly do with one?
All these questions were answered with some research that I did over the weekend. So let’s answer the first question, what is an actuator? According to wordnetweb.princton.edu, am actuator is a mechanism that puts an object into automatic action.
Now to answer the second question, how do actuators work? We can start off by describing the different types. Thanks to Wikipedia, they help me with my research and I started checking out all the types. There is hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical, mad mechanical. Each of these types of actuators have their own principles and can perform certain tasks their own way. The hydraulic uses fluid motion while the pneumatic uses compressed air. Electrical converts electrical current into motor energy and mechanical converts rotary motion with linear motion.
The type of actuator I’m gonna focus on is electrical. One idea that popped in my head was those arcade machines with the claw that picked up a prize for after numerous attempts. Thinking about the supplies I would need two electrical actuators; one for the x axis and one for the y axis. The actuator I would think of using would be the NA SERIES. I would also need to purchase the claw and ask for donations for stuffed animals, along with a glass case.
Here is an example.