instructables

DIY Linear Actuator

by farmerkeith

I want a linear actuator, or maybe a series of them, to open and close ventilation openings in my greenhouse. Although I
could buy linear actuators from EBay, I decided to have a go at making my own.

My requirements were:

The actuator should be strong enough the hold the ventilator open in the presence of wind gusts
The movement needs to be about 200 mm, to give a good size opening for air ow
Limit switches to stop movement when the end of travel is reached at both ends
Daisy-chain capability so that I can have multiple actuators, one on each of several ventilation openings.

Warrning: This project involves (gentle) heating of PVC, and also the use of solvent cement (glue). These actions may
release toxic fumes. Take care to have a well ventilated work area and avoid breathing in any fumes as far as possible.

The main parts of the actuator are a small DC geared motor that directly drives a threaded rod. The push arm extends or
retracts as the threaded rod rotates. The push arm has to be stopped from rotating by the connection to the item that it is
controlling, which in my case is a hinged ventilation panel. The direction of movement of the arm is controlled by
changing the direction of the voltage on the DC motor. The speed of movement can be controlled by varying the voltage
used, either using a higher or lower voltage as required, or by the use of PWM.

Step 1: Materials and Tools

DIY Linear Actuator: Page 1

Materials required 80mm * 14mm * 400mm)
Mounting base ( ne grain hardwood, planed smooth

DIY Linear Actuator: Page 2

Small DC motor (type 37GB geared to 500 rpm) M5 grub screw 5 mm long

330 mm M8 * 1.25 pitch threaded rod 1/8" roll pin 16mm long

5 nuts, M8 * 1.25 pitch 3 screws, M4 with countersunk at head, 6mm long

Ball bearing, 21mm (OD) * 8 mm (ID) * 7 mm (width) 6 screws, M3 * 6mm long (to attach the motor to the
motor mounting bracket)
2 lengths of 15 mm PVC pressure pipe, 20mm and 330
mm long 6 at washers for M3 screws

1 length of 20 mm PVC pressure pipe, 200 mm long 4 screws, M2 * 12 mm long.

2 saddles for 20mm PVC pressure pipe 15 wood screws, 4mm dia * 12 mm long

Motor mounting bracket 80mm wide, 40 mm * 40mm * 7 wood screws, 4 mm dia, 16 mm long
1.7mm galvanised steel
6 wood screws, 3 mm dia, 16 mm long
Bearing mounting bracket 80mm wide, 25 mm * 40 mm
* 1.7mm galvanised steel 3 nylon cable ties 2mm wide

Bearing retainer plate, 80mm * 40 mm * 1,7mm

galvanised steel Tools
Bench vice
Bearing location pad, ne grain hardwood. 80mm * 50
mm * 14mm Hand saw or bandsaw

2 micro switches actuated by lever arm with roller, SPDT Cordless drill and/or corded drill

2 microswitch mounting plates, 40mm * 20 mm * 1.7mm Small angle grinder with cut-o and grinding wheels
gal steel
Safety goggles and hearing protections
3 microswitch mounting blocks, ne grain hardwood 45
* 25 * 8 mm Tap and die for M8 * 1.25 pitch

2 diodes 1N5819 Tap for M5*0.7 pitch

circuit board 80mm * 20 mm Tap for M4 * 0.7 pitch

6 pole screw terminal strip PVC priming uid and jointing glue

Hookup wire, multi-strand HSS drill bits (for metal) - 2.5 mm, 3.2mm, (3.3mm), 4mm,
(4.2mm), 6mm (drill sizes in brackets are desirable but
Heat shrink tube, 2mm diameter * 300 mm not essential)

M6 hex coupler (a long M6 * 1.0mm pitch nut) (for Countersink bit (for making space for screw heads so the
alternative see Step 2) screw is ush with the surface)

M8 hex coupler (a long M8 * 1.25 mm pitch nut) Hole saws for 16mm and 22 mm holes in wood and steel.

DIY Linear Actuator: Page 3

Ring/open end spanners - 10mm, 13mm Screwdriver, pliers, wire cutter,

2.5mm hex key (Allen key) for M5 grub screw

Hot air gun

Step 2: Making the Drive Coupling

The motor has to drive the M8 threaded rod. have that size; 6.5 mm worked OK). Be careful not to
push the drill in too far, The wider hole should only go
The motor shaft is 6mm diameter with a at machined half the length of the coupler.
onto one surface, making a "D" shaped shaft.
Carefully work the M8 tap into the end of the M6 hex
Because of small errors in alignment straightness of the coupler with the 6.5mm hole to make an M8 thread
M8 threaded rod, a exible drive coupling is required. inside it. The thread should go half way through the
My rst attempt was a rigid coupling, which worked but coupler.
created additional motor losses and movement of the
bearing. I then made a DIY exible coupling using Then I made the M5 thread for the grub screw which
essentially the same materials, which works well. It is locks the coupler to the motor shaft - see (2) in the
also possible to buy a commercially made exible image. Holding the M6 coupler in the vice with the M8
coupling, which also works well. thread down, bore a 2.5mm hole into one of the ats.
Widen the hole to 4 mm with a second drill. Make a
I will show all three couplings, for information. thread in the hole with the M5 tap.

DIY Rigid coupling (unsatisfactory) Cut the threaded rod to length (330 mm) and grind or
I bored through the M6 coupler with a 6mm drill so that le o any sharp edges. Run the M8 die over both ends
the coupler slides over the motor shaft. to make sure the thread is OK. Thread the following onto
the rod in this order: 1. an M8 nut; 2. the bearing; 3.
I then made an M8 thread in one end of the coupler. The another M8 nut. Thread them on so that there is about
nished result is indicated by (1) in the image below. 15 mm of rod sticking out from the second nut. Now it
First step is to bore one end only of the coupler with a should be easy to screw the threaded rod into the M8
6.5 mm drill (the proper drill size is 6.7 mm but I did not
DIY Linear Actuator: Page 4
thread just cut into the M6 coupler. I ground a small at on the coupler so that I could bore a
hole through the coupler at right angles to the grub
Now I could do a trial assembly of the coupler. The 6mm screw hole. With the rod fully inserted into the coupler, I
hole end of the M6 coupler slips over the motor drive drilled rst a 2.5mm hole all the way through, then
shaft, and is locked in place with the M5 grup screw. The increased it to 3.0 mm.
M8 threaded rod screws into the end of the M6 coupler
(now it has an M8 thread in it). When the M8 rod is I then took the rod out of the coupler and increased the
screwed in until it is reasonably tight, wind the 2 M8 nuts hole in the coupler to 3.5mm.
with the bearing in between them back and lock the nut
closest to the coupling against the coupling, using a The roll pin I am using is nominaly 1/8 inch diameter. It
spanner. measures 3.15 mm. It is a loose t in the 3.5mm hole in
the coupler, but has to driven into the rod with a
This makes a rigid coupling betwen the motor shaft and hammer, as it is a tight t. With the rod inserted into the
the M8 threaded rod. The problem with this is that any coupler, drive the roll pin through until it is ush on the
misalignment between the two shafts will result in far side.
friction and exing . Hence I went on to make a exible
coupling. Any excess in the length of the roll pin can be ground
o .
DIY Flexible coupling
This version of the coupling is made from am M6 coupler Here is the nal assembled version.
(just like the rigid coupling). The motor drive side is the
same as the rigid coupling. On the threaded rod side, Commercial exible coupler
drive is transmitted from the coupling to the threaded This is available on Ebay for about $2.
rod by a cross-bar made from a roll pin.
6mm at one end, 8 mm at the other end, both secured
The roll pin is a good option for the cross bar, since it can by 2 grub screws. Simple to use.
be a tight t in the hole through the threaded rod, and a
loose t in the couler. The tight t in the rod means that Flexibility is provided by the spiral cut in the body, which
it won't fall out. The other option would be to use a allows it to ex if the shafts are not quite straight.
screw passing all the way through and with a nut on the
far end. There is no speci cation given about the maximum
torque or the maximum bending angle - but my guess it
I bored through the M6 coupler with a 6mm drill so that is probably quite enough for this application.
the coupler slides over the motor shaft.

Then I made the M5 thread for the grub screw which

locks the coupler to the motor shaft. Holding the M6
coupler in the vice with the M8 thread down, bore a
2.5mm hole into one of the ats. Widen the hole to 4
mm with a second drill. Make a thread in the hole with
the M5 tap.

I then bored a 7mm diameter hole in the other end of

the coupler. Be careful not to push the drill in too far, this
hole should only go half the length of the coupler.

I led the thread o the M8 threaded rod at one end, to a

length of about 11 mm, until the end of the rod tted
loosely in the 7mm hole in the end of the coupler.

DIY Linear Actuator: Page 5

 1 2

1. Completed coupling
2. Original coupler

DIY Linear Actuator: Page 6

Step 3: Making the Push Arm

DIY Linear Actuator: Page 7

The push arm is a 330 mm length of "15mm" PVC The "15mm" PVC pipe has an inside diameter of 17.9 mm
pressure pipe. It has one end squashed and bored to and an outside diameter of 21.4 mm. We should remove
take an M8 screw, and the other end has a M8 coupler Pi * (21.4 - 17.9) mm = 10.99 mm so that if we roll the
xed into it. short piece with the cut out more tightly it will t inside
the end of the pipe.
I squashed one end of the pipe by putting it in the vice
between a pair of wooden blocks, and winding up the Make sure the cut piece will t inside the end of the
vice with one hand while holding the hot air gun to longer pipe. Take it out again, prime both surfaces with
warm the plastic with the other hand. Be careful not to the priming uid, apply glue to the inside of the pipe
make it too hot, the plastic will melt if it gets too hot. and put them back together again. Push the small piece
Just a little heat is good to release any internal stresses in in until it is ush with the end of the longer pipe. Leave
the plastic. After that, you can bore an 8mm diameter to cure overnight or longer. This photo shows the push
hole through the attened end to make a connection to arm with the short length of pipe glued into it.
the object being moved.
Take the M8 coupler and make sure it runs freely along
The M8 coupler is a very loose t inside the pipe so I cut the full length of the M8 threaded rod. If it does not, you
a short piece the same length as the M8 coupler (about may need to run the M8 tap through the M8 coupler, or
20mm), and using a saw cut a piece out of it length the M8 die along the M8 threaded rod; or both.
ways. The space left behind after the piece is removed
should be 11 mm wide. Push the M8 coupler into the end of the PVC pipe. It

should be a tight t. It will make it a bit easier to push in enough to take the head of the M4 screws. Then put in
if the PVC is heated - but not too much. the 3 M4 screws.

Once the M8 coupler is in the PVC pipe drill three holes In case the drilling has damaged the thread, or the
at points that face every second at of the M8 coupler. screws have protruded into the thread inside the M8
First drill a 2.5mm hole, then widen it to 3.2 mm (or 3.3 coupler, run the M8 tap through the coupler a few times.
mm if you have that drill). The using the M4 tap, put a
thread into each of the three holes. Use the countersink
bit to make an indent in the plastic for each hole, just big

1. Cut pipe inserted into the long

pipe

DIY Linear Actuator: Page 8

 1

1. M4*6 screw tapped into the coupler

Step 4: Making the Base, Motor Mount and Thrust Bearing Mount

Base The bearing location pad is an o cut of the wood used

I started with the base and attaching the 20mm pipe to for the base. The pocket that holds the bearing is a hole
one end using the saddles.It should run along the centre 22mm diameter all the way through the pad. The pad is
of the base. slimmed down to about 1mm more than the bearing
thickness, ie 8mm.
I then inserted the push rod into the pipe, with the M8
threaded rod screwed into it, and measured the distance The mounting bracket and the retainer plate both need
from the base to the centre of the threaded rod. This is a 16mm hole that lines up with the M8 shaft. The
the required height for the centre of the motor shaft and mounting bracket needs screw holes for attachment to
the centre hole of the thrust bearing mount. it was the base, and to attach the bearing location pad.
14mm.
The 16mm hole is large enough so that the M8 nuts on
Motor mount bracket
the threaded rod
The motor mount bracket is a piece of 1.7 mm thick steel
can freely rotate inside it, but small enough so that the
80mm long and with a base and side of 40mm * 40mm. I
outside race of the bearing is held on each side by the
recovered a supply of this material from some old
mounting bracket and the retainer plate.
packing cases.
When the mounting bracket, bearing and bearing
I rst made a mark where the centre of the hole for the
location pad are assembled, position the retainer plate
motor shaft housing should go, half way along the
over the pad and drill holes for two M3 * 20mm screws
bracket and 14mm above the lower surface. I marked
to go all the way through and securely lock all the parts
this with a centre punch, then bored a 2.5 mm hole. I
together.I used M3*20 mm screws, but M3*15mm
then widened the hole using a series of drills, in steps no
screws would have been su cient and preferable,
more than 2mm, until the hole was 12.7 mm wide, which
leaving less unused thread which may interfere with
is the right size to take the shaft end of the motor (which
installing the mounting screws.
DIY Linear Actuator: Page 9
is 12.0 mm diameter).
Assembly

I then carefully marked positions for the 6 M3 screws Remove the 20mm saddles and pipe. This provides
that attach the motor, drilled them rst with a 2.5m drill access for installing the push arm.
bit, then 3.2mm. Some of them were slightly o so I had
Place the parts together on the base in order - push
to use a small round le to widen them a little bit.
arm,nut, bearing in its mounting bracket, nut, threaded
rod with coupling, motor in its mounting bracket.
I drilled a pattern of 4 screw holes 4mm diameter for the
screws that attach the bracket to the base, making sure
Push the coupling over the motor shaft and tighten the
none of them is under the motor, which would make it
grub screw. Then screw on the rst nut, leaving 3 or 4
di cult to use a screwdriver after the motor is
vacant threads. Slide the bearing up to the rst nut, and
assembled to the bracket.
screw the next nut up to the bearing and tighten them
together.
With the motor attached to the motor mounting bracket
with 6 M3*6 mm screws, I then checked the alignment of
Run the motor to make sure it runs freely. Mark the
the motor with the position of the M8 threaded rod -
position for the motor mount bracket, drill pilot holes
ne. I found that I had to put a washer under the head of
and screw it to the base.
each screw, otherwise the screws went in too far and
distorted the motor casing causing it to bind.
Run the motor again. Mark the position for the bearing
Thrust bearing mount support bracket, drill pilot holes and screw it to the base.
The purpose of the thrust bearing is to transfer the force
of the push rod to the base, without putting strain on Screw the start of the push arm thread on by hand, then
the motor or the motor coupling. The motor coupling is run the motor to bring it about half way along the
designed to transfer rotational, not longitudinal force. threaded rod.

The thrust bearing mount consists of a wooden bearing Now you can re-install the 20mm pipe and secure it with
location pad sandwiched between a mounting bracket the saddles.
and a retainer plate.

DIY Linear Actuator: Page 10

Step 5: Adding the Limit Switches and Wiring

DIY Linear Actuator: Page 11

Mounting the current path. The drive voltage is then transferred to
The limit switches need to be mounted so that they the Normally Open (NO) contact (ie terminal3), and can
sense the location of the push arm. be used to drive another actuator in a daisy chain.

The limit switches are microswitches with a lever arm When the polarity is reversed, the negative voltage
and roller at the end. The lever arm needs to be oriented reaches the motor terminal via the diode from terminal
as shown in the photos, otherwise it may catch and 1, even though the NC contact of the limit switch is
bend when the push arm reaches it. open. The positive voltage reaches the motor via the NO
contact of the OUT limit switch (terminal 5), which is in
I used scraps of the metal used for the brackets to make the operated position until the push arm reaches the
mounting plates for the switches, and scraps of wood OUT end of its travel. When the push arm passes the OUT
from the bearing pad to make mounting blocks limit switch, the switch breaks the current ow to the
between the base and the mounting plates. The motor, and its NC contact (terminal 4) transfers the drive
microswitches are attached to the mounting plates with voltage which can be used to drive another actuator in a
M2 * 12 mm screws and nuts. daisy chain.

The IN limit switch is installed up close to the bearing Subsequent actuators in the daisy chain are connected
mount (se photo at right). with terminals 1 and 6 connected to 1 and 6 of the
previous actuator, terminal 2 connected to 3 of the
The OUT limit switch is located so it detects whether the previous actuator, and terminal 5 connected to 4 of the
push arm is present or not at a point 200 mm from the IN previous actuator.
limit switch.
Diodes
The roller of the OUT limit switch goes through an 8mm The diodes are needed so that the motor is stopped by
hole in the 20mm pipe, to sense whether the push arm is the limit switch when traveling in one direction, but so
present or not. the motor can drive in the opposite direction. The diodes
do not carry current most of the time, since for most of
. the travel of the push arm the limit switches are not at
their limits. However the diodes need to be capable of
. carrying the starting current of the motor.

. I used diodes of type 1N5819 which have a continuous

current rating of 1 Amp and a surge rating of 25A.
Circuit diagram
The connections are shown in the diagram above. The diodes are mounted on a little piece of prototype
circuit board screwed to the base under the coupling.
The direction of movement is controlled by reversing
the polarity of the applied voltage (terminals 1,2 and Wiring
5,6). Wires should be multi-strand (to cope with possible
vibration of the motor) and thick enough to carry the
When the push arm is being driven IN, positive current motor current. I used wire with 13 strands of 0.12mm. I
to the motor comes via the Normally Closed (NC) contact slipped a short piece of 2mm heat shrink tube over the
of the IN limit switch. When the push arm reaches the soldered connections on the limit switches, to make sure
fully in position it operates the IN switch which breaks there is no chance of a short circuit to the mounting

plates. the external connection simple.

The wires are brought out to the terminal strip to make

DIY Linear Actuator: Page 12

Step 6: Performance
DIY Linear Actuator: Page 13
I measured the retract and extend times of the actuator went up to 29 seconds with a motor current of 0.6 Amps.
without any load and a 12 volt power supply. The extend The extend time also went up, to 27 seconds, with a
time is 24 seconds, the retract time is 26 seconds. The motor current of 0.5Amps.
motor current without any external load is about 0.3
Amps (it varies a bit as the actuator moves along the I am not sure what the maximum load the actuator will
threaded rod). take. I am reluctant to test it to destruction! My guess is
that it will take 10 kg without any problems.
Then I set it up with the weight of a house brick as the
load - see photo. The brick weighs 3.5 kg. The retract time

DIY Linear Actuator: Page 14

A photo of the complete thing would be helpful with explanation of how it operates.

Photos of the complete actuator, both fully closed and open, are in the introduction.
I will add some more explanation of operation in step 5 if that will help.
Keith
Congratulations for actually getting something done: like a lot of folks, I have grandiose schemes
which never see the light of day. But, I do have two suggestions for you. ONE: your choice of
motor isn't good. It's a very underpowered type for the application IMO. I'd have used a scrap
cordless drill motor: they have tremendous torque and the World is awash with free ones. TWO;
ditch those awful limit switches. Years ago I came across an ingenious idea for limiting motor
travel without a mechanical switch. I wont bore you with the details, but you have a sense resistor
and a simple op-amp feedback loop. At the travel limit, the system meets resistance and the
motor begins to stall. The current rises and the electronics turns it off. Simple-s.
Thanks clothier_bruce. Yes getting something actually completed is always a challenge, there is a
continual flow of new projects.
Choice of motor is a matter of matching speed and force requirements of the job with motor
capabilities and the available gearing. The motor I chose is performing well within its limits. I
agree that re-use of a cordless drill motor is interesting, and may be a good choice for this job. I
planned to build something similar using a cordless drill motor, but it has not hit the "today" list
yet. I suspect there are extra challenges to do with the mounting arrangements.
As for limit switches, "awful" or otherwise - I understand the principle of measuring the current
draw, which is proportional to motor torque, and using that to decide when the travel is at the
end. However this method does not allow for operation of multiple actuators in a daisy chain from
the same controller, which can be done with the limit switches. I covered this in the Instructable
and it was one of my requirements. If your requirement does not include the daisy chain
capability, then you have the choice of limit switches or current sensing. It becomes a question of
where you want the extra complexity.
Thanks again for your comment. Keith
Great,
But... how do you prevent the rotation of the innertube (pushrod) while the motor is running.
Greetz
Treepox
Good question Treepox. When the actuator is installed and the push arm is connected to
something (in my case, a vent window in my greenhouse), that will prevent it from rotating.
I have assumed that this would always apply.
very very nifty. Considering that actuators can be kinda costly this is a great idea. Indeed as
someone else commented it is a wormwheel design. Maybe not as fast as a true linear actuator,
but it will get the job done
Thank you very much for this comment. You reminded me of something I left out. I have now
added a new step, Performance, covering the retract and extend times with and without a load.
I think this is actually a "true linear actuator", but I think you mean a commercially made one. My
guess is that the commercial models also use a screw mechanism, although it is possible some
of them may use a rack and pinion instead.
The speed of operation is a function of the motor power and the various gearings in the setup.
You can get whatever speed of operation you need, by adjusting these factors.
and indeed, my choice of words was bad. 'true' as in commercial ones

There are commercial ones with a screw mechanism and then there are commercial ones with a
coil and magnet. The latter are rather fast and cannot be easily controlled to go, say halfway.
DIY Linear Actuator: Page 15
i agree that the wormwheel is more felxible. Not only gearboxes but also PWM, or, when using a
stepper, the stepmode, make for precise control.
I am definitely going to make one, the principle wasnt new to me, but your implementation gave
me some new ideas about material to use. Mine will be a smaller scale, probably with a 3mm
threaded rod and smaller motor. It wont need to hold much of a load
I always like ingenuity. And I like reusing things around the shop as well. Nice project. Any time
you are looking for a way to make such a thing and need it to hold a lot of force without any
feedback on the motor or gear train, use a screw thread and a gear. The screw will turn the gear
and anything attached to the gear can't feedback force on the screw. Just an idea. Good project.
I think what you just described is a worm and worm gear setup, which if so is true. A worm gear
system is the only design that, as it ages, will actually "wear in" instead of "wearing out" like other
designs, actually performing better with time. Technically speaking, a single lead Acme thread is
designated as self locking power transmission design, such that any applied compressible force
will not cause reverse rotation. I think the author's project uses a common thread single lead
screw plus gearing so the holding power would be huge I suspect.
Back in the day I used to work with electrically driven linear actuators used in medical and dental
chairs and enjoyed every minute of that. ☺
Brilliant! And so well done, too. Beyond my experience level so I learned a lot.

Thank you. I learned quite a few things by doing this project. Don't be afraid to have a go!

Nice !!!!

Thank you.

Finally, a great use for an old cordless drill motor assembly: added bonus, a clutch setting to cope
with unanticipated stoppage without damage to the drive train. ☺
Great comment, BeachsideHank. I think the practicalities may need some looking into, but in
principle a linear actuator would be a really good use for an old cordless drill beyond its use-by
date, possibly because of battery failure.

DIY Linear Actuator: Page 16