Hello! I am new to robotics and looking to get my feet wet by building a device for my son. I am trying to run 2 12volt linear actuators (1 for up/down movement & 1 for left/right movement) off of a single joystick switch. I am thinking I am needing a PWM but what joystick do I need? Do I need a speed controller? What do I need to get this little project started??? Any help is greatly appreciated!
Jesse
Hi @highspeed and welcome to the forum!
I’m glad you want to get into the robotics world! It would also be great if you could include your son in the process 
About your question, I found this tutorial that explains how to control two linear actuators from a single joystick and two relays, like this:
For this, you could use the following
https://www.robotshop.com/en/joystick-momentary-switch.html
Good luck with your project 
Thank you for your guidance and my son is ready to get this project started!! I forgot to mention that I’m also wanting the joystick to have speed control (the further the joystick lever is pushed=the faster the speed on the actuator). Is that something that is possible or am I going to need to have controlled separately?
Hi again!
If you want speed control there are multiple solutions for that, you can read some of them here.
The simplest solution would be to use a speed controller like this
And instead of the rocker switch you would have the joystick mentioned in the previous post. Here is a video of how this would function
Of course with this configuration you would have to manually control the two components, the speed knob and the joystick. As you mentioned this is not exactly what you want but it would make things much easier for you, the other option could be using a microcontroller such as an Arduino and a different joystick (because the previous recommendation was just a momentary switch) something like this one that is coupled with 5K potentiometers, and using the reading from the joystick to control the speed and direction. There are lots of Arduino tutorials out there so if you choose this option I’m sure you will find enough information to make it work.
Thank you so much for all your help! You’re a saint!! I will look into utilizing an Arduino. I acquired a 3 axis joystick potentiometer switch, L16-P actuator, and LAC last night from a friend. All works like it should but when the joystick returns to the middle, the actuator returns to the middle. I need the actuator to stop when the joystick returns to the middle. Sorry! I should’ve mentioned that in my initial post.
Hi @highspeed
The solution I can think of will require the Arduino or any microcontroller to program the control of the actuator. Instead of mapping directly the value of the joystick to the position of the actuator you could use it to increment the position according to the direction of the movement and leaving a deadband where the actuator won’t move, allowing you to let go of the joystick and have the linear actuator stay on the last position.
I think this tutorial explains the process very well:
You can find the code for this project here
I hope that information can help you out
That’s a great tutorial, especially since he gives the code.
I actually like the mat that he’s using for prototyping, that can definitely come in handy.
Thank you so much! This seems to be what I am looking for. Thanks again!
No problem! Let us know how it turns out and if you think the project is worth sharing you can do that in the Robots section or maybe you can share some future projects you develop with your son and participate for the Robot of the month contest
Thanks for all the guidance again and I will certainly keep you updated! Its going to be a few weeks before I can get started on this. I have another project I need to finish first.
