1. Do not share user accounts! Any account that is shared by another person will be blocked and closed. This means: we will close not only the account that is shared, but also the main account of the user who uses another person's account. We have the ability to detect account sharing, so please do not try to cheat the system. This action will take place on 04/18/2023. Read all forum rules.
    Dismiss Notice
  2. For downloading SimTools plugins you need a Download Package. Get it with virtual coins that you receive for forum activity or Buy Download Package - We have a zero Spam tolerance so read our forum rules first.

    Buy Now a Download Plan!
  3. Do not try to cheat our system and do not post an unnecessary amount of useless posts only to earn credits here. We have a zero spam tolerance policy and this will cause a ban of your user account. Otherwise we wish you a pleasant stay here! Read the forum rules
  4. We have a few rules which you need to read and accept before posting anything here! Following these rules will keep the forum clean and your stay pleasant. Do not follow these rules can lead to permanent exclusion from this website: Read the forum rules.
    Are you a company? Read our company rules

DIY Linear Actuator design

Discussion in 'Motor actuators and drivers' started by wannabeaflyer2, Mar 5, 2016.

  1. wannabeaflyer2

    wannabeaflyer2 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2015
    Messages:
    724
    Location:
    london uk
    Balance:
    8,286Coins
    Ratings:
    +950 / 7 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, Arduino, Motion platform, 6DOF
    Hi Guys small steps but thanks to @SilentChill I have been able to make the gear I need for the Hall sensor as future replacement for my actuator that currently uses 10 Turn Pots for feedback . early days yet as I still need to design the supports but get to play on the CAD station at work tomorrow so will put it to good use Lunch time ( Of Course LOL )..
    Printing the parts was easy ...Getting the dam Brim off was mega pain but think I have the right settings now so will redo the smaller gears next print session ..

    Attached Files:

    • Like Like x 4
  2. wannabeaflyer2

    wannabeaflyer2 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2015
    Messages:
    724
    Location:
    london uk
    Balance:
    8,286Coins
    Ratings:
    +950 / 7 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, Arduino, Motion platform, 6DOF
    Hi Guys Small update , but before I go any further gotta say Big big thankyou to @SilentChill for sharing his Reduction gearbox concept and for the 3d printed Gear set ,, thanks to his design I was able to Print off a Wannabe version LOL ... I take no credit for the work he did just wanted to say thanks good buddy . I have attached a couple of pics of the 1st test unit ,still needs some fine tuning , but for all intents its a nice concept prover ..

    I made some minor changes using the gears that @SilentChill created and they worked a treat . all I did was Bond the 2 gears together to make a combined Gaer seen in the middle of the gearbox and this runs on a 6mm shaft with bushes in the support block , ( I have acces to a lathe so it was easy to do ) .. the main smaller drive gear is Clamped on a 6 mm shaft to which the Belt drive pulley is Pined .. and the hall sensor and 2nd stage gear will be supported by just the 12mm nut and clamped to the other support upright . ( my thnking was the load on this wont be too much and should not stress the hall sensor bush type bearing ------that has yet to be proven .. as with all thing , once I verify this works i'll post the files for anyone that care to use and improve .. but have to say the design @SilentChill created works fine ..3d Printer and Cad truly are an addictive combination too much tinker potential and designs change no sooner than you print the dam things LOL ...Massive High Five Craig

    Doh Almost for got to mention the parts used are only for modelling at this stage , the correct sensor and belt drive gear will be in the next photoshoot LOL and and more importantly Drummmm roll please ....YES YES YES my Rift is Here at last .. they switched delivery days on me and was back at work so had to go pick it up cos I could not wait LOL .....

    Attached Files:

    • Like Like x 6
    • Friendly Friendly x 1
    Last edited: Aug 5, 2017
  3. SilentChill

    SilentChill Problem Maker

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2014
    Messages:
    2,619
    Occupation:
    Railway Maintenance
    Location:
    Morecambe, Lancashire, England
    Balance:
    20,396Coins
    Ratings:
    +3,480 / 34 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    DC motor, Arduino, Motion platform, 6DOF
    Awesome work mate any improvement is always better :)

    Could do with it all being more compact but it works and that's the main thing.

    Look forward to seeing you in action matey :thumbs
  4. wannabeaflyer2

    wannabeaflyer2 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2015
    Messages:
    724
    Location:
    london uk
    Balance:
    8,286Coins
    Ratings:
    +950 / 7 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, Arduino, Motion platform, 6DOF
    Doh I may have come unstuck with this as I forgot my Hall sensors were 180 degree version :-( buger ... Love this idea so will have to invest in 360 degree sensors .. LOL the beauty of the CAD and 3d printer though does make redesign easy.. its not out of the question to mess about with another combination of gears so will keep you guys posted either way ..cheers Crew
    • Agree Agree x 1
  5. SeatTime

    SeatTime Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2013
    Messages:
    2,574
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Brisbane Australia
    Balance:
    28,370Coins
    Ratings:
    +2,844 / 38 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    AC motor, Motion platform
    Just be mindfull of what quality of Hall sensors you purchase and how you mount them - I've only ever had two pots go on me in my rigs and they were both Hall sensors - basically the shafts bound up and seized from very small lateral loads - I just buy good quality wire wound pots as the 'good' quality Hall's (designed for servos) are very expensive. My current actuators have just good quality pots fitted and have been operating fine for over 18 months - with a small lateral load.
    • Informative Informative x 1
  6. mariano68

    mariano68 Active Member

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2014
    Messages:
    577
    Occupation:
    builder contractor
    Location:
    Argentina
    Balance:
    3,338Coins
    Ratings:
    +395 / 2 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, Arduino, 4DOF
    That gears kills two birds with one stone , less revolutions on the shaft, but also no lateral load over it.
  7. Thanos

    Thanos Building the Future one AC Servo at a time... or 6

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2017
    Messages:
    1,346
    Occupation:
    Electronics Engineer
    Location:
    United States
    Balance:
    2,692Coins
    Ratings:
    +1,043 / 9 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    AC motor, Motion platform, 4DOF, 6DOF
    Perhaps you should go all digital sensors (hall effect contactless 360) AEAT-6012-006:
    https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/broadcom-limited/AEAT-6012-A06/516-2341-ND/2210458

    http://motionsim.freeforums.net/thread/218/sensing-quality-full-scale-platforms?page=4

    Thanks
    Thanos
    • Like Like x 1
  8. wannabeaflyer2

    wannabeaflyer2 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2015
    Messages:
    724
    Location:
    london uk
    Balance:
    8,286Coins
    Ratings:
    +950 / 7 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, Arduino, Motion platform, 6DOF
    Cheers @Thanos funnily enough these 189 degree halls were the sensors I bought fmo you all those years ago when I 1st got my amc128 controller:_-) they worked well for the wheelchair Gearmotor sim attempt but since moving to my linear actuator I have been trying to come up with a way to use then.. @SilentChill opened the door so im seeing if at long last I can make use of them again, Hey and congrats with the Kickstarter looking forward to using the new controller here,,,
    • Like Like x 1
  9. Mmcool

    Mmcool Member

    Joined:
    Jun 26, 2015
    Messages:
    67
    Location:
    USA
    Balance:
    1,174Coins
    Ratings:
    +19 / 7 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF
    Great design! Any chance sharing the stl files of the gearbox to remix it?
  10. wannabeaflyer2

    wannabeaflyer2 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2015
    Messages:
    724
    Location:
    london uk
    Balance:
    8,286Coins
    Ratings:
    +950 / 7 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, Arduino, Motion platform, 6DOF
    hi @Mmcool the design is now at v3 LOL and will freely post the drawing and STL files after I tidy it up, wanted to make sure I had the gear spacing correct so that the gears run freely with min backlash .. but by all mean remix it as you say, once I post the files that how we all move forward here ... remember I have over designed this as I had a load of precision bearing and just incorporated them in this for the hell of it to see how the 3D printer would perform..( it impressed the crap outta me that's for sure) gimme a chance to take the files off my other PC and i'll post them here tomorrow.. Cheers
    • Like Like x 7
    • Friendly Friendly x 1
  11. baykah

    baykah Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2016
    Messages:
    137
    Location:
    Toulouse - France
    Balance:
    414Coins
    Ratings:
    +132 / 0 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    6DOF
    He's back ! great ;)

    I'm gonna need to do the same sooner or later :(
  12. wannabeaflyer2

    wannabeaflyer2 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2015
    Messages:
    724
    Location:
    london uk
    Balance:
    8,286Coins
    Ratings:
    +950 / 7 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, Arduino, Motion platform, 6DOF
    Hi guys as promised I just tried to load the stl files but realised they aren't on of the recognised upload formats, so i'll have to add it to Thingyverse and will post the link as soon as that's done .Cheers
    • Like Like x 2
  13. SilentChill

    SilentChill Problem Maker

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2014
    Messages:
    2,619
    Occupation:
    Railway Maintenance
    Location:
    Morecambe, Lancashire, England
    Balance:
    20,396Coins
    Ratings:
    +3,480 / 34 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    DC motor, Arduino, Motion platform, 6DOF
    Just zip them up matey :)
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • Informative Informative x 1
  14. wannabeaflyer2

    wannabeaflyer2 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2015
    Messages:
    724
    Location:
    london uk
    Balance:
    8,286Coins
    Ratings:
    +950 / 7 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, Arduino, Motion platform, 6DOF
    Cheers for the Tip Crew Ok here goes let me know if it opens ok guys

    Attached Files:

    • Like Like x 1
    • Winner Winner x 1
    • Friendly Friendly x 1
  15. mariano68

    mariano68 Active Member

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2014
    Messages:
    577
    Occupation:
    builder contractor
    Location:
    Argentina
    Balance:
    3,338Coins
    Ratings:
    +395 / 2 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, Arduino, 4DOF
    I tried to open it with slic3r:
    slic3r.jpg
  16. Mmcool

    Mmcool Member

    Joined:
    Jun 26, 2015
    Messages:
    67
    Location:
    USA
    Balance:
    1,174Coins
    Ratings:
    +19 / 7 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF
    What program you are using to read that file? Can you export it to STL that can be sliced or edited for remix?

    Mike
  17. wannabeaflyer2

    wannabeaflyer2 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2015
    Messages:
    724
    Location:
    london uk
    Balance:
    8,286Coins
    Ratings:
    +950 / 7 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, Arduino, Motion platform, 6DOF
    My printer came with CURA as the slicer and not really messed around with any others as it currently does the job for the few bits I have made to date. their should be a Stl file in the unzipped document ...it may be *.amf which I think is some sort of Microsoft file extention as I recall I was able to open the file in windows 10 (works PC )
  18. Mmcool

    Mmcool Member

    Joined:
    Jun 26, 2015
    Messages:
    67
    Location:
    USA
    Balance:
    1,174Coins
    Ratings:
    +19 / 7 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF
    No Stl file in zip. Only an amf document.
    Doesn't work in Cura 2.6...
    https://ultimaker.com/en/community/35655-amf-file-support

    Why not STL file that all slicers support?

    Mike
  19. mariano68

    mariano68 Active Member

    Joined:
    Nov 15, 2014
    Messages:
    577
    Occupation:
    builder contractor
    Location:
    Argentina
    Balance:
    3,338Coins
    Ratings:
    +395 / 2 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, Arduino, 4DOF
    • Like Like x 1
    • Useful Useful x 1
  20. wannabeaflyer2

    wannabeaflyer2 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 12, 2015
    Messages:
    724
    Location:
    london uk
    Balance:
    8,286Coins
    Ratings:
    +950 / 7 / -0
    My Motion Simulator:
    2DOF, Arduino, Motion platform, 6DOF
    :thumbs

    im using Cura 15 I think its supplied By Wanhao My 3D printer and it opened it so I just left it as is .. i'll have another look and get back to you ..

    Hi @mariano68 thanks for the link :)
    • Like Like x 1