Actuation provides a means for motion and vibration control. CSA's early work in dynamic testing gave use familiarity in several types of actuation. Over the years, we have gained more experience and have become knowledgeable users of ever more types of actuators and motors, and we've developed many new actuators for our own use or for incorporation in customer systems and products.

One of the things CSA's customers know is that CSA's engineers appreciate the advantages and disadvantages of different types of actuation. We know how to develop specifications and evaluate multiple options for meeting them. From electromagnetic voice coils to hydraulics and pneumatics, to piezoelectrics and different kinds of motors, often our engineers have either used available devices or created custom versions. We understand when to incorporate one type of actuator rather than another, and will create a custom transducer if that's the best option.

CSA designs and builds its own actuators for many of the systems we integrate and deliver. A specialty of the company is electromagnetic actuation for linear transduction. Voice coils and other designs that use high efficiency magnetic circuits are used for precision motion and vibration control by us and our customers. We also design electromagnetic actuators for use in vacuum, and have test facilities to perform detailed device characterization.

We create specialty actuators that use other forms of transduction and energy conversion. In pneumatic or hydraulic systems, we and our customers usually care about high bandwidth or high precision, so actuators may use custom servovalves or other components. Piezoelectric, magnetostrictive or electrostrictive actuation provides high stiffness and modest stroke that is appropriate in positioning optics and other applications. Custom actuators we develop include tradeoffs and conversions between force, displacement and velocity outputs or their rotational equivalents. We are also familiar with other materials such as shape memory alloys and polymer materials as the basis for actuation.

Some of the most demanding applications can benefit from hybrid actuation, in which two separate physical effects are exploited to allow coverage of a large stroke, bandwidth or other parameter. In one of CSA's octopod active suspension systems, a low-frequency pneumatic actuator is combined with an electromagnetic coil device. In an ongoing research program, CSA is demonstrating the combination of piezoelectric or magnetostrictive actuation with servohydraulics. We also customize electronic interfaces and control systems to manage actuation nonlinearities, heat generation and other performance non-idealities.

Control Systems / Electromechanical / Zero Gravity Simulation / SA Series Actuators