hi i'm new to this forum and have been going over an idea for sometime and thought maybe you could help me so here it is . i have a triple screen display and i am in the process of building a new desk but when i was in a drunken mess i came up with an idea and want to try it out basically i want to attach a linear actuator (a big electric car ariel ) to a unit housing my screens and on power up the screens come out of the desk upward and on shut down they go back down does anyone have any idea if its possible as i think it would look very nice if it could be done
thanks at least i know its possible and if you remember where you saw it i would be extremely greatfull
It was in a computer magazine I had. These people put a computer in an organ, and the screens came up vertically when the PC was turned on. There was a video, too, but it was on a disk which I don't think I have any more.
never seen it, never heard of it but a way i see to do it: Use motor and gears to raise a frame with the monitors on it? motor controlled by 2 switchs (push to break) and a relay (double throw double pole). Relay connected to 12v from pc, ie when pc turns on the relay connects, when pc turns off, another set of contacts is made. One switch is mounted at the top of the frame, so when the ram is raised to a preconfigured height it cuts the power to the pump. The second switch is mounted at the bottom to stop the pump when it goes down to the bottom. Relay would need to be able to reverse or swap the power to the motor, so that when power is applied, it will connect terminal a from the motor to +, and terminal b from the motor to -. When comp is turned off, terminal a from motor is connected to - and terminal b is connected to +. This should allow the motor to raise and lower the frame. Would prob need a heavy duty motor for it though!
when you say motors and gears im feeling a bit daft now becoause i got the idea but very little knowhow so im not sure what you think i should fit you see to me a linear actuator is thearetically a motor isnt it and they can be bought in differant sizes to handle weight from the smallest say the humble car arial so the ones that lift tv screens in flashy gits houses lol . when i though of this my assumption was that i could just attach the 12v supply to either the psu or the power switch and this would handle the upward motion and as i am using a linear actuator is has its own cut of point settable i think when it came to the downward motion this is the hard part to me if we go back to the electric aeriel it goes down when the ignition turns off this is done i think because its wired to the live permanantly but im not sure if this could be done with a psu or whether it would be recognized like it is in a car
Not sure if a car ariel motor would cut it. I would try and get an electric window motor or something.
no i wont use a car aeriel it was just my way of explaining you can buy a stronger version but basically its a car aeriel , a linear actuator is a motor with a push rod see where im coming from with the aeriel thing now you see em a lot on things like pimp my ride they use em to put rear deck lids up on trucks
arial motor as far as i know, it has its - and + already. It waits for a signal from the head unit to activate, but prob has circuitry built in to raise and lower and how far/how long to keep the motor on. Maybe reversing the polarity of the motor will let you do this. With a simple dc motor if you switch the - and + around it goes in reverse... The actuator mite have something similar? or look for one that would allow the perminant feed, with a signal wire as it is with car arieals. The signal would then be connected to your psu. When the psu kicks on, it sends the signal to actuator to raise, when signal disappears it lowers the frame. Effectivly you need a controller, the brief description of a circuit would work with some tweeking and testing.
my wifes here laughing saying grow up but to be honest i think if this did work and raised and lowered real slow it would look really good i think what i,ll do is buy a cheap aerial and wire it to an old psu power it up and down and see what happens to the aeriel that way i dont blow up my computer and i dont buy all the expensive stuff to do it
one question i didnt ask was the issue with voltage as they can be bought in varying voltages such as 12v / 24 v and also air supplied would i have any issues with any of these
well for the psu u are lookin at 12v. Check the wiring manual carefully for the aerial before you wire it up. Like i said from my understanding you need +12 and 0v perminant and the signal (no idea abuot voltage) of whatever it requires... And your wife- tell her its space saving coz when your not usin the pc you can use the desk space
well i've done a bit of searching and i've come up with a computer in a car so my thoughts are if i can connect a pc to a car then i should be able to connect a 12 v linear actuator to a psu so i,ll give it a try on an old one and see if i can blow the house up lol
I remember I had an aerial unit from a Toyota Land Cruiser. That thing was insanely strong!!! The motor as is, is strong, but when it was assembled, it involved a worm gear and was virtually unstoppable! Just feel like sharing: The most favourite motor I have is a 24VAC motor. I can't remember the specs out my head, but I think it has a top speed of 6 500RPM or was it 6.5A current draw! I actually can't remember, BUT I LOVE IT! Thought I'd share, Sputnik
Well, the electronics should be easy, its just mounting the linear actuator. I would take off the base of the lcd, cut that shape hole in the desk, and then possiblystick a thin bit of the desk that you cut out onto the top of the lcd, so it appears hidden.
If you got a moter or think you got a motor that will work then go for it! if you got a electronic copy of manual would it be possible to send it to me or point me to it?
if you got the know how on the down on shut down please tell power up should be easy enough the desk im building has a section routed out kinda like this \____/ from above the 3 screens are fitted in a cabinet with a top that fits flush with the desk top so when they are down pretty much nothin shows and thanks to the guy with the toyota aerial idea i dont think it would hold up but ive been looking at a supplier of linear motors for plasma screens they have speed control height adjustment and can run at 12/24 v and i think this will probably do the job more than enough
you could maybe use 2x aerial motor assemblies? but for whatever you end up using; If you shutdown your computer like i do (press the power button and the computer does the normal save settings n stuff) you could wire a circuit into that so that when you press the power button to shutdown it turns a relay on to wind the motors/actuators back down. Like make up a circuit so that a momentary switch press both starts the shutdown sequence and charges a capacitor in a seperate circuit to hold the relay closed for the required amount of time (would have to time it and work out capacitor and resisitor values) thing to remember that linear actuators guzzle current, as do a lot of motors so it may be a good idea to run it from a second power supply, maybe a transformer or a wall wart thingy. Have it set to raise the screens up when power is given to a molex plug when the computer is starting up, and when power is lost at shutdown, it reverses the actuators and pulls the screens back down. would be a simple relay circuit. well thats my view on a possible solution
One other thing to note is if you get a regular linear actuator, they are usually quite strong, If your assembly get's caught up some how, you very well maybe left with pieces. Tread carefully.
thanks for the info i'll keep that in mind when i try this out , but if you can give me input on this it will help . i am planning on placing the actuator in the centre directly underneath i was thinking of placing it in a tube so nothing can interfere with it ie:rubbish falling behind the desk i have also heard i can regulate these so they lift slower do you know anything about this that would help basically anything i can learn about them will help me
