OMFG..................

if we were all english experts we would probably not be doing electronics which mostly uses colors and symbols.

ignant
ig * nant

definition- a word taken from bubbas dictionary of common everyday words. meaning is to be stoopid or or a little off ur rocker.

example - people who hijack an intersting thread about a very useful application of a product in our field, to start a stoopid english 101 class are just ignant.


lmao, back on topic now.

i agree that the fishmans stuff may be high priced, but it works, every time and lasts a very log time. as one of my clients said "the money is not as important as removing the aggrevation factor". also remember that you really do need to plan ahead. go three inches (approx) from the edge of the door on the inside. this will take a slightly longer throw on your actuator but it will allow you to get a smoother "closing operation " . if this is your first ever actuator install , it will be a fun ride. keep us in the loop , lol.

good luck
steven

I apologize for my poor spelling. I was playing an online poker tournament while trying to post at the same time. My ommission of a c is both thoughtless and disrespectful. Therefore any knowledge I have on this subject should be disregarded because of my poor spelling.

Now back on subject. If you can answer these questions for me I can help you design this thing.

I am going to assume you will be using one of the actuators from the link you posted, with built in limit switches.

1. What is the purpose of having this door motorized?

2. How much space do you have to mount the actuator? Do you have room for the actuator to move from side to side?(pics of the cabinet would be helpful)

3. Do you only have one 12v trigger? Is it configurable? The choices would be pulsed, latched, or timed. What is the amperage output of your trigger?

4. What is your budget for this project? These things can get out of control depending on your desired end result. #1 should answer this question for us.

If this is your first motorization project, your in for a learning experience. However, with a little time you can learn to do some really trick things with it. Get me this info and we can move on to the next step. I know its alot of questions but planning this thing out well in the begining will save you tons of time in the end.

Edit: Is this just a standard cabinet door? I have quite a few actuators here, so I could mock up something real quick and post a video if that helps.

1 The purpose is to open the door of a cabinet that has a subwoofer in it so it doesn't reverberate.  The picture isn't of the actual subwoofer that is going in it.  I have a new 15 inch front firing Velodyne that is replacing the one in the picture.

2.  I should have an couple of inches where ever I need it as long as i move the sub to the other side.

3.  No I have 4 - specifications from Pronto RFX9600 manual 

You guys crack me up. Yes, I dropped that bomb irregardless of your feelings about it.

If you see a glaring error on a line all by itself in one of my posts, rest assured that all that's missing is a bunch of red and yellow flashing arrows pointing at it so you won't miss it. Maybe 39 will provide me with a gif into which I can insert a word for future uses like this one.

A college girlfriend of mine, an English major, had a dream just before finals once. In it, God had assembled all of the college teachers in the world before him and they were standing on gently rolling hills,* attending to the statements of God.

God said "Irregardless" and all the English Teachers went straight to Hell. So, yeah, I've been up on that topic since 1970.


*Oddly, those hills sorta looked (in my imagination) like the Windows screen.

oohhhh..... Ernie You gonna let him call you sumbthin like ignant...?

Okay, this should be fairly easy actually. I apologize but Im not really familiar with the pronto remotes, we use rti and urc.

When you program your 12v triggers, can you set them to pulse(quick 12v output then goes dead), latched(maintains 12v until second command to release), or timed(12v output for selected time, then goes dead)?

This will determine if you will need a seperate actuator control or not.

This is a good project to start with. It will be fairly easy to accomplish without a ton of $$$. Let me know on the triggers and then we will be good to go. (I get excited about these projects even if there not mine!)

I have three options - open, close and toggle

Why wouldn't you just make this easy by removing the solid panel from the door and replace it with a cloth grill frame insert? Simpler is always better.

JP

wasnt talking to ernie, was talking more to you and the other hijacker, but was all done in fun anyway so guess it doesnt really matter.

:)
steven

lol... I know you weren't. Maybe you haven't been involved in enough threads with Ernie to get the redirect.

Anyway, to be on topic. While I don't have any experience with such small scale linear actuators. I have to wonder if this kind of application is worth blowing the bank on some overpriced signature series. The physical load on this thing is going to be absolutely tiny, and it may cycle, what...?....at most 6 times a day.

I'm not saying go cheap on the hope nothing goes wrong, but this IMHO doesn't require something all that hardcore in durability/price.

just my .02

Those are words from the wise

Yeah, but geeky is a hell of a lot more fun.

Making the door move is simple. Making the door close with a natural movement however is where a little more curriculum is needed. The mechanics where the actuator meets the door, is where you will achieve this. Along with the door hinge itself. They make a cabinet door hinge that is starting to get more and more popular, as some of you already know. It has built in tiny air piston that allows the door to shut nice and slow, and soft. Some can be adjusted.

If it were me, I would make a fastener that allows play in the connection between a rod and the door. The rod being the one connecting to the actuator. Setting the actuator back from the door X amount of inches. The play will let the door free fall, allowing the hinge to slowly shut the door. On the hinge side, were talking less than a half an inch.

Yet again, the depletion of the center of the door, replaced by grill cloth, would look nice, and save a ton of work, and act more functional. In reality, No client wants to see a cabinet door open while using the system.

My 2 pesos

Well I guess Audioslayve and I are going to disagree on pretty much all points of this thing. Going with an actuator that has a slower close rate then 2" sec. will give you a smooth close almost identical to the hinges, and wont require replacing hinges, or custom fab of any mounting.

However, I do have to agree that a grill in the center of the cabinet would be my choice. Unless this is your house and you wanted to try your hand at motorization. (again this one would be fairly easy, so not a bad place to start.)

I have a complete parts list and wiring layout for you, if you want to go ahead with this project, I just dont want to spend the next 20mins typing if you dont need it. Just say the word...

i just read the entire thread.

I'd try to talk the client into removing the center of the door and putting in a grille cloth, as suggested twice.

When someone asked "why do you want to open the door," I realized I had done it again -- tried to ask an intriguing question without first determining if the thing to be done was silly or not. A lot of times here we get questions about the details of doing something that might not be the best choice, and it's always worth running that detail to ground before moving on to describe how to do it.

I see objections to using the motor/opener scenario as described.

1) After three times, it's gonna look dumb, not cool, to have to open and close those doors every time the system goes on.
2) When, not if, it goes the littlest bit out of adjustment, dumb will turn to irritating and the client will think he or you were dumb to do it that way.
3)Especially if it makes noise.
4) When it's open and somebody walks by where the door is sticking out, you'll have your opportunity to make a door with a grille cloth in it because the door will be broken. Perhaps the leg, too, depending on angle and agility.
5)The door has European hinges. Actuators work great, but if (when) those hinges get loose, the actuator will loosen them more rapidly. Also, any time the hinges need adjustment, the actuator will need adjustment. I've seen lots of passable out of adjustment Euro hinges, but they won't be passable on a door moved by a motor.

It's my opinion that Euro hinges are made solely for the convenience of cabinetmakers, and that cabinetusers get nothing out of having them. Therefore changing away from them is always an option. After all, they were sold to the cabinetmakers as adjustable and easy to install, not to the client for any reason at all.

The cabinetmaker builds it, installs it, then walks away. We are left for years dealing with slight misalignments that occurred after the cabinets were paid for. But here we're dealing with hinges that are going to get pushed on and pulled on differently from their design. Bad idea.

A great advantage of the Euro hinge is that its motion is not simple -- it moves out, it moves sideways, it lets the door swing totally clear of the opening (except, of course, for the more than one inch still stolen by the hinge). If you want that kind of motion without having to have Euro hinges with their three points of adjustment (points of loosening and falling off), try this or others like it: [Link: hardwaresource.com]



A hinge similar to this is available at Home Despot in my neck of the weirds. It's a bitch to install because you have to mock it up and see how it behaves, but the first ones I put in were opened and closed daily for more than ten years -- three hinges on a ten pound door -- with no need for adjustment at all.

That would survive motor actuation very nicely.