Need high acceleration actuator

Kurt Sutherland 22 years ago

Hello,

I am looking for an actuator (pref. linear) that can reach

6m/s, then withing 2mm decelerate to a stop and reverse direction at that point.

I have found a voice coil actuator that can do this, but at much slower speeds.

If this is not possible I could let the actuator moving element coast from 6m/s into a hard stop, thus causing the direction reversal and high acceleration. I can tune the contact surfaces until I get the proper acceleration reversal.

I appreciate any ideas you can offer.

Kurt Sutherland

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Tim Wescott 22 years ago

Without knowing your stage mass and space constraints the question is pretty hard to answer.

Voice coil actuators are good if you need the controlled stage to be well isolated from the rest of the world - if this isn't the case a plain ol' motor and lead screw will probably give you much better performance. Piezo actuators can give you _very_ high accelerations, but over microns, not millimeters.

Your hard stop idea (or some neodymium magnets with opposed polarity) might be the way to go, all in all.

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Mike Halloran 22 years ago

Be careful of those 'super magnets'. They don't deal well with mechanical shock. Failure mode is shattering, with high velocity shrapnel. Put a scattershield around the mechanism.

I think the patent has run out on the Lucas 'helenoid', sort of a cross between a solenoid and a voice coil that was developed to run engine valves directly. I don't think you'll find it in production today, but you can probably find some faded flackery, and that may give you an idea.

-Mike-

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