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Recommendations needed for inexpensive linear motion 2

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NDVermin

NDVermin

Mechanical
Sep 17, 2017
7
DB_ljaw0v.jpg


Hi Folks,

I'm pretty rusty when it comes to engineering and design having not worked directly in the area for awhile. I'm hoping someone may have some good suggestions for me. I'm trying to design a 20 x 20 matrix of columns which can be individually raised and lowered (only about 5" max) in any pattern desired. I'm at a loss to come up with an economical way to build something that allows individual movements of 400 columns. I've certainly considered linear actuators, but they are very expensive (especially x400). Would anyone have any suggestions? Thanks so much!

Scott
 
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You haven't stated if they're UP or DOWN or some intermediate. And how much force they have on them or what they weigh.

Pneumatic is pretty cheap.

I could see turning the blocks into the pistons in square bores too, depending on the forces/time etc.

Need a lot more details as they will/will-not allow various techniques.

Keith Cress
kcress -
 
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This looks to be the cheapest possible solution:

that's ~$0.70 each for the actuator, and probably roughly the same for a 2-phase driver circuit

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list
 
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Thank you IRSTUFF! I have not seen these before but they look very promising.....I'm going to check them out
 
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Itssmoked - Sorry there wasn't enough details. In regards to up and down, I would actually need it to be be able to stop at different intervals, maybe every half inch or every inch from 0" to 5" max. I'm not sure if pneumatic could do that or if it could only do "up or down?" If it could allow incremental positions, it might be a great way to go. In regards to weight, I haven't determined that as these might be made of wood or plastic. Either way they should be very light. I'd certainly appreciate any other thoughts you may have or examples on how pneumatics may work. Thank you! Scott
 
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You haven't mentioned how you intend to control these 400 actuators. Do you intend to control them from a single common point? If not, you could buy 400 hand crank trailer jacks and manually adjust each one. How will you know where each one is? Do you intend to have individual position feedback on each one, or are you just going to adjust each one visually? Or is it your intent to feed in some XYZ data defining a 3D surface to the control system and have them move to that theoretical surface? I designed a similar system once as a machining fixture to hold the composite wing skin of a large airliner in place (and in the correct three dimensional shape) for a waterjet trimming operation. Each of the 400 actuators actuator probably cost $1500.
 
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I recently was chasing an idea and surfed through eBay for some inexpensive CNC router spindles from China. I stumbled on stuff from "RATTM Motor" if I recall correctly (and certainly there are other sellers). They had an inexpensive kit with all the bits needed for a simple 3-axis positioner, presumably for a home-made 3D printer.

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering
 
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What is the target price point you're shooting for? Kinda looks like some type of nifty toy. Based on your statement of 5" extension, and assuming that the tallest blocks in your picture are at 5", it looks like your blocks are about 2" square. If you manage to get IRstuff's suggested product at half the price he mentioned, that's $280 just for your actuators. If you could get all the rest of the stuff for $20 (drastically low estimate) that puts retail at $599.95.

-handleman, CSWP (The new, easy test)
 
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How fast does it need to work? Set up some sort of threaded/drive screw arrangement to raise/lower each block, then have a single motor run around and turn each screw one at a time.
 
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Handleman - That's pretty close on the rough dimensions - if I could build it for $500 I'd actually be pretty happy but there will be a lot beyond the actuators to add to the cost. On the one hand it feels like it should be very straightforward, but when you try to fit 400 in such a small space and keep the costs reasonable, it suddenly seems like quite a challenge.
 
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hi 1Gibson and Tyger - Ideally the blocks would all move at once instead of having say a CNC type system move under each one at a time and position them.
 
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400 linear actuators with 5" stroke and internal guidance each of which will fit inside a 2" square and be end-mounted for around $500 total? Not asking for much are you?
 
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Jboggs - well, that's why I was originally asking about other ideas (like pneumatics). If the solution was easy I might have figured it out by now...
 
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How often will it change? Position a grid of set screws below the surface, then raise the grid to contact the blocks. Fit the blocks tight enough that they hold position, pull a vacuum to lower/reset them all before raising the screw grid to set new configuration.
 
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Do you require position feedback, or are you going to adjust each one visually?
 
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A two-axis XY stage with a single lead screw motor and clutch could potentially drive an array of lead screws, one at a time. Getting rid of 399 motors and drivers might be a good compromise.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert! faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list
 
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I like where MintJulep's head is at, and it falls right in line with my initial thought: Arduino.
 
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