Collaborate Disseminate
Most electromagnetic actuators are rotating motors, or some variation on the theme, like servos. However, it’s possible to do linear actuation with electomagnetics, too. [Adrian Perez] demonstrates this with Linette, …read more Continue reading Electromagnetic Actuator Mimics Muscle
Hobby servos are great, but they’re in many ways not ideal for robotic applications. The good news is that [Adam] brings the latest version of his ServoProject, providing off-the-shelf servos …read more Continue reading Vastly Improved Servo Control, Now Without Motor Surgery
We love [Aaed Musa]’s TOPS (Traverser of Planar Surfaces) which is a robot dog with custom-made actuators. The DIY is very strong with this project, and the 3D-printed parts alone …read more Continue reading TOPS, the DIY Robot Dog, Has Great Moves
With the popularity of robot dogs, many people have gotten on the bandwagon and tried building DIY versions. Most of them end up attaching a gearbox to an off-the-shelf brushless …read more Continue reading Compact Cycloidal Drive Lives Inside This Custom Brushless Motor
Pneumatic actuators can be powerful and fast, making them very useful for all kinds of mechanical jobs. [Michael Rechtin] decided that while he could buy them off-the-shelf, he preferred to …read more Continue reading DIY Pneumatic Actuator Does Great In Action
[Aaed Musa] has built a variety of robots over the years, but found off-the-shelf servos to be underwhelming for his work. Thus, he set out to build a better actuator …read more Continue reading DIY Robotic Actuator Built For Walking Robots
Inflatable actuators that change shape based on injected pressure can be strong, but their big limitation is that they always deform in the same way. But by taking structural inspiration …read more Continue reading Complex Movements From Simple Inflatables, Thanks to Physics
We end up covering a lot of space topics here on Hackaday, not because we’re huge space nerds — spoiler alert: we are — but because when you’ve got an …read more Continue reading Working Model Reveals Amazing Engineering of Webb’s Mirror Actuators
When you need to record the angle of something rotating, whether it’s a knob or a joint in a robotic arm, absolute rotary encoders are almost always the way to …read more Continue reading 3D Printed Absolute Encoder is Absolutely Wonderful
Brushless motors can offer impressive torque-to-size ratios, and when combined with complex drive control and sensor feedback, exciting things become possible that expand the usual ideas of what motors can accomplish. For example, to use a DC motor in a robot leg, one might expect to need a gearbox, a …read more
Continue reading How To Improve a Smart Motor? Make It Bigger!