A big takeaway from being in the actuator industry is when our customers get back to us with innovative ways they’ve used our products. We are always blown away by the projects we receive, and, in this article, we’ve highlighted a few DIY projects using our linear actuators that have caught our eye over the past few years.
The Space Saver - Japanese Style Hidden Table lift
Minimalism has become quite the fad when it comes to interior design. In other words, less is more!
If you live in a small space and are looking for space-saving ideas at home, or if you just love the idea of a hidden table to amuse your friends or guests, then we hope this DIY Japanese Style hidden Table Lift will give you just the inspiration you need for your next DIY project with linear actuators.
Components Used:
FLT-07 Lifting Column Set
Reach for the Stars – A Planetarium Projector
It’s the passion and interest of creators that really makes DIY projects of any kind ‘Stand Out’! One such DIY project is ‘The Planetarium Projector’ built by Free Fall Technologies. The project is a custom planetarium projector lift that utilizes our FLT-03-2-1 Lifting Column set, to raise itself up and down.
Components Used:
FLT-03-2-1 Lifting Column Set
The sky is the Limit – Build a Flight Simulator at home
Gone are the days where simulators were limited to training facilities and large companies. Hobbyists and DIY creators are using motion control components to create unique, interactive and cost-effective simulators. All this within the four walls of their home!
Equipped with multiple PA-03 and PA-04 Linear actuators, the flight simulator is built and designed by Anthony Escalante, one of our customers’ who’s taken DIY to a whole new level. Each actuator smoothly tilts, rotates, and turns the motion platform to simulate true flight. Accompanied by four power supplies (three PS-40-12s, one PS-13-12), the control system incorporates motor drivers, and microcontrollers packed away neatly into the control hub of the simulator.
Components Used:
PA-03, PA-04, Three PS-40-12s, One PS-13-12
Shoes in a Nice Box!
Love shoes but don’t like seeing them scattered around or cluttered by your front door? Or are your shoes just too nice to stash behind a door or in a shoe cabinet?
Well, with this DIY project, you can build your own storage box for your shoes. Cedric Townsend of ‘Nicebox’, built a customized storage box for Minnesota Vikings WR Charles Johnson. This was done using our actuators and control systems. The actuators are used to open the lid of the box and to further extend the lower drawer of the box.
Components Used:
Two PA-04s, PA-28, BRK-02
Sun, Follow Me! – Portable Solar Tracker
Last but not least, is our very own Portable Single-Axis Solar Tracker. With solar power growing as one of the most accessible and affordable types of renewable energy, we thought it would be interesting to show how energy can be trapped.
Components used:
PA-14
If you’ve worked or working on a project using our linear actuators, we would love to know more about it. Email us at sales@progressiveautomations.com.
Feel free to contact us for more information on all our products.