Questions tagged [actuator]
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Finding the name of: Mechanical toggle actuator utilizing single direction of force (pull only/push only)
Preface: I have no formal experience in design or mechanical engineering. I am simply a backyard mechanic looking to see if a particular assembly exists as an off-the-shelf product before designing ...
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Design of a linear actuator that is only 5 mm wide
I have to design a linear actuator with a maximum movement of 3 cm back and forth and a maximum force of 5 N. The only constraint I have is that it can only be 5 mm wide. There's no real constraint ...
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piezo actuator - higher displacement when under load?
When looking at the spec sheet for this Piezo Actuator https://www.thorlabs.com/thorproduct.cfm?partnumber=PK4FXH3P2, it states that maximum displacement is achieved when under 300N. How does this ...
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Adding electric control to industrial hydraulic disk brakes
I'm trying to electronically control the service brakes on some construction equipment, in addition to maintaining the normal brake pedal functionality. The disk brakes are controlled by the valve ...
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Belt Drive Shaft - What Profile is This?
I'm trying to source a similar extruded aluminum round profile, that I can attach a belt to, as in the pic below. The shaft will turn and pull on that belt.
I looked at the 80-20 extrusions and ...
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Linear Actuator Power
I have a linear actuator that I'm using two relays (Wired as a h-bridge) to control the movement of my actuator. Is it ok to leave power to it all the time, or do I need to cut the power once it ...
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Three switches executing the same program for SCN5 Actuator
As indicated in How to reconfigure a control box unit for an SCN5 actuator question I want have 4 actuation programs as described below
home, 100mm travel, home
home, 75mm travel, home
home, 50mm ...
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Hydraulic system dynamics modelling
I'm trying to mathematically model an actuation system and it comes down to relating the pressure across the pump and the actuator as shown in the picture. Assuming no friction in the pipes and the ...
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Need advice on how to detect an object in the way of a closing door
I have a system design with a 149oz-in stepper motor for opening/closing a drawer style door. My cross sectional dimensions of the door opening are 20" width by 15" height. The motor ...
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Building a custom indirect actuator, any thoughts?
I’m trying to create a custom indirect actuator, that is controlled by a microcontroller, for a custom robotics project.
I have selected motor and gears (according to Fd = W = T2*pi) so that the ...
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calculating the minimum force needed to lift a rigid awning - class 3 lever problem
I am building a camper and one idea is to have an extra 4 solar panels as an awning bolted to a a rigid frame, hinged to the camper at the top. It hangs down the side of the camper. I will use one ...
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Energy Wasted in Electromagnetic Motor Actuator Vs Human Muscle Actuation
I would like to know if the energy utilized by a robotic arm is greater compared to the energy utilized by human arm. Robotic arm is essentially servo motors that use electromagnetic field to create ...
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Lifting a cabinet using actuators or scissor lift
Disclaimer: I am not an engineer - just a DIY guy looking for some advice or help please, so please forgive me if I use incorrect terminology :)
I am building a cabinet that has a hidden inner cabinet ...
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Linear actuator with low vibration and low noise
Which kinds of linear actuators offer the lowest levels of noise and vibration?
I am looking for an actuator with these properties that can push a load vertically on the cm scale. Velocity, accuracy ...
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Linear pneumatic actuator opening time - pressurise connection pipe
I would like to estimate the time needed to open a linear single-acting pneumatic actuator.
The actuator's piston is loaded with a spring pushing downwards and the operating fluid (air or nitrogen) ...
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Clutch for high-speed operation (>40 000 rpm)
I'm currently working on a setup where at some operations my motor has to drive a shaft up to the motor's maximum operating speed (12,000rpm) and a torque of ~0.14Nm but at other conditions this shaft ...
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What exactly are Large Hydraulic Cylinders used for?
There are hydraulic cylinders with the size of a train wagon, or a smaller building, like this one:
But what are they used for? Could you please give a few examples in the world: perhaps metal ...
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What is the maximum actuator strength allowed by physics? [closed]
What is the strongest actuator (that can exert a controlled amount of force & be able to start/stop) that an infinitely advanced civilization (e.g. only limited by the laws of physics) could ...
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How to constrain stepper motor inside case?
I have a stepper motor linear actuator assembly like this for example, but the stepper shaft seems able to move axially back and forth - hence when I change direction it has to do a few rotations, ...
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How to solve this linear motion problem?
Context:
I have a lead screw rod, nut and a pulley aligned vertically. The nut is attached on top of the pulley so their respective bores are aligned and the rod is arranged so that it is threaded ...
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Can linear actuators be moved manually?
I've watched a few videos explaining how actuators work and it seems to me that a regular, non-blocking, actuator would freely move if not powered. But theory and practice are rarely the same thing.
I'...
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Mechanism of a manual Crank Adjustable Height Standing Desk
I am trying to figure out the lifting mechanism of a manual Crank Adjustable Height Standing Desk. Please see the image below:
My question is what it is inside the metal frame (check the red marked ...
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Help with simple hydraulic circuit to use for a four legged Robot
Firstly i am new to hydraulics, i want to build a hydraulic circuit that powers 4 cylinders at each leg of a Quad-Wheeled-Robot. The idea is to move the Chassis of the Robot up and down in all ...
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Power/energy density of an actuator
What is the meaning of power/energy density of an actuator?
Context:
As a novel kind of actuator, the dielectric elastomer ( DE )
demonstrates high-strain response [ 1 ] , high energy densities
( ...
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Deciding between Electric or Hydraulic Actuators for a Dynamic Load of around 4 kN to 6 kN
This is a project regarding linear actuators for a 4 Wheeled Robot, with spider like hinged legs. The first question on my mind was to figure out is if a hydraulic system has any weight to Force(...
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Solenoid stroke limits
Im new to rotary solenoids and I had like to understand the definition of stroke.
For example, some rotary solenoid has in its technical information a parameter called stroke options and it says 25-...
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Linear actuator calculations
I'm building a motorized standing desk and am looking into what to use for the linear actuators. I'm targeting a stroke of 450mm and a lifting force of 100kg. I found some Linear Actuator on ebay that ...
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Shape memory alloy fibers with low Young's Modulus?
I am wondering if there exist any species of shape memory alloy fibers with low Young's Modulus at room temperature, for an application I'm working on. So far I've played with Flexinol, but it is a ...
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Shape memory alloy fibers with low Young's Modulus? [duplicate]
I am wondering if there exist any species of shape memory alloy fibers with low Young's Modulus at room temperature, for an application I'm working on. So far I've played with Flexinol, but it is a ...
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shock-resistant electromechanical linear actuator?
I was wondering, if there is a shock load resistant electromechanical actuator that can withstand powerful impacts?
Is there an electromechanical counterpart for pneumatic cylinders that is as ...
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air-dropping actuator for a small drone
I'm planning to build an air-dropper for a small drone - a device to release small payloads hanging under the drone.
This is a commercial example of such a system, used with a much bigger drone - for ...
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Searching for a High Speed Actuator for a simulator
I am currently planing to build a consrtuction for a simulator.
My simulator seat should be able to fall like 30cm and afterwards move to the starting position .
The falling should be as natural as ...
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Solar panel actuator control
I'm looking to design a system that can control a solar panel through an electrical actuator for a range of motion of -45 to +45 degrees for maximum solar exposure. The panel will be mounted on a 10 ...
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What (if any) are the engineering limitations for producing "simulation" exoskeletons
To clarify the title since it cannot be said within the word limit:
A "simulation" exoskeleton, is an exoskeleton that doesn't exist to support a disabled user's movement or to help someone carry ...
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Commercial electric motor with integrated torque sensor and torque control [closed]
Are there any commercial solutions for electric rotary motors with integrated torque sensor and torque control?
I'm only aware of www.sensodrive.de which are essentially the drives used in the DLR/...
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Why does my piezoelectric actuator stick at low temperatures?
I use a piezoelectric actuator on an experimental set up. At low temperatures (Lower than 0 Celsius), the piezo will freeze. Meaning, it will actuate about half way, and then stop moving. Other than ...
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What is the correct mathematical approach to this linkage problem?
I have a linear actuator with 52 millimeters of travel. I have a set of linkages with specific dimensions as shown in the images below, to which this actuator will be attached.
The REF dimension is ...
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Pneumatic actuator capable to achieve 5m/s?
Is there a pneumatic actuator capable to achieve 5m/s and will be good idea for constant work? I know SMC have up to 3m/s, but I can't find faster.
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Electric linear actuator
I want to build a pod. I am thinking to put a linear actuator on its lid. but my problem is, since linear actuators have this self locking mechanism, if it will be brown out, I cant open or close the ...
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Using linear actuator in the limited space
What is most effective way to apply linear actuator to move a lift within a small sized space?
I.e. for example, for 14", which is total 820mm, to move a 330 mm lift in 740mm height box (width and ...
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How to convert 7.62cm linear motion to 150-180° rotary motion
I need to convert 7.62cm/3in linear motion from an actuator to 150-180° (150 is minimum) rotary motion. I am aware of the existence of gears, but would probe here to see if there is some simpler ...
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How to provide conditional locking to drawers?
I am designing a device in which I want to lock each drawer until it's time to open them.
Let's say that there are 4 compartments in the device. Each compartment needs to be programmed to open at a ...
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Can a cellulose sponge be used as an actuator to shut off flow of water temporarily?
In non-recirculating hydroponic systems, we want to fill containers with nutrient rich water let's say up to an inch, let the plants take up the water , give the plants some air time for a few hours, ...
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How can I build and maintain an accurate pressure on a fuel line without using a fuel pump?
Background
I am building an engine from scratch for the sole purpose of becoming a better mechanical engineer--I'm currently a second year undergrad. The engine I'm designing is a single piston 4-...
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Vertical Linear Actuator Sway Movement
I'm designing something with a vertical linear actuator. It is a quite large actuator lifting a load. I'm anticipating sway from the actuator as it moves up and down so I'm creating a support ...
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What type of acturator with motor to choice for measurement with step = 0,25 μm?
I need to select some linear acturator or build it. I see it as:
On green platform there is pink device. This device must be measured. For this purpose we need to choose linear acturator with ...
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Do linear actuators need to stay powered once in place? If not, how can I lock them?
I want to build a small remote-controlled submarine, and have been thinking about how to handle the ballast tanks. The simplest option seems to be a piston shaft, which fundamentally needs some kind ...
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Understanding net torque from an actuator
This will probably sound like a silly question, but here goes....
Let's say I have an actuator, with a torque rating of 1 Nm. I then connect it to a wheel, which starts rotating at a constant ...
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Actuate a tilting platform from a single point
I would like to be able to tilt a platform (the green cuboid below, pivoting around the red point) from a single solenoid (one of the blue cylinders below). The solenoid cannot move (other than the ...
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Pneumatic Actuators - System Reversibility. Is it possible to use an actuator to store energy?
I'm very much new to pneumatics and I was wondering if there was such a thing as a reversible pneumatic actuator?
I'm designing a system that has to be lightweight, pneumatic and use a mechanical ...