Stories Category - Progressive Automations Blog

A high-speed actuator, Arduino, code and a camera propels a football throwing machine into the future. Students at Florida International University have taken the standard football throwing machine to a new level with some help from Progressive Automations. The drawback to the traditional throwing machine is its inability to fire the ball towards a target that moves back and forth across a field unless the machine is manually operated. Team A...

This customer used our compact, PA-15 High-Speed Linear Actuator for this hidden compartment project. One of our customers recently sent us this video. He wanted to head up a home automation project and built this hidden TV cabinet compartment to hold his DVD player and cable box. The project uses our PA-15, a fast actuator with enough force to open and close the box. This compact actuator is also small enough to fit in the TV stand comfortab...

Progressive Automations is proud to present this video from Dr. Decks using our FLT-03-2-2 Table Lift. Home automation is about innovation. Doing something that makes you think about the possibilities in a way you never thought possible. In this highly anticipated video, Dr. Decks has built the Phantom Bench. It seems like a deck, right? At the flip of a switch, the automation kicks into action revealing a hidden bench. When we saw what Dr. D...

This dynamic duo has created one of the most interesting ideas using two miniature actuators that we've seen - using Twitter. The TwitterDog System Part I. Have you ever wished your Twitter could keep an eye on your dog while you were away? Javon Felder and his partner, Allison Lenzi, have come up with an automated system using linear actuators and sensors that will feed your dog, let him outside and even send you Twitter updates whenever he ...

Looking for some linear actuator ideas for hobby automation? For the home hobbyist who likes building and inventing, knowing about linear actuators is a must. Actuators are simply mechanisms that convert energy into movement along a straight line. A regular motor differs from a linear actuator in that a motor creates rotational movement. There is a device available for every conceivable use by a hobbyist. The Many Roles An actuator may be dri...

Our Aquarium hood lift kit is perfect for those who have an aquarium hood in a position where it cannot be easily reached, too heavy, if you want to add a more convenient way to open it or just to have a sleek look. Using linear actuators to open and close your hood lift makes the job of feeding the fish and cleaning the tank a lot easier and straightforward. To create your own aquarium hood lift we recommend using 2 x PA-14 linear actuators, 4 x mounting brackets and our PA-30 control box with wireless remote and an AC adapter.