Abstract: Disclosed is a design methodology which facilitates increasing the system mode frequency of an actuator system. As a first step, the primary components of a given actuator system are analyzed to determine which component is most responsible for limiting the system mode frequency of the given system. That component is then stiffened, resulting in a new actuator system with a higher system mode frequency. A second analysis step may then be performed to determine whether the modified design is optimal. These steps may be repeated as parts of an iterative process resulting in an optimal actuator design.