Looking For Fast Linear Motion

I'd guess a pneumatic cylinder...fats & relatively powerful.

Lots of Qs though..is it just a bang bang operation or do you need positional accuracy?

What forces are involved?

What power sources do you have available?

What is your shoe size?

(ok the last one is a joke)

Del

"...fats & relatively powerful."

Hmmm...do I mean fast?

Please provide more information about the application.

Is it really you that needs to move 2.125 inches, or some piece of equipment?

What is the mass of the object to be moved?

Does it need to move one time, or repeatedly? (To and fro, or incrementally?)

Your bosses suggestion sounds reasonable, linear actuators can be powered by many different energy sources, including electric, hydraulic, pneumatic, explosives, gravity, stored mechanical (spring and trigger).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_actuator

A servo motor would also work. You can also accelerate an de accelerate to make the move smooth. You can use a CPU (PIC) as a controller.

The final decision will depend on your needs.

if you're thinking mechanical solution, a cam-follower would work.

Depending on the details, a linear brushless motor may be the answer. Mount load and motor coil assembly together on a linear bearing. A suitable controller is also required. An encoder may also be appropriate

The names Aerotech, Baldor, Trilogy, Kollmorgen come to mind. We've used Normag (now part of Baldor) and Kollmorgen on our robots. They go like lightning and are very well behaved. With suitable encoders they can also be made to position very accurately. All the suppliers should provide support integrating the system.

Greg

Use pneumatic cylinder.

Young & Franklin makes a very fast, very powerful ballscrew actuator that is also extremely accurate & repeatable. If I remember correctly, they start at about $20K...

My first bet would be a Thrust Linear motor ( maybe AC or Dc ). However the final recommendation would be based on your load, horizontal motion, positional accuracy, oscillatory motion, duty cycle & power supply and not the least your dimensional constraints.

ashelec

Is the load moving vertically, or horizontally? What is weight of load? What is the travel distance, and time? What does the velocity profile look like? How is the load supported, and guided? Is there a preference for electrical, pneumatic, or hydraulic. Is positioning accuracy required? What is the ambient temperature? Does the actuator have to dynamically, and statically brake the load? What are the ambient conditions other than temperature. If the load is not too high this should be easy to accomplish with a variety of methods.

Is this any use ? Or this ?

You should be more specific about the mass and such but how about a cogged belt or chain with a stepper or a servo motor running the pulley or sprocket.

I would say use very large, but short lived solid-fuel rockets... 0 to 60 in .001 sec! Just watch out for the whiplash.

Isn't it about time we heard from Farmer Bob with some more info' ?

Is this for castrating pigs or what?

I was hoping to prod him out of hiding...

"I am working on a project where I need to move in a linear motion 2.125 inches. My question is what would be the fastest most reliable way to make it happen."

A Whitworth quick return mechanism could be designed to do the job depending on details of the application. No slamming at either end of stroke. Fast on one stroke and either slower or faster on other.

There are a number of ways this can be achieved.

1-If it is a single shot then use a spring loaded pistion. The effect will be like an air gun.

2-If multiple firing is required then use an electeic motor with cyclic motion attachment. This can be made to fire a pin or compress air like an air gun. This system will be portable.

3-Use compress air. It is possible to control the speed. This will be bulky.

In all three case you could achieve speed upto 600 feet/sec

A helping hand.

Regards.

As you notice there is a lot of good will togive a help but it is not always the best since the information about the "problem" for which help is required is not clearly defined. Basically the more you give as inforamtions the better the answer you get.

Let's face it, either he was a terrorist trying to figure out how to set off a charge or he's just dumped us like a bad, blind date!!!

No , He is working with the compeny that gave him thier contact to sort out the paper cutting issue (follow the tracks yourelves , I'm lazy). His design team here have failed to deliver a precise solution , so he is farming elsewhere.

Feedback Bob. I don't have a problem with anybody seeking help on whatever basis , but it's nice to see feedback occasionally - even if it's just 'Thanks all , I'm following up leads given'.

Sorry about that people, e-mail went down because we are moving to new building.

Need to move 4 pounds on time and accurately.

Now that you're back, do you mean that you need to move the 4 lb part at a constant rate at 60 in/sec for 2.125", or do you mean that you need to move it 2.125" in a straight line no matter what the speed profile is, or what?

Tell us more. There are lots of ways to do this accurately, and lots of ways to do it depending on exactly what it is you need to do.

Glad you're back Bob (ignore my jibe , I just joke that way).

I'm not sure that it matters , but is the thing you seek going to be moving paper (some kind of printing works ) ? Some folk ,like myself , get more curious when they know the intended application and can think a bit more about possible solutions (rather than off the shelf things we know directly).

Kris

"Need to move 4 pounds on time and accurately."

Sinusoidal, or Uni-formally Accelerated and Retarded Motion to eliminate 'slamming' or mechanical shock at ends of stroke?