Motor control

[willtech]

Hi,
Basically i have a scale model of a submarine connected to a mechanism which opens and closes to reveal a cross section. However at the moment it is hand operated and ideally i would like it to open at the touch of a single button. So i need a motor and some way of rotating it to a point at where it will pause for about 10 seconds and then return to its original position. The model ways 6lbs ish. Any help or direction is much appreciated. Will

 

[HarveyH42]

A picture would help a bunch... How much room do you have for a motor, circuit, and power (battery?). How much swing does the door need?

 

[willtech]

Well The mechs are going to be completely separate in a perspex box below the model. In other words there is ample space for the circuit. I will upload a picture tomorrow hopefully. I am really concerned with how to actually get the thing to work/move. It is the electronic circuit i dont no how to construct? Will

 

[HarveyH42]

I'll wait for the pictures and further details. I'll try to think up something minimal, but you'll need a timer at the very least. Not to bad, if you can solder a little. Had a hobby servo idea, but might take a little more tweaking the you are up for at this point. Anyway, believe there is atleast on model builder here, so you might get lucky with something already been done...

 

[Diver300]

I would suggest a crank mechanism so that the motor can always go in one direction. That is how car windscreen wipers work. A car rear wiper would probably be a very good start.

You will need switches at the open an closed position so that the mechanism pauses or stops in the right places.

 

[Hank Fletcher]

I think Diver300 has a good idea, but maybe a car wiper motor might be overkill in terms of power, depending on the size and weight of your display. A surplus gearmotor might be ample, and if you shop around you can more than likely find one that is geared appropriately for your application in terms of weight and speed requirements.

Without using a microcontroller, I think the simplest way is, again, as Diver300 suggests. Rig trigger contacts on the ,moving part of the display for its fully open and fully closed positions. Have a circuit connecting the triggers to a 555 timer, which can be wired (with a potentiometer, if you wish to have control over adjusting the delay times) to delay the closing of the display once it's opened.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

This is a scale model, have you considered a model makers solution?, use an RC servo to move it?.

 

[willtech]

Cheers for all the help guys. Ive decided to go for the trigger theory in line with the 555 timer. However i have worked out with the gearing system i have it will take 8 seconds for the model to fully open with my motor (Tamiya 70168 Double Gearbox) . What resistors and capacitor specs will i need to include with the timer, Is there an equation which i can follow? Will

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Cheers for all the help guys. Ive decided to go for the trigger theory in line with the 555 timer. However i have worked out with the gearing system i have it will take 8 seconds for the model to fully open with my motor (Tamiya 70168 Double Gearbox) . What resistors and capacitor specs will i need to include with the timer, Is there an equation which i can follow? Will

Google for "555 tutorial", there are some excellent sites that tell you all you need (even including calculators for you).