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From: rstevew@armory.com (Richard Steven Walz)
Subject: Re: Where can amateur buy cheap solenoids for robot control?
Organization: The Armory
Date: Mon, 29 Aug 1994 23:39:18 GMT
Message-ID: <CvBLpn.75o@armory.com>
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In article <weathersd.12.000EB0E9@metro.or.gov>,
Doug Weathers <weathersd@metro.or.gov> wrote:
>In article <33te78$ogp@search01.news.aol.com> bwhuckabee@aol.com (BWHUCKABEE) writes:
>>From: bwhuckabee@aol.com (BWHUCKABEE)
>>Subject: Where can amateur buy cheap solenoids for robot control?
>>Date: 29 Aug 1994 15:51:04 -0400
>
>>Where can I buy cheap solenoids for robot control?  I'm not an engineer. 
>>Just playing around.  I want something that will move in or out when I
>>apply electricity to it.  Motors are too complicated.  I've considered a
>>car starter solenoid, but they require too much current and also cost too
>>much.  Can anybody help?
>
>We used to build the solenoids that moved the track switches on my train set.  
>Worked pretty well, but probably wasn't very efficient.  Just wrap lots of 
>wire around a brass tube and stick in a bolt.  To move the bolt both 
>directions, we wrapped a coil around each end of the brass tube.
>
>You may be able to buy this sort of solenoid at a hobby shop -- train, RC 
>airplane, or RC car.
>--
>Doug Weathers, Net Guy  |   The above opinions are     |   On a clear disk
>weathersd@metro.or.gov  | probably not those of Metro  | you can seek forever
----------------------------
Best solenoid bearing material is nylon or other slippery but hard plastic
tubes. Glass tubes have also been used. Wrap your own coils! It works fine!
We made a robot walker with nothing BUT solenoids! Used the nitinol walker
principle. All it takes is pulling the right cables or wires. And the pull
needn't be much!
-Steve Walz   rstevew@armory.com

