How To

Actuators come in a variety of speeds. When you want to change the speed of, it's more than just a matter of making the gears go faster. Here's everything you need to know about the speed of the actuator you're buying. Actuation with a Twist Any lead screw creates motion through the rotation. The motor turns the gears, the gears turn the screw, and the screw moves the nut along the shaft. How fast or slow comes down to the pitch. There are als...

Want to know more about linear motion and the other three types? Everything naturally wants to move and change. In the world of mechanics, there are four basic types of motion. These four are rotary, oscillating, linear and reciprocating. Each one moves in a slightly different way and each type of achieved using different mechanical means that help us understand linear motion and motion control.   Rotary Motion Rotary motion is anything that ...

In our latest "How To" post, we will be going over how to control the timing of a linear actuator's motion using a microcontroller. Microcontrollers give a lot of freedom in motion control and this is just one example of an almost endless amount of motion control options available. Depending on your application, the example project in this article can be adjusted to suit your requirements, whether you add another timed actuator or beef up the ...

In today's how to post we will be going over the steps necessary to combine linear actuator control systems together. Now in order to combine control systems, you must prevent short-circuiting as this can damage your components. Since the control boxes connect actuators to the ground when not activated we cannot use them for direct control in parallel.  When combining the systems we use diodes to allow only the current to flow away from the co...

Arduino is a specific open-source community\company\project in one, which specializes in microcontrollers, specifically the building and programming of them. Arduino also offers simple kits made for easy assembly. Arduino controllers are small controllers of microchips and boards which allow for remote control of certain pieces of equipment. These microcontrollers are both digital and analog, meaning they can be used for a wide variety of equi...

"Why won't this work?" "What am I doing wrong" - We hear this a lot! Before you start modifying your actuator, which we have carefully designed and manufactured for you, take a few minutes and read our blog on how to configure an Actuator system. Selecting an Appropriate Actuator Progressive Automations provides a wide selection of actuators that are suitable for many industries. This means that we have tried to cater to as many different appl...