Actuators: A Growing Necessity Device in Automation Process Across Major End-use Industries
Global Actuators Market Forecast Till 2035
The worldwide actuator market is projected to reach USD 45.6 billion by 2035, rising from USD 32.9 billion in 2024. The expansion of the ecosystem is subject to a sluggish driving force, adhering to a CAGR of 3.02% through 2035. The actuators market is currently ruled by a few dominant players.
The global market for actuators is characterized by the presence of many global, regional, and local vendors. The market is highly competitive with all the players striving to gain market share. Intense competition, rapid advances in technology, and frequent changes in government policies are key factors that confront market growth.
Honeywell International Inc. (U.S.), The Emerson Electric Company (U.S.), SMC Corporation (Japan), Cameron, a Schlumberger company (U.S.) and Rotork plc. (Japan) have been recognized as the global leaders with a broad range of products serving automotive, oil & gas, power, chemical, pulp & paper, food & beverage, water & wastewater, life sciences & medical, mining, and minerals & metals for actuator systems.
An actuator is an assembly of equipment that converts energy into motion. It is basically used to apply a force on an entity to perform various mechanical operations.
It is characteristically a mechanical device that takes energy, created by compressed air, electricity or liquid, and converts it into various kinds of motion, such as linear and rotary. Actuators, usually, are used in industrial or manufacturing applications and are used in devices such as switches, motors, valves and pumps.
The actuator market is majorly driven by factors such as growth in aircraft fleet, technological advancements in actuators, and the growth in the global automotive industry, which are propelling the market growth.
Also, the growing industrial base in the Asia Pacific region has a positive influence on the growth of the market. The actuators market may witness hindrances in growth due to the cost of the actuators. Also, power consumption, noise, and leaks are the major challenges faced by the actuators in the current market.
Expansion: A Key Strategy Implemented by Major Players in the Market
Extensive exploration of the market strategies has led us to the conclusion that expansion is a key strategy implemented broadly by players with a share of 38.9% to achieve high growth as compared to their existing achievements.
New product development is also a major strategy implemented by the main players, with a share of 33.3% in the global actuators market. This strategy is widely adopted to increase the number of offerings to consumers across new expanses and emerging economies.
Continuous Growth in the Global Automotive Industry
The automobile manufacturing process requires high force density, reliability, precision, and long life. Automotive actuators manufacturing companies across the globe provide high-performance actuators, which provide superior power, speed, precision, flexibility, efficiency, and durability.
Linear actuation is a fundamental technology for factory automation. Along with fluid power, electromechanical actuators have become progressively significant.
As the automotive industry is currently witnessing continuous development, it has become a mandate among the manufacturers to produce efficient product, which facilitates safety features, passenger comfort, and improve vehicle performance.
Actuators, integrated with automotive control computers, help optimize vehicle performance while improving reliability and durability. Robots are used in automotive production plants across the globe. The main function of the robots is spot welding of stamped sheet metal parts.
Accuracy and consistency are essential to guarantee a quality vehicle chassis as the groundwork of the build. Electric actuators are replacing hydraulic and pneumatic versions since they have proved to be more accurate, consistent and long-lasting.
Thus, substantial growth in the automotive industry will result in marginal growth of actuators during the forecast period.
Challenges: Key Hindrance for Market Expansion
Power consumption, noise, and leak Issues are the key challenges in the actuators industry. Pneumatics are subject to encountering pressure loss and air compressibility, which makes this actuator less efficient in comparison to others.
Also, the high noise level of its operation makes manual operation difficult. The largest issue with hydraulic systems is that they leak hazardous fluids, which leads to inefficiency and other contamination issues. Also, electric actuators cannot compete with the load ratings, force, or speed necessary.
In pneumatics, pressure loss and air compressibility lead to lower force and slower speeds during the operation at lower pressure. To work to its full potential, pneumatics must be sized specifically for its application, so as to function at optimum efficiency.
Hydraulic leakage issues potentially damage other interrelated parts of the total system. There are some surroundings in which electric actuation is not appropriate for functioning, and will have a velocity fluctuation that cannot be exceeded.
To perform under accurate and efficient control, electric actuators require proportional regulators and valves, which can raise the cost and intricacy of a pneumatic actuator significantly.
Also, there are some environments in which electric actuation is not suitable and will have a velocity maximum that cannot be exceeded. Actuators face numerous challenges, which require current focus by the manufacturers, so as to overcome these issues and produce the ideal product.