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linear Motion

linear Motion

linear Motion

(OP)
I'm an EE and I've been tasked with adding a linear actuator to a product.  I need about 10 mm of motion pushing < 100g of force.  Speed and repetition rate can be very low.  Only binary - fully open or fully closed motion is needed. This is battery powered product from 2 AA and long battery life is important.  I need a solution that I can bang out a few hundred protos right away and then hire help to production engineer for roll out of several K per month.  Production cost is critical and I've been looking at everything from little hobby DC motors to solenoids and shape memory alloy.  I'm sure there is a no brainer answer, but I don't have the background to know what it is.  

Thanks - s

RE: linear Motion

If cost is everything then it will likely be a scratch job.  I would look at a screw drive and something like a pager motor.

Or an eccentric cam with a spring follower.

You want cheap tear apart some floppy disk drives.  Those sell for about $5 last I looked.  If the drive cost 1/2 of what it sells for then you're talking $2.50

 You can well imagine what part of that cost is the head motion control.

 

Keith Cress
kcress - http://www.flaminsystems.com

RE: linear Motion

The first thought that comes to mind is something that works like a latching relay.  Permanent magnets hold the actuator iron at either end and coils kick the actuator from one end to the other.

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