Ill be honest I know next to nothing about electronics and micro controllers so please be gentle.
Im wanting to control the movement of a linear actuator from a current reading on a 3phase motor (ranging from 1.5kW to 3.0kW). Would an Arduino board be suitable for this application?
Basically attached to the 3 phase motor is a 450mm diameter brush and this is suspended on a pivoting assembly the brush follows a profile of a step (to clean it) as the brush is pushed out and load is increased the current draw increases. Would it be possible for an Arduino board to be programmed to “chase” a set current (adjusted via a potentiometer) using a linear actuator to move the brush in and out following the profile of the steps to control the load on the brush.
at first thought, the logic and control would need to be well planned.
as the device extends the power increases.
if you increase extension when power increases, you will quickly extend the arm and have the motor at full power.
the feedback and control are both moving to the same point. typically, one regulates something as one of the parameters changes.
mechanically, it could be done. since you are looking at power, google CT or Current Transformer and arduino. look for a split donut. that way you can place it on an existing wire.
there is a site that already has a way to do this. the CT is non-contact so you do not need to touch the actual mains voltage.
on principal, you can get feedback from the motor.
you can control an arm of some sort.