Driving a voicecoil actuator for resonance testing of structures

Projects General Guidance
1

I'm a college student and am currently working on a project where we will be using a voicecoil actuator which I've just ordered (VM3334-180) to impact structures for experimental modal testing. The impact force will be measured by a loadcell which we will attach to the voicecoil.

DATASHEET VM3334

Our lecturer proposed to use an Arduino to drive our voicecoil however I have never used an Arduino so it should be quite the learning curve. To drive our coil we need to have a variable sine and/or squarewave signal. This signal has to be variable so we can change the amplitude and frequency to alter the impact times and forces if necessary.

The problem I think we will be facing is that the VM3334-180 needs a 12V supply and pulls 0.768A in the lower range of our impact forces. I think it would be safe to assume a factor of 2 to allow for stronger impacts. So that would give us around 12V/1.5A or a power of 18W. I'm not sure if Arduinos can supply this but I'm doubtful they can.

I was wondering if this is feasible and if it is what Arduino / other modules / parts we will be needing.
If it isn't feasible I was wondering if any of you had a better solution for my problem.

Thanks alot in advance for putting your time and effort in helping me out.

2

around 12V/1.5A or a power of 18W. I'm not sure if Arduinos can supply this

No Arduino can supply that much current, but any Arduino can control a logic level MOSFET that can supply that much current.

Edit: Unless you want to drive the VC with AC, that would require different hardware.

3

groundFungus:
No Arduino can supply that much current, but any Arduino can control a logic level MOSFET that can supply that much current.

Edit: Unless you want to drive the VC with AC, that would require different hardware.

Thanks for your answer

However as we want the voicecoil to go out, hit the object once double taps will result in bad data and then retract as fast as possible I think it's best to use AC. Correct me if I am wrong what hardware would you suggest using in this case ?
I think one of the things of most importance is supplying the voicecoil with a variable sinewave signal so we have the possibility to adjust the impact force and impact bandwidth

4

You will need a suitable AC amplifier (driver) for the voice coil. Contact the manufacturer for recommendations. Also see the note in the data sheet, that for maximum power, the actuator has to be mounted on a massive heat sink, and it will get hot enough to boil water.

The Arduino cannot directly generate AC voltages, so you will need a bipolar DAC and power supply.

For a fully controllable AC signal, some fairly sophisticated software is required. Google "Arduino DDS" for some ideas.