CHEAP or EASY String Pots (source, or fabbed)

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by kmcclary

What is our project? This is a Fall R&D project. We wish to gain the capacity to accurately servo control a 24" sliding joint to say ~7-8 bits (or better) position resolution over its length (~4-10+ steps/inch) , with a cheap, easily made, compact feedback device.

If this is a prototype for possible FIRST use, I would say that +/- 1.0 inches is sufficiently accurate. If your actual design during season requires more than that, it won't be very human friendly.

Now, purely for R&D it's a cool idea, but don't think that such accuracy is always required. Your manipulator should be designed to allow substantial amounts of inaccuracy.