HACKADAY prize ENTRY: 3D printed LINEAR ACTUATOR DOES 2KG+
The rabbit hole of features and clever hacks in [chiprobot]’s NEMA17 3D printed Linear Actuator is pretty deep. Not only can it lift 2kg+ of mass easily, it is mostly 3D printed, and uses commonplace hardware like a NEMA 17 stepper motor and a RAMPS board for motion control.
The main 3D printed leadscrew uses a plug-and-socket design so that the assembly can be extended easily to any length desired without needing to print the leadscrew as a single piece. The tip of the actuator even integrates a force sensor made from conductive foam, which changes resistance as it is compressed, allowing the actuator some degree of feedback. The force sensor is made from a 3M foam earplug which has been saturated with a conductive ink. [chiprobot] doesn’t go into many details about his specific method, but using conductive foam as a force sensor is a fairly well-known and effective hack. To top it all off, [chiprobot] added a web GUI served over WiFi with an ESP32. watch the whole thing in action in the video embedded below.
[chiprobot] is no stranger to diy linear actuators, you can see his gearmotor version and stepper version on Thingiverse. He’s certainly stepped it up in terms of power and size with this Hackaday prize Entry.
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