Hi, I have a bit of a strange request which you might be able to help with.
I’m building an expedition vehicle, which is basically a tiny house built on the back of a truck. The habitation box will be 7m long and 2.5m wide, and the top will be covered with solar panels. I’d like to make two large flaps which hold the solar panels, and a mechanism to raise and lower the flaps so we can get access to the roof area via a roof hatch. I’m investigating the mechanical linkage that will lower and raise the flaps.
My current design is shown below, in it’s closed configuration:
Here’s an image of the detail. The red part is a large toothed cog (teeth currently missing from CAD drawing for simplicity). The teeth on the large red cog engage with a smaller cog attached to a motor (in green).
(see third post)
Assuming the radius of the small cog attached to the motor is about 30mm, the torque required to lift the flap will be around 45 Nm. Obviously this area is open to the elements so a relatively harsh environment. The flaps would be actuated very infrequently, so the duty cycle of the motors will be minimal.
Do you know of a motor / gearbox combination that might be suitable?
Yes, the linear actuators are what’s usually used in such mechanisms since it’s rigid and reliable.
The Pinion-Rack idea isn’t reliable especially because this is a large mechanism and out in the open so the rack could easily shift with the vibrations from moving the car or have some stuff stuck on it and prevents it from moving properly.
Hi, are you sure this is a good solution? The linear actuators would have to have a stroke length of about 750mm, so fully extended would be about 1600mm… That seems rather long to me considering they will only be attached at either end…
Can the mounting bracket at the base be rotated 90 degrees? Where the motor sticks out would have to be perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the fixation.
This will be mounted on the outside of the truck, so open to the elements 24/7… Will IP43 be enough for this?
Are you referring to this part?.. it seems that the plate at the back has a square shape with 4 mounting screws so i would say it’s rotatable but it’s best to confirm with the manufacturer as well in case the plate isn’t a square shaped.
IP43 Protected from tools and small wires greater than 1 millimeter. Protected from water spray less than 60 degrees from vertical.
Basically, it would be okay for it to work as long as you keep it away from the rain… the main purpose to use this actuator is to have a better angel of the sun and if it’s raining, there won’t be any sun.
however, it’s best to have a higher IP rating such as IP66 and IP67 but unfortunately, we don’t have one with the IP66 and 30’’ stroke at the moment.
