Motorisation and bluetooth/alexa/google control of a vent damper flap

Let's Make Robots Beginners
1

Hi everyone - first time poster and newbie into the automation space hoping to get some help to get started.

I want to motorise a simple vent damper flap. Making/mounting the damper itself it easy, it is lightweight (500g) and needs to turn through just 90 degrees. But it will be inaccessible once fitted so I need a way to motorize it and control it. Ideally, I’d like to be able to do this from my phone or by asking Alexa/google to turn the damper for me.

I guess I need some sort of motor/actuator and a bluetooth/alexa/google controller. I’ve looked around online but am baffled by the number of options. I’m reasonably techy but this specific discipline is new to me. So any help would be greatly appreciated.

Here is a rubbish drawing of what I want to achieve… ideally turning the spindle through 90 degress through perhaps 3 or four set positions.

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image943×545 31.7 KB

Many thanks

2

@RichBH Welcome to the RobotShop Community. It seems like there are multiple parts to your project:

  1. Select the appropriate actuator
  2. Select the corresponding controller for the actuator
  3. Select a way to wirelessly control it via an application (likely custom app)
  4. Select the right power source for the actuator
  5. Create the custom APP and test to see that the motor rotates as you want
  6. Create the mechanics / mount / vent

Actuators which are able to rotate 90 degrees reliably include:

  • RC servo motor
  • Stepper motor (but needs a way to be zeroed like a button or switch)

This series should help you get started (table of content links don’t work so see the rest in the link below):