I'm a bit out of my usual line of work here - for a project I need a motor that can move a small platform (1 axis for now) quickly between different positions.
So I'm looking for a motor, ideally dc I guess and controlled by an arduino, that
is not too powerful (roughly 100N range)
moves quickly back and forth (estimated max 0.5m/s or 1.5f/s) - not necessarily too accurate
Max movement range maybe 0.25m / 1 foot.
maybe able to control speed as well (voltage?)
Would I need a stepping motor or linear motor or ...?
Obviously bound by a budget (that I don't know yet as I will have to get an idea first and then apply for funding).
Hi there and thanks a lot for your replies!
(Including the one to my accidental double post, sorry)
Regarding the force:
I estimated the Force needed to ~100N, but I could probably work with either less or more. I originally thought of a linear motor (hence the Newton), but as glittering_owlet mentioned in my double post, that doesn't help with a rotary stepper...
I estimate the mass less than 5kg, but obviously sudden position changes come with some acceleration, probably more force needed for that than friction.
Connection details I'm happy to figure out depending on the suggested motor (obviously trying to avoid off-center force), as this is my main problem atm and it is probably easier making changes to a connection than finding a good motor.
Basically I'm just starting this and while I'm reasonably skilled with DIY in general, I never looked too much into motors...
Get your mechanicals working with a torque wrench and directly measure what is needed. THEN you can size the motor and drive. Better to gear down a small, fast motor than to try and get near-stall speed directly from a big motor.
500mm/s is rather fast for a stepper/leadscrew combination - a CNC machine with a 5mm ballscrew would more typically be running at up to a meter/minute.
You can buy a lot of types of linear actuator on Amazon - just search on that term. These combine a leadscrew and a geared motor and are available with different movement ranges. Could be controlled easily using e.g. an H-bridge from Arduino. You will need some position feedback, could be as simple as limit switches or might use a linear pot (or rotary with wrapped cord) to get variable positioning.
