For things like winch latch, or elastic or grasp releases, etc. linear motion is required. After the steam engines, industry has moved to a straight/direct energy force (in a solenoid).
VEX only supports pneumatic, which is significant overkill. Also a cam follower could work, but is slow, not quite as binary as the plunger of a solenoid and totals at about 10x cost.
I’d like to see permit an electric solenoid (until REC Foundation product available). Amazon sells (search “DC 12V 1A 10mm Stroke 600g Push Pull Open Frame Solenoid “)… Sample stats:
Main Size:56x25mm/2.2"x1”(L*W)
Max. Suction(Moment):20N (600g=1.3lb)
Voltage:12V DC
Stroke:8mm/0.3”
Current:1A
for $9.99 (but all need plug added).
Solenoids have been on VEX posts since 2015, with no progress, so I’m looking for circumvention (and support to add as a product).
POST if you could use an electric solenoid… Thanks. Paul
If your question is about legality, a third party solenoid is clearly not legalized by R7, and is thus illegal by R6.
I like the idea of alternatives - it is unlikely to be allowed this season. But future product would be good for future seasons.
Charles, of course you’re correct. The question is IF it was listed in would it have value to you? I’ve tried the GDC e-mail for several things, and don’t even get a confirmation the e-mail arrived. So I have to “poll” through the forums…
3wire ports are 5V not 12V and you would need some type of external driver cable similar to the pneumatics.
smartports are nominally 12V, but could not drive a solenoid directly.
so yea, not so easy,
Yeah not able to switch on or off natively.
For VEXU though we’ve done a mosfet controlled by a triport to switch the power from a smart port to a large solenoid. Was going to be for the airblast but we ended up going mechanical anyways.
A 5V solenoid may be able to re-use the same driver cable as the pneumatic solenoids…
That would be an interesting addition to the product line.
I see a couple of challenges for VEX to implement such a solution:
- They have to locate an appropriate solenoid (5V, within power budget for the pneumatic driver cable)
- They have to develop a practical way to mount it to VEX metal
- They have to ensure that the actuating rod can be interfaced to VEX metal in some way
In some ways, the most marketable solution (also the most challenging for VEX to design) would be a solenoid latch mechanism (where a rod latches into a solenoid-operated latch) for locking or releasing mechanisms. This is complicated by the fact that the solenoid probably lacks the power to release a pin under high load situations (friction is NOT your friend here).
To release under high tension, you are starting to get into sear mechanisms (like firearms use to hold a hammer back and release it when you pull the trigger). These may have limited parts count, but there is quite a bit of engineering that goes into them…
There was a servo motor long ago. It would be nice to have that as an option, since it would work with existing ports on the V5 brain… but tbh, we just got 5.5w motors. How bout we enjoy the opportunities of having 9+ motors available when smartly applied to appropriate tasks.
I feel that tipping point got everyone in the mindset of 6 motor drivetrains as a default, which feeds this impulse to other methods of actuation.
It is a game, so rules can be what you want, but if you’re going for skills in industry, you have to enable more of the base product line. Pneumatics seems like too big a step, while skipping over a lot of simple electrical “assemblies” that could be applied.
My basis was 11W motor (276-4840); so I assume solenoids of 1A or less electrically possible. Most uses are impulse, so minimal power drain (less than motors). Target market VRC or higher, so connection to steel or aluminum. All seem to have slot to connect at end of plunger. Some seem to have thread connections on body (see JF-0530B). From CAD, .25" slotted end, with screw mounts on body. 1.3lb pull and about .4 inch travel. Solenoids good for both push and pull…
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