Drag racing, pulling, mud runs, and well fun at the very least.
We have one cummins engine in an 01 dodge and a re-powered 95 Chevrolet with an older cummins. both engines are using the Bosch P-7100 injection pump.
I have found where i am going to get my linear actuator and only need to get some final numbers on my requirements. Now i am down to ordering parts and seeing what i can blow up!
"this will be going on a modified cummins. currently we are dealing with 60+ psi boost on a single charger with plans of compound twins. the end result will be a plug and play fuel control system that we can offer the 12 valve cummins community without breaking their bank."
This will need pics and video
we can hardly wait
12 valve cummins
Last night this was bugging me... 
6 Cylinder with 2 valves per cylinder = OldSkool??
4 Cylinder with 3 Valves per cylinder? 2 Intakes?? Hmmm..
3 Cylinder with 4 valves per cylinder ?? Not Likely 
Fuel control is very close to my current project. I am in the process of attaching two linear actuators for marine engine upgrades. one throttle, second is gear. demand value is input from CAN bus. Older engines can be upgraded by such actuators to behave like recent engine designs, which are controlled only by CAN bus set values.
I made a lot of research for actuators, which fit the criteria and can say the linear actuators you posted are not suitable for anything close to your needs. You should not underestimate the precision you need for repetitive results. With a flummy drive like those you will have a headache to determine your position and it will require quite a job to get a closed loop position regulation with satisfactory results.
our force requirements are higher for the gearbox, we want 200N @ 100mm/sec travel speed to have a true proportional movement.
And of course it need to be linear without lots of mechanical gizmos.
I found these are definetly perfect: Nanotec - Precise and Reliable Motion Control Solutions it has only 40N but is really compact. It is not flummy, and the stepper allows you to have a repetitive positioning without a closed loop regulation.
mechanically I added a control cable which is common in marine applications they allow gap free push-pull movement and is easily attached in line to the linear spindle, the other end of the rod is mounted to the throttle lever by a standard junction.
The connection of the spindle and that rod is the only mechanical add on you need with this setup.
I of course have enclosed the whole mechanics in a robust waterproof box.
it is a very strong stepper for the size, but gives a linear move at surprising high speed, low gap and perfect repetition if you do not loose steps by blocked route. all you need is a zero position sensor, so you need your position at startup. I use a contactless sensor (Hall switch) to have absolutely no moving parts or stuff which can get defect. it is mechanically also much simpler to mount than any other mechanical switch, and it has de-facto unlimited lifespan.
a tiny magnet at the end of the spindle will trigger the hall switch, tell the digital input when the zero position is reached.
the stepper can be controlled by the arudino library, the only thing you need is a power H-bridge with some diodes to drive the 1Amp bipolar (it is a 4 wire motor).
I am pretty happy about the outcome so far with this setup, and add a professional stepper driver (http://www.onsemi.com/pub_link/Collateral/AMIS-30542-D.PDF) to it which hopefully can tell me lost steps and mechanical blockings to get ultimate robust application.
all in all this is a very professional setup by simple tools, I am impressed about the simplicity prototyping works in the arudino world.
The linear axis is below $100, and compared with the power and precision I could not find anything close to that.
well, the window movers are cheaper - but a waste of time. the servos from model airplanes are better, but mechanically not a robust thing as well I would fear the "mechanical setup".
attaching two linear actuators for marine engine upgrades. one throttle, second is gear.
Very interesting, as I have built two inboard power boats and am thinking about another next year.
recent engine designs, which are controlled only by CAN bus
Is this the proprietary NEMA2000 or more open source??
terryking, you hit the point. That is what I currently hack into. It is not open standards at all. I have access to the J1939 protocol, since I am an SAE member I know the PGN formats on non-road engines. This means it is not closed, but still far away from open source.
To my pain NMEA guys added a bunch new PGNs for nautical means, but unfortunately added duplicates for engine data even.
But technically I dont need NMEA for this exact setup all PGNs are covered by the basic SAE J1939 protocol, just I would like to display the data on my Navigation system (Simrad NSS) too, and all the nautical stuff speaks NMEA2000 only.
the NMEA guys do a great job for creating a well used standard, but charge a hell for that docs. I found out I dont need all, only the Appendix B, which is less than the whole standard, but still $450 + membership fee. Maybe I have to buy it later if I am tired of hacking the protocol, but this document would cost more than the whole project:)
I am going to apply the system on my catamaran, it has two engines and I have standard old fashioned mechanical diesel engines in there. But I have 3 helm stations. So, thats how I can achieve it all. helm control by small electronic levers with a cool precision.
Teleflex have such an engine upgrade system, but they want almost $10k for two engines. three would be $12k, thats not worth the thing for a diesel engine with a $2000 price tag.
I will stay below $1k bill of material for two engines and think my actuator solution is superior to their design in all performance parameters. What is left is maturity and long term stability results.
I want to contribute the project details to this community, once I find out how I do this and which parts can be. an issue is the copyright stuff. Probably I can publish only fractions, but for sure the sketches would be a start -just - I dont have any:)
Apologies for bringing this back from the dead, but has there been any progress on this project?