DIY Linear Actuator design

Have you used steel plate for the mounting plates for the motors and the top and bottom of the 20x60 Aluminium Profile ?

hi @SilentChill in my design I opted f0r 6mm aluminium for the top plate ( linear bush mount end ) and 17 mm delrin for the other end ,,, carbon fibre would have been great but no experiance with that material and delrin cuts great on my cnc machine before I decide to increase the machine size so its in bits at the moment ,, I find Delrin ( Acetal Co polymer) strong enough so long as the span between fixing is not to great... at the end of the day 6mm ali could be used for both ends if you have access to machinery by changing the delrin elements to 6.35 or 8 mm ali should be more that strong enough even with the loads we expect to put these units under .. Cheers

Thanks matey

Any update?

Basic Controller and software testing at moment , all actuators built , and will complete this phase by sunday , then its refitting all actuators to the Platform for Basic movement testing before any fine tuning, So far all seems well ,and will post pictures later today when I get home from work , Cheers Guys good news its getting real close to full system testing .. DIY linear actuators , Sabertooth 2x32 Motor Drivers and AMC128USB as Main Controller, initially driven through Ians BFF software ( at least till Simtools 2 is released ) ...

What will you use for power the actuators?

at the moment I'm using 2 12 volt car batteries in parallel for testing but aim to run the system using Server PSU's 12 Volt 50+ amps each but I may have to have 1 Server PSU for each Pair of motors. But for now, testing the car batteries do the job ...

hi guys been a busy few days but I'm seeing light at he end of this tunnel, all 6 actuator fully assembled and now just fine tuning them to make sure travel and limit switches and movement range is in synch , and can be operated in manual mode as well as under Games control, see attached picks , had to remove them from the base so as is all things wannabe style , this is a development setup for testing only then ill remount everything in the knowledge that it should be in the ball park before load testing in earnest ...

Man this is incredible and you providing cad drawings pdf I must say I am impressed with your acuator design I was just about to pull the trigger on some motor and gear boxes I'm glad I found your thread this is the way to go and as far as upkeep goes mabey one day replace some bushings and pots can't wait to see it completed great job

Hi Guys some good news after all my mini mistakes wiring wise , im pleased to say the AMC128USB controller seems to be working fine with my Sabertooth 2X32 motor controllers and 12 volt Car battery as temp supply for testing only, and i can see the motors moving as i think they should when Running Ians BFF 6 DOF Software,

Limit switches connected a minor thing i think i will need lever type limit switches instead of the roller ones i currently use :-( so back to Ebay and maybe a small redesign for the limit switch mounts ( 3D printer will pay for itself yet again LOL )

Still doing basic testing ( NO LOAD ) but getting closer guys

Next Phase is to Remount the Actuators to the Platform base and then the Add Temp Upper Platform to assess movement angles and check for possible mechanical clashes and then staged Load testing .. as always Will keep ya'll posted ...

Massive grin on my face at the moment , Just to get this far ......Hopefully more to come...

Great to hear can't wait to see it in action

Well Guys way way overdue but just had to report the beaming look on my face as I have now gotten to the its moving stage LOL
A bit pleased with myself at the moment , 1st basic test verify the movement of the platform and linking nicely with the Software .. NO SMOKE , NO MECHANICAL CRASHES YET lol Sorry guys had to shout im feeling that good at the moment , here is a brief ( trying film and not crash video ,
first Things first er IT Bigger and Taller than I thought LOL
second thing The Bed in the spare room will have to go ( Visitor now have the couch )
third all settings are lowered ie Speed , Movement range , Power, etc just for testing so will be gradually increased as the confidence levels Grow. ( or until the 1st Big Bang )
Yes its a mess But in fairness I wanted to confirm basic operation before tidying up and making any mods which were flagged up during this testing phase ..
Temporary Upper Platform fitted to assess Mechanical movement and travel and the Final COG should be a GOOD 300-400 mm Below the current platform actuator mounting points ( Ther frame will be stepped Like @SeatTime Great Example
There is a walk around video on my channel but my ugly mugs in it so that's def to be viewed with ROFL mentality .. lets just say my standard camera could not capture the size so had to use the GOPRO lol

Nice I'm glad to see the project moving along looking good can't wait to see it complete keep on keeping on

Question how well does the end cap bolt to the 20x60 profile I have never worked with aluminum profile before is there some type of bind nut required

Hi @Justin Dail I tapped the holes in the end of the Profile to suit I M5 x 25 Socket head screws The other option is to use M5 Threaded rod running down the slots and capture and secure with M5 Nuts at the plates at either end was a thought , M6 would be better but not sure if that's possible ( not tried but considered as alt if a came across issues with the M5 screws .. Cheers

We'll done looking good . Reminds me so much of my own sim room, just no spare space. It looks like you may need some more room around your sim, as once you start using more sway/surge you don't want to punch a hole in your wall .

Thanks at least that gives 2 options threaded rod would hold it all together nicely and handle the abuse

Minor update ( more like gabbing )

Me thinks Room Clear out Time ( Pictures to go , Bed To Go , Pc Desk To Go Electric Paramotor Project ( Back to Workshop) LOL , Sim seems to be performing well enough at moment (but still no load testing) Will be making the Seat mounting frame hopefully this week , ( Welding required ----not my strong point even though I have my own MIG welder )

Then Stage 2 wiring tidy up , Strange problem though My limit switches and E-stop Work great but for some reason when they trip I loose the Com port connection to the AMC128USB controller so need to be careful as that also could mean the actuator will run wild ?? It may be to do with the fact I don't yet have diodes across the 7 relays in the system , so that's another fix .. All in all the sim platform dances around the skies Nicely so just gradually cranking things up .. Video will be posted soon ..

Load testing will begin once the upper Platform frame is made ..

Great stuff @wannabeaflyer2 . I'm going to get cracking with mine once I get back off my hols. Still lots of bits to get hold of so will be a couple of months at least

Also did you not use carbon fiber tube for all the actuators ?

One more did you use vslot wheels attached to the ballnut to stop it spinning turning ?