Maker Pro
Maker Pro

Controlling an Actuator

hevans1944

Hop - AC8NS
Jun 21, 2012
4,878
Joined
Jun 21, 2012
Messages
4,878
Looks like a pretty beefy actuator, although 250mm / 5mm/sec = 50 sec for full stroke. That speed might limit your throughput unless feeding and/or changing stock takes more than about a minute. Not much choice there if you already have the actuator. I assume your clevis will have some sort of quick-disconnect so you can raise the blade by hand if something fails. Would then need some way to support the saw it in the raised position if you have removed the hydraulic cylinder.

The load cell mounting is problematical. Ideally it would be under the stock, but since the stock is normally clamped in a vice that complicates things. Perhaps the load cell could be mounted under one end of the actuator to measure the compression in the actuator shaft... it looks like you need a load cell with about a 500 Lbf compression range. You could also design your clevis to incorporate one or more strain gauges to measure the compression in the actuator shaft. Four gauges, in an electrical bridge configuration, is the usual manner of building a load cell, but it is possible to get by with just one strain gauge if your instrumentation auto-zeroes it and the temperature doesn't vary wildly during cutting. Cementing one strain gauge in place is a helluva lot easier than getting four positioned properly.

Do you own any 3D parametric design modeling software? I have a copy of Alibre Design with all the bells and whistles that were available a few years ago, but I have since let the "maintenance subscription" lapse, so I don't have the latest and greatest updates (including the inevitable "bug" fixes). It's got a real PITA learning curve, too... I gotta get re-trained every time I fire it up. Still, it's a great visualization tool in the "right" hands.
 

jeffie3

May 21, 2015
41
Joined
May 21, 2015
Messages
41
There is a great software. I have been playing with it. I am finishing up my CNC mill and wanting to use a 3d cad and cam software. Right now with my CNC lathe and EDM I write all the code by hand. https://www.freecadweb.org/ It seems to have a lot of support. There are a couple of others if you don't care for this one.

As for the actuator. It is a bit slow. I chose this one because of the price. If I get all of this to work I can upgrade it to a faster one.
 

mk_smith

Aug 5, 2020
2
Joined
Aug 5, 2020
Messages
2
As for the actuator. It is a bit slow. I chose this one because of the price. If I get all of this to work I can upgrade it to a faster one.

That could be quite a problem, the slow actuator for my project messed it up a little bit, had to get a high-speed one.
 

Magnusbane

Nov 29, 2020
1
Joined
Nov 29, 2020
Messages
1
Hello, i have a quastion about a Selector L66S. How can i found out what kind of sensor it uses?
 
Top