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I need extremely quite and tiny servos or linear actuators — Parallax Forums

I need extremely quite and tiny servos or linear actuators

David BennettDavid Bennett Posts: 2
edited 2006-02-15 00:44 in General Discussion
I am looking for some "extremely" quite and "extremely" tiny servos or linear actuators for a project that I am working on. Price is not an issue, I just need adjustable linear movement from about 1mm·- 50mm that does not make a sound.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

db

Comments

  • bulkheadbulkhead Posts: 405
    edited 2006-02-14 06:01
    You can try to make your own, find a way to attach a threaded rod onto a motor's output shaft, and use a fixture attached to a nut spinning on the threaded rod as the mobile part of the actuator. For feedback, you could hook up a digital caliper to the actuator. I don't think servos can get 1mm precision.
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2006-02-14 08:30
    Try the Electronic Goldmine site as they seem to attract more surplus goodies than most

    www.goldmine-elec.com

    With your price range, I presume that making your own is not what you want.

    ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE IS
    The Tiny Linear Stepper Motors in your computer's floppy drive.· I am not sure that all the drive's have them, but I was thinking of using a couple for a tiny robot.·

    The shafts have a wormed slot on them.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    "When all think alike, no one is thinking very much.' - Walter Lippmann (1889-1974)

    ······································································ Warm regards,····· G. Herzog [noparse][[/noparse]·黃鶴 ]·in Taiwan

    Post Edited (Kramer) : 2/14/2006 2:38:11 PM GMT
  • mediaprefectmediaprefect Posts: 31
    edited 2006-02-14 17:52
    As always, the better you describe the problem, the higher quality the answer you receive.

    Please define "extremely" quite and "extremely" tiny.
    How about givin out some more information as to the required force, speed and resolution/repeatability required?
    Is power consumption an issue?
    Is this a one-off or for production?
    What are the size/weight limitations of the support (driver/controller/power supply) equipment?

    (being silly here) If price is truly no object, perhaps nanotechnology? I can only imagine that it is "extremely quiet" but perhaps quite slow for 50 mm travel. (Price is always an issue.)

    Back to reality, stepper motor driven lead screw, muscle wire and voice-coil technologies come to mind, but do you need 5 second or millisecond response times? A few dynes of force or a few Newtons?

    Perhaps if you share what you are trying to accomplish you will quickly find the best solution.

    I am not picking on you, just trying to make a point about not being vague when asking for help. If you have a wild idea for a product which you need to keep quiet, perhaps if you give a parallel example of what you are trying to accomplish you could still get some helpful answers.

    Looking at this from the other side, I believe that forum users have more fun answering detailed problems which have been more completely thought out and so respond with much better advice. Remember we are all here for the fun of it, even the Parallax employees.

    Rick
  • DiablodeMorteDiablodeMorte Posts: 238
    edited 2006-02-14 19:10
    I think you scared him
  • mediaprefectmediaprefect Posts: 31
    edited 2006-02-14 19:19
    I certainly don't mean to. Sorry if I made a fierce impression.

    I get a kick out of solving problems. It is my version of doing crossword puzzles, except there is self gratification in helping somebody solve a problem.
    I just have trouble solving a problem if I don't know what it is.

    Rick
  • Steve JoblinSteve Joblin Posts: 784
    edited 2006-02-15 00:44
    Not quite sure how to build it that would give you the travel range that you need, but if you are looking for small and quite, how about SMA (Shape Memory Alloy) like Nitenol?
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