The Industrial Raspberry Pi Forum

Hello,

I'm trying to control a linear actuator using a RevPi Connect and a DO Module.
The linear actuator has two cables, and it extends when they are in one polarity and retract when they're in the other.
What I'm trying to do is control this with two outputs from the DO module, so when I set one to 12v and the other to 0 it has one polarity and if I set them the other way around it has another.

I've measured the voltage using a voltimeter connected to this two outputs, but what I've seen is that instead of getting 12v and -12v when there's one of the outputs active, I'm getting 7v and -7v.
Any ideas on why this could be? Am I doing it wrong? (I'm not very well versed in electricity, so this may be not possible at all).

Thank you for your help!
- Rodrigo

Dear Rodrigo,

please share the datasheet and a schematic / photo of your setup, so we can better understandig about your problem.

Nicolai

Hi Nicolai,

Sorry for the late response!
Turns out what I was trying to do was not possible anyways. The actuator needs a current between 3.5 and 20 Amps (depending of the load), so the DO module would not be able to provide that.
Just in case it's of any value, I'll upload an schematic of what I was trying to do: So the actuator would extend when M+ receives 12V and M- is 0V, and it would retract when M+ is 0V and M- is 12V. What I thought was possible was to just turn on and off Outputs 1 and 2 so this would work, but with Output 1 on and Output 2 off I would read 7V instead of 12V.

What I ended up doing was using a couple of relays controlled by those same outputs, and using them to open and close a different circuit using another power supply.

Thank you for your help!