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Andrew Lewis has devised a neat way to make linear actuators from sewing bobbins!
Linear actuators are motors that work in a straight line. They’re very useful for controlling valves and levers, building robots, and retrofitting old mechanisms for digital control. The simplest form of linear actuator has only 2 positions, while more complicated actuators can be positioned just like stepper motors and servos.
I needed 32 linear actuators for my latest project, and I was shocked to discover how much they would cost. After a little thought, I decided that I only needed simple on/off actuators, and I would try to make them myself using off-the-shelf parts.
FEED
There is a “large volume of literature” on DIY magnetic actuators, which are widely used in small scale remote control airplanes and etc. Most of that is focused on somewhat rotational movement, and “small to ridiculously tiny”, so this article provides a nice starting point for an “easier” alternate build.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=185270
http://www.microflight.com/Online-Catalog/Actuators-and-Servos
Comment by WestfW — March 20, 2012 @ 8:05 pm
This looks like a solenoid.
I guess this might be a case of “airship-vs-blimp”
I say solenoid. I worked for 25 years with things I called linear actuators and they weren’t solenoids….
Comment by scienkoptic — March 20, 2012 @ 9:20 pm