Cheap...fast acting...strong actuators...

deno

Hello...I would like to share a discovery with all who deal/need some sort of actuator.

In the process of developing a braking system for Robo Caddy, I was looking for a 12 volt actuator to engage some brake shoes to slow Robo on a downhill or act as a park brake.

Anyway, I Googled actuators, and discovered door lock actuators from cars.· That's right, go to Ebay and search for door lock actuators.· They are cheap, and very strong.· Reversing the feed wires will reverse the operation of the actuator.· Will pull in or push out depending...One thing, you cannot leave 12 volts on them continuiosly.· Pull in or pust out, then disconnect the voltage.· These things are strong, and you get about 1 inch of movement of the plunger...in or out.

I just bought 2 of them, to test, and will be using them.· One to activate the brakes, and the other one will release the brakes.

Deno

Post Edited (deno) : 9/12/2008 1:20:53 PM GMT

John Bond

I worked for a manufacturer of automotive alarms and we decided to use these actuators instead of building our own. We tested 10 of them to 1.2 million cycles handling a load (of I think 3N) and all 10 survived. We stopped the test because we couldn’t stand the continuous Kluk Kluk Kluk. They were electronically VERY noisy!!!. ·Capacitors across the brushes helped a lot.
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John Bond

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parsko

3N isn't very much (it's only 0.67lbf). This doesn't seem like enough force to use for a braking system, does it?

I was going to ask if you could test how much force you get from these?

There are so many great resources that can be found in our junkyards these days. The other gem I love, and yet to use, is windshield wiper motors. That is on my list...

Please keep us updated!

-Parsko

Tim-M

Thanks for passing along a great tip Deno!

Tim