WIRING ARDUINO UNO TO LINEAR ACTUATOR AND SAMPLE PAD SET

Projects General Guidance
1

Hello everyone,

I am fairly new to the Arduino scene and I am currently struggling with a project I am currently working on and would really appreciate some help.

I would like to control a linear actuator with a MIDI sample pad set so that low-frequency sound equals counter current, high-frequency sound equals current, and mid-frequency sound equal no current.

I have completed the first step, which is testing the linear actuator with a switch and a relay and it worked perfectly. However, I am now trying to replace the switch with my Arduino Uno and would like some insight on how I should wire it in order to achieve what I'd like to achieve.

I am using a Progressive Automation 12V 4 Inch Stroke Linear Actuator, an MPC 0462 Relay and an Akai Professional MPD218 MIDI Drum Pad Controller that's connected to Ableton Live 9

Looking forward to hearing back from you guys

Cheers!

2

I think the next problem you need to address is the limited power from the Arduino outputs. The Arduino cannot drive that relay directly. You need a transistor (or two) to drive the relay. If you're not handy with soldering your own circuits then that drives you to a relay board just to drive the relay that came with the actuator.

At that point, you should switch to a MOSFET motor driver board and skip the relays altogether. Then you get nice speed control as well.