Discussion on New Range of DC linear Actuators

[dozerbuilder]

I found this today after searching for an alternative to my $500 set of 7 x Firgelli L-16-s's of which I currently have 3 in bits trying make sense of them - the broken PCB wires, skipping screw drives etc etc the list goes on and Firgelli have long lost interest in me. The Firgelli actuators would be fine for a Bruder D11 RC modify with a plastic blade, but they certainly have failed miserably on my dozer build which has a 10lb lift requirement on the blade. Anyway just like Letourneau, we'll keep making the failures stronger until they no longer fail. Moving on, here's the link. http://dclinearactuators.com/

Seems they are a local outfit in Washington and they cost US$65.00. If you scroll down the home page, download the 2016 pdf and it has all the specs and dims.

So perhaps we can assess these specs and have a tech discussion here about them.

Added: And I had to add this off their site:You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete ― R. Buckminster Fuller

Exactly what I'm doing, fighting the existing reality. Off the co-working space today to remove the PCB boards (thanks cosworth for that idea) and solder lipo flex wire direct to the motor terminals.

[bigford]

i think you bought the wrong Firgelli's. as my lowboy dead lifts the kat excavator
and cooper's 4 Firgelli's lift the d11 and trailer off the ground and brian's haul truck
had a full bed of moist topsoil in it.

[dozerbuilder]

Originally Posted by bigford

i think you bought the wrong Firgelli's. as my lowboy dead lifts the kat excavator
and cooper's 4 Firgelli's lift the d11 and trailer off the ground and brian's haul truck
had a full bed of moist topsoil in it.

Hi Bigford, I bought 2x L-16S-63:1-140 for the blade, 4 x L16S-150-50 for the ripper and a L-16S-150-100 for tilt. These are the most powerful they sell - I can't see how they be the wrong ones? I sent drawings to Firgelli showing lift angles, weight of blade and ripper, all measured with a digital scale. They sent the drawings to their tech dept who came back with the response that "it should work nicely" before I bought them. Five have failed and it hasn't hit the dirt yet. The blade requires a pull of 6kg 13.2lbs and the ripper measures 22lbs at its lowest point over-center. There's no doubt they can do the lifts so you are correct there, they can. But the actuators themselves cannot structurally support the load/pulls that they can achieve - in my case.

Actually with starting this thread I was hoping we could look at the specs of the new type and come to some conclusions regarding their suitability (or not) for our builds. The new ones look similar to Firgelli's. I'm probably gonna build my own actuators. I ordered some high-power 150:1 micro-motors with gear boxes today, gonna see if I can mount them in some 18mm dia aluminium outer tube with an inner using acme or yankee screwdriver shafts.

[RCP57]

Those actuators look very similar to Firgelli's so I would be surprised if they were any stronger/more durable. I see they do offer some different lengths though so that is interesting(i need 75mm for my Bruder 320 and they offer it) Firgelli has some planetary actuators out now which are much more powerful. The downside is that they are running the same size shaft as the regular ones so I'm not sure if they stand up much better. They are also much bulkier. I got one of the prototype units months ago and they are very strong. Another positive is that they don't freewheel easily like the regular ones. I didn't have any projects that it would fit into at the time so I haven't been able to "mileage test it" so to speak. Might be worth a look though for certain projects...http://www.firgelli.com/products.php?id=56

[bigford]

got it you trying pull on a angle

[dozerbuilder]

Originally Posted by RCP57

Those actuators look very similar to Firgelli's so I would be surprised if they were any stronger/more durable. I see they do offer some different lengths though so that is interesting(i need 75mm for my Bruder 320 and they offer it) Firgelli has some planetary actuators out now which are much more powerful. The downside is that they are running the same size shaft as the regular ones so I'm not sure if they stand up much better. They are also much bulkier. I got one of the prototype units months ago and they are very strong. Another positive is that they don't freewheel easily like the regular ones. I didn't have any projects that it would fit into at the time so I haven't been able to "mileage test it" so to speak. Might be worth a look though for certain projects...http://www.firgelli.com/products.php?id=56

Hi RCP, they do look very similar. Their spec sheet on the pdf is a jpeg so its illegible, I've emailed them for a better copy so we can asses the specs. I looked at the P-Series Firgelli's as well which appear more powerful as you say with 1000mA stall compared to an L-16S with 650mA stall at 12V. I didn't choose them because the drive head is a lot bigger as you also mentioned.

The new ones have a stronger looking piston end-bit (one of mine pushed out so I had to JB it back in)though it may not be removable and threaded to 8x1.25 like a Firgelli. I've fitted joints to all mine so the 8x1.25 thread match some joints I bought. (see pic) You can see the re-wiring replacing the stiff 26awg wires with 24awg lipo flex direct to the motor terminals and bogged with JB to hold the wires to the case. Firgelli told me if the wires come off its cactus. Cactus? - the wires have come off.

[Mikem]

Dozer builder your pics aren't coming in

[dozerbuilder]

Originally Posted by Mikem

Dozer builder your pics aren't coming in

Ok thanks mikem. I can click on them and see them. I don't know.

[RCP57]

I've had the wires break off as well. I was able to solder the wires back to the board twice but it wasn't fun. The same actuator burnt out the board shortly after because I tried to lift too much(my fault). I wish they used better quality wire that had softer sheathing like what you have used. Our models do a lot of different motions and the wiring just isn't up to the task. I guess they were mainly designed to open and close cabinets and such where they are fixed and the body doesn't move. With more and more "affordable" hydraulic setups coming on the market the actuators(of any brand) are quite expensive. For a Bruder conversion it would be cheaper to buy Magom's hydraulics than to buy the actuators and necessary ESC's. Especially when the actuators can't be customized to specific lengths like a hydraulic cylinder and rarely fit perfect. I will continue to use Firgelli's on some stuff because Ian is a great guy and always helps me out. They are also locally run so they are convenient for me to get.

[Mikem]

Thank you now I see

[DADSGARAGE]

I used firgelli actuators on my dozer and have had mixed results...the 63:1 actuators on the blade lift have worked well for a long time, moved an 11 yard pile of top soil with the dozer and never had any troubles with the actuators...however the 150:1 actuators I used on the ripper crapped out without any real use at all...twice....the tiny gears in the gear motor just can't take the load, or at best only for a very short time, I used the ripper only a few times and blew the tiny gears out of the motor....so the ripper has been out of order for a long time, which is why you never see the ripper on my dozer in most of my videos. Maybe I expected more from them than they can handle but one would think they would last a bit longer....they do seem a bit costly for what you get but they sure are easy to use and difinetly have a place in this hobby. Will be interesting to see how these new actuators catch on and or how well they last under the rated loads.

[dozerbuilder]

Well, there you go. The 4x barrel ripper is finished, nicely laser cut and tig-welded, pins turned off on the lathe and grub-screwed in, all specially designed and fabricated to fit the Firgelli actuators. Nicely painted and mounted with a 10" long super-pick. And what happens?. Both Firgelli L16-150-12S actuators are cactus in 5 lifts. The ends blew out at the ripper end and the square wobbles in the black piece so the gears jump and the ends half tore off the black piece at the tractor frame mounts. After all that work this is very disappointing. The ripper takes a pull of 11lbs to lift and the Firgelli's are rated at 22lb each. They can do the lift but self-destruct in the process. Maybe I should fit a Letourneau PCU and make this thing cable-control. This is my point here in this thread. We need to get something better that this for our multi 1000K$ builds.