Actuator calibration and accuracy

Community General Discussions
1

Not sure where to post as I’m not a robot guy. I work with industrial controls and instrumentation. I need an actuator with a high degree of accuracy to operate a gear train to move a clock like pointer on a clock type face. More importantly, a controller that can position the actuator connected to the pointer with a (4~20 ma) signal.

Actuonix LAC specifications state I can position the actuator anywhere along it’s length. Will the min and max input be scaled between the two limits set up in the software? For example: 100mm actuator set to operate between 10mm 90mm. Will the 4ma minimum signal correspond to 10mm travel along with 20ma equaling 90mm?
My actuator selection with the LAC is the Actuonix P8-100 165:1 ratio.

I would like to do this with a rotary actuator but have not found anything that will work out of the box.

2

Hello @tjmurf and welcome to the RobotShop forum,

The LAC board is not compatible with the P8 stepper actuator. The LAC will work with the L12-P, PQ12-P and L16-P. It may also be able to drive other larger actuators that have position feedback.

May I ask what are you referring to with “rotary actuator”?

If you are looking for rotational motion instead of linear you should check the servos section or, since you mentioned high accuracy, the steppers section of the store.