Hi I'm looking for advice on developing a steering system using electrical linear actuators and controlling them with a joy stick. I'm not an electrical engineer so please keep advice on layman's terms. I need left,right then up,down and in,out. Thank you

 

any actuator will have some parameters such as speed, power, type of feedback etc. what do you have? there is a slight size difference between controls for panning camera and steering cargo ship.

 

I need left,right then up,down and in,out.

Do you have a source for a six-degrees-of-freedom joystick?
Will positional feedback be required for all six functions?

 

If you are comfortable with programming, I think using an Arduino to control the linear actuators will be a good solution.

 

What does a "Linear-Actuator" consist of in this particular case ?
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How many wheels? If any, have all traction?

 

At least one version of the three axis control stick adds the third axis as twist, CW and CCW, in addition to L/R and F/Rev. BUT there is a learning curve associated with that scheme. A different version uses a thumb-slider on the cross-top handle.

 

I have this Heathkit RC controller that uses a single joystick. The knob rotates CCW and CW with center-off spring return.

 

Post #8 is a photo of what I was talking about!!
There are several suppliers of electric linear actuators that are working to replace the hydraulic ones.
So a search for "electric linear actuators"" should get a lot of hits.

 

Hi I'm looking for advice on developing a steering system using electrical linear actuators and controlling them with a joy stick. I'm not an electrical engineer so please keep advice on layman's terms. I need left,right then up,down and in,out. Thank you

For steering would you not need proportional control?
Not end-to-end only?

 

With "end to end" control it seems that there is also moving just a bit, and then after the trn, straightening the steering. At least one cheap RC car I have had worked that way. Some fols drive their real cars that way, I have observed. I give them lots of room.

 

Do you have a source for a six-degrees-of-freedom joystick?
Will positional feedback be required for all six functions?

Well it weighs less than 100 pounds is in contact with water. I have one water rated L.A. now it travels at 14mm per sec and is rated at 400 pounds.
I have seen a couple of companies on YouTube that will custom make the joy stick. And yes position feedback will be required for one of the 3 L.A. s
Hey so far I'm loving these questions it looks like I may have stumbled on the right group!

 

Within the vast collection of participants there is collectively not only hundreds of years of experience, but also a huge amount of education and insight.

 

Well it weighs less than 100 pounds is in contact with water. I have one water rated L.A. now it travels at 14mm per sec and is rated at 400 pounds.
I have seen a couple of companies on YouTube that will custom make the joy stick.

I would have thought the (proportional) joystick would be the least of worries, but the proportional actuator would pose more of an issue?
So far not too much in depth info on the items in question being used?

 

For steering would you not need proportional control?
Not end-to-end only?

When I worked in commercial aircraft we had man-lifts that had those three controls: up/down, forward/reverse and steering left/right. For the steering you'd push a toggle to the left (left turn) and the wheels would slew to the left. When you reached a satisfactory rate of turn you released the button. But when you wanted to return to going straight you had to flip the switch to the right and stop as close to "straight" as possible. That almost never happened. You always ended up drifting left or right, then would have to feed in opposite steer in order to stay on course. These things moved slow so it wasn't a concern, but for end to end steering finding or returning to straight is not going to be a straight forward matter.

@MaxHeadRoom said it first - "Proportional control". Just like the remote control on model airplanes, cars and boats, when the joy stick returns to neutral so does the steering. AND on the steering circuit there's a trimmer to fine adjust what "straight" is.

 

Wow I never even thought of that that's great info. Thank you

 

That "proportional Control"scheme seems to be a lot like a basic servo system. A position set-point is commanded and the output moves to remove the error. It may be a first or second order servo, depending on the required accuracy.

 

Um wow I think that was English but I don't understand

 

OK, a bit of clarification: a "non-servo" system control is one that simply moves when the command tells it to move, and stops wherever it is when the command switches off. A servo system is one that moves to a position that is commanded and stops there. Power steering in a car is a fair example of a servo system operation, while the older power windows were simply non-servo operation. They only move when the switch is operated, and stop when the switch is released.

 

Ok thanks I appreciate it