Customizing Micro Actuators: Stroke Length, Force, and Housing
I’m trying to figure out how much customization really matters when picking a micro actuator. I’m working on a tiny sliding panel for a hobby project, and the standard stroke lengths always seem a bit off — either too short or longer than I need, which makes the whole thing bulkier than it should be. I’m also not sure how much force margin I should leave, since the load is super light but I don’t want the actuator struggling. Has anyone played around with getting different housings or adjusted strokes?
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I’ve had to tweak a few builds where the default specs just didn’t match the space I had, so I get the frustration. Sometimes bumping up the force rating a little helps with long-term wear, even if the load is tiny. As for housings, I’ve swapped between lighter and more solid styles depending on whether the actuator was exposed. If you want to compare different stroke lengths and force options side by side, small linear actuator https://www.progressiveautomations.com/pages/micro-linear-actuators has a decent layout that helped me pick what fit without guessing. Customizing a bit up front usually saves headaches later.