An actuator is an engineered component that converts one form of energy into controlled mechanical motion. Parameters: energy source (electrical current, compressed gas, hydraulic pressure, or thermal expansion), motion output (linear stroke, rotary rotation, or oscillatory swing), and control interface (analog signal, digital command, or manual input). The actuator's role is to translate abstract control signals into physical force and displacement within a mechanism, serving as the effector in a closed control loop. Persistence: physical fabrication from engineered materials (metals, polymers, composites), assembled from precision-machined parts, maintained through scheduled replacement. [formal: actuarius | substrate: behavior | horizon: hours | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.01]
Accepted ontology entry
actuator
An actuator is an engineered component that converts one form of energy into controlled mechanical motion. Parameters: energy source (electrical current, compressed gas, hydraulic pressure, or thermal expansion), motion output (linear stro…
Definition
Why it is in scope
An actuator is a human-engineered component that converts stored energy (electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, or thermal) into controlled physical motion (linear, rotary, or oscillatory). It is a manufactured device — not a natural phenomenon — designed to execute commands from a control system by producing force and displacement within mechanical assemblies.
Names and aliases
- actuatoren · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- cmso2hzta00efjlssb5hfto9tINSTANCE_OF →
An actuator is a specific kind of machine element: a component that converts energy (electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic) into mechanical motion. Following Law 9, is-a-specific-kind-of maps to INSTANCE_OF. This parallels gear→machine-element accepted earlier.
- cmrv95hcn00ej2ceiyhbz89dxINSTANCE_OF →
An actuator is a specific kind of mechanism — it converts energy into controlled mechanical motion or force. Per Law 9: a competent speaker would call an actuator 'a mechanism.' Files against the nearest kind (mechanism).
Relations to this entry
No accepted relations in this direction.
Record identity
- Created
- Aug 11, 2026, 3:20 AM UTC
- Content hash
- 99a7bb4ef024b1317d5fd6649dd7521913ae20352e6f2b7e3af8a49503b193e9