How To Category - Progressive Automations Blog

One of the great things about working at Progressive Automations is hearing from customers about how they plan to use our actuators. From home fixtures to industrial applications, the sky is the limit for automation. In order to realize your ideas for using our linear actuators, there are many parameters which must be determined about the intended application. In this series, we present useful design techniques for determining how our actuator...

This article is the first part of our “Linear Actuator Control" series. We will be discussing everything from the most basic control methods that utilize limit switches to accomplishing sequential control with the use of relays. In this first article, we will cover how to limit a linear actuator’s extension and retraction stroke using the AC-24 external limit switch. [cta] [cta-content] Using one of our external limit switches will give you ex...

Welcome to Part II of our guide on how to monitor the load feedback of a linear actuator. In Part I we went over the wiring process and the basic coding needed for the example. In today's guide, we will be going over in detail the different sections of the coding as well as some ways to edit it. To begin we will be looking at the latchButtons() section of code. The first thing we want to see is the button debouncing, so when the left button is...

In today’s guide, we will go over how to find out how much force a linear actuator is applying by monitoring the amount of current it is using. This will be one of our more advanced guides and will require some complex coding, calibrating and programming. We will be covering the monitoring of analog input and how it utilizes its functions. For this project, we’ll be using a MegaMoto Plus, a linear actuator (we are using our PA-14 mini actuator...

Installing can be a simple, easy, pain-free process for anyone. If you find you require some additional help with installation, this guide should be able to set you on the right path. This guide is aimed at helping those with simple automation projects, such as home automation projects, to get the best installation possible. If you have any additional questions about the installation process, feel free to get in contact with us by using the co...

In your search for the proper actuator, you might be wondering what duty cycle is and how it affects your application. When selecting an actuator, the duty cycle becomes important when you risk running the actuator beyond its expected operation. [cta] [cta-content] We have a wide range of electric linear actuators for any application – click to browse! Click Here [cta] What is an Actuator and Duty Cycle? Duty cycle is the ratio of on-time to o...