For more on controlling actuators with an arduino, check out our in depth Blog on controlling a linear actuator with an arduino
Controlling a Linear Actuator
I'm here today to show you how you can control a linear actuator with an Arduino microcontroller unlike a switch you're unable to directly interface your linear actuator with an Arduino you'll need to make use of an intermediate component to control the linear actuator one of those ways you can do this is we're using a relay and I'm going to show you how you in this setup I'm interfacing the Arduino with two single-pole double-throw relays these relays are used to connect and flip the polarity of the voltage to the linear actuator allowing us to extend retract and stop the linear actuator I've connected pin seven of the Arduino to the top relay and pin eight to the second relay and as these relays are active low I can energize the coils inside of each of these relays by setting the corresponding pin to low I'm also making use of two buttons as inputs to the Arduino.
One tells a Arduino to extend the linear actuator and the other one tells the Arduino to retract doing hands when we look into the code of the Arduino we see that when the button connected to pin two is pressed the signal to the Arduino goes low which tells you heard we know to set pin seven to low which energizes the coil in the top relay and causes the linear actuator to extend when the button connected to pin three is pressed again the signal to the Arduino goes low and tells the Arduino now to set pin eight to low which energizes the coil in the second relay causing the linear actuator to retract when neither button is pressed the other actuator doesn't move because neither coil is energized utilizing relays the Arduino can't control a linear actuator with various types of inputs and allows for greater automation then compared to a simple switch and for all your automation needs you can check out all these products and much more at forget Auto calm
