Fast Tracks

What do you guys think about these for moving the points on turnouts.

http://www.firgelli.com/products.htm

I sent an email and they said $10 when bought in quantity. I haven't got one to play with yet. 3-5Vdc to operate them. They may work directly with DCC systems.

Might be interesting to try out. Would have to determine if the stroke length is too much, or if it would just hold the pressure somewhere between min and max stroke, to keep pressure on the points, w/o shutting down. A method of attching the point actuating wire would have to be devised, shouldn't be too difficult. Could possibly fit into smaller spaces than other t/o actuators.

dan,
can't seem to pull up the site...
is there an alternate link?

It works for me in internet explorer. Try these.

http://www.firgelli.com/index.htm

http://www.firgelli.com/

http://www.machinedesign.com/ASP/viewSe ... te&catId=0

dan,
thx.
actually the link the your opening post now works too.
so i guess their site must have been down or something
anyways, this looks rather interesting.
and at $10 a pop, its awfully tempting.
could be valuable in certain situations.
when you say "in quantity"....how many are we talking about?

littletree...
from the last link that dan posted:
the actuation stroke is 6.5mm or 9.5mm for model ls-6, and ls-9 respectively.
the force ratings are 4N for the ls-6, and 7.2N for the ls-9
will have to convert this to see how usable it is for mrr'ing
but it looks very promising
does anyone know how much force/torque a tortoise puts out?

They haven't specified a quantity yet, but I'm thinking they mean large numbers like for a new toy product. They said that the torque can be lowered by using a lower voltage or a PWM signal, speed is also reduced.

I don't know where this went eventually, but I noticed that these things draw a LOT more power than a Tortoise, which stalls at 30MA, compared to 210MA for the small actuator. Then there's the limit switch they show, but don't explain how to set. At least the limit switch shuts them off, so they're not drawing a fifth of an amp all the time.

Jim

As I read their data sheet, the 210 MA current is the operating traversing current. Their limit switch appears to shut off current when either the travel limit occurs or the torque obstruction exceeds the design force.

I think getting a few to play with would be the real answer to checking them out. Designing and producing some linkage set ups for actual point acutation would be nice to have as a kit set up as well.

I think they do show promise pending the quanity breakpoint for reasonable costs.

_________________
-ed mccamey-
COSLAR RR - http://www.coslar.us/
NMRA Standards and Conformance Department
PROTO & FINE Scale Coordinator
I estimate I have about 5 pounds of coupler springs somewhere in the vicinity of my workbench.

I'd be a little squeamish about using them without some sort of cushion in the linkage. If the torque limit is too high the turnout will suffer damage. If the run limit isn't exactly right, since it's a jackscrew with a fixed length of run, it'll run either long or short. That's one of the reasons I like Tortoises. "Close" works fine. A just stiff enough wire will flex if the Tortoise runs too far. No limit switch or torque limiter needed (although that's what the movable fulcrum on the Tortoise is for). Pick the correct stiffness of wire and you're good to go. If these critters are easy to adjust in the torque limit area, then they might well be useful. If they're a pain or require special $$ equipment then I'd stick with the Torts unless you could kludge up a linkage which duplicates the Tortoise to throwbar wire.

The folks at Firgelli were going to send me some samples way back in April. I haven't heard anything from them since contacting them after first reading this initial post.

I received this email update from Firgelli today.

Hello Danny,

Thanks for your ongoing interest in Firgelli's unique new line of miniature linear actuators. These new actuators have generated a lot of excitement among both hobbyists and product OEMs, and have been lauded by publications like Machine Design, Circuit Cellar and Servo. The diversity of actuator applications in development continues to astonish and impress us here at Firgelli. A lot of people have been waiting patiently to get their hands on a sample actuator, and we're pleased to be finally able to meet that demand. We also have a very cool new actuator model to announce.

PQ-12 shipping July 24
After months of manufacturing delays (we're sorry!), the PQ-12 actuator is now available for order. Credit card or PayPal orders can be placed directly at our web site. Both the high-speed and high-force versions will start shipping the week of July 24 - first ordered, first shipped. Please contact us at sales@firgelli.com for orders of more than 50 units.

Order from www.firgelli.com

Please note that power output of the production PQ-12 model has changed slightly from the original specification. The PQ-12s (high-speed) is rated as 15 mm/s at a force of 6 N. The PQ-12f (high-force) is rated as 7 mm/s at a force of 15 N.

Download revised PQ-12 dataheet (PDF)



Introducing the L-12... Micro actuator, massive flexibility
Firgelli's new L series of micro linear actuators combine the best features of our existing micro actuator families into a highly flexible, configurable and compact platform. The first member of the L series, the L-12, is an axial design like the LS series, but offers up greater power and a broad spectrum of available configurations:

-Stroke lengths of 10mm, 30mm, 50mm or 100mm
-Force/Speed combinations of 50N @ 2mm/s, 34N @ 3mm/s, 17N @ 6mm/s, 11N @ 9mm/s, 8N @ 12mm/s, 5N @ 20mm/s
-Interface options include RC servo (3-wire), industrial servo (6-wire), raw position potentiometer feedback (5-wire), automatic force threshold shut-off (3-wire) or dumb (2-wire).
-5V or 12V operation

The L-12 is scheduled to ship at the end of this year. It will be a superior alternative to the LS-9, for projects that can wait for the L-12. As soon as a complete L-12 data sheet is ready, it will be posted on our web site.

View the L-12 product web page



Thanks to our survey respondents
Almost 200 of you kindly offered your feedback on our actuator designs through our online survey. Congratulations to Chuck Strouse at Crystal Logic Inc., the winner of our iPod draw.



We look forward to working with you to bring your motion-enabled designs to fruition. Thanks again for your interest and support!

Sincerely,
The Team at Firgelli Technologies
sales@firgelli.com

$56 each!!!!!!!!! I think I'll stick with Tortoises!

Jim

I to have been trying to seek a small powerful and cheap point motor.

For many years we have been using old PMG relays with a arm soldered on: http://www2.nmit.vic.edu.au/~david/emrc ... motors.htm


thne for a while I entertained the idea of using old 3.5FDD as a basis. That didn't go anywhere.

Then I thought of using cheap central locking units for autos. Here they are around $30 AUD, you get 4, and they are quite powerful.

http://www2.nmit.vic.edu.au/~david/trai ... 9aug06.htm

Movie link to my first prototype in testing.

http://www2.nmit.vic.edu.au/~david/trai ... motor2.wmv

Regards,
David Head