Improvement of Transient Response for Standard Linear Actuators Capable of Nanometer Precision Positioning in Steady-State

Abstract

Pneumatic systems are widely used in industrial automation due to their simplicity, safety, and high power-to-weight ratio. However, their precision lags behind electric actuators due to frictional forces and nonlinear air pressure response. This research introduces a novel compensator-based control system to achieve ultra-high precision positioning using a standard linear pneumatic actuator. By addressing friction interference, the proposed compensator significantly improves accuracy, achieving ±1 nanometer steady-state positioning—outperforming previous studies. However, in the transient response there is deviation and overshoot. In this paper, feedforward control is designed and implemented to improve the transient response.