Technical Articles
Comparison between Electric and Pneumatic Actuators
Posted: 06/29/2015 14:58:44  Hits: 758
With the functions of diversion, cut-off, throttling, non-return and split-flow, valves, which are used to change the channel section and flow direction of medium, can control the pipelines in the fluid delivery system. From the simplest ones to the most complex automatic control valves, valves with many varieties and specifications can all be used to control the fluid.
 
Usually, the quotation is accompanied with electric actuators or pneumatic actuators, so which one is better? And the following is the performance comparison between electric actuators and pneumatic actuators.
 
1. Compact structure and small size. Compared with pneumatic actuators, the structure of electric actuators is relatively simple, and electric actuators are easy to assemble with a basic electronic system includes actuators, three-position DPDT switches, fuses, and some wire.
 
2. The drive source of electric actuators is very flexible, and the general vehicle power can meet their requirement while pneumatic actuators require air supply and compressed drives.
 
3. With high reliability, there is no danger of leaking for electric actuators. However, for pneumatic actuators, the compressibility of air can make the reliability worse.
 
4. For electric actuators, there is no need for the installation and maintenance of pneumatic pipelines.
 
5. Though without power, electric actuators can still keep the load while pneumatic actuators require continuous pressure supply.
 
6. With no extra pressure, electric actuators can work quite. If a pneumatic actuator is working in heavy load situation, however, it usually needs to installation s silencer.
 
7. In pneumatic devices, generally the electrical signals are required to be changed into gas signal, and then converted into electrical signals again. Because of the slow transmission speed, pneumatic actuators are not suitable for the complicated circuit with too element series.

 
Comparison between Electric and Pneumatic Actuators