I can’t seem to find any solid information on the use of an electric linear actuator such as this -(https://www.andymark.com/products/actuator-l16-r-140mm-stroke-35-1-6v?via=Z2lkOi8vYW5keW1hcmsvV29ya2FyZWE6Ok5hdmlnYXRpb246OlNlYXJjaFJlc3VsdHMvJTdCJTIycSUyMiUzQSUyMmxpbmVhcithY3R1YXRvciUyMiU3RA) There have been posts about the mechanical actuators with a motor like the AndyMark DART Actuator but that is about it. Any info on legality, because FIRST’s wording is vague.
While this is not an official answer by any means, my interpretation of R27 would lead me to believe the linked actuator is legal. It is listed as a servo, and has a retail value of less than $75.
We used that actuator last season and it was deemed legal because it’s classified as a servo and the price was <$75
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+1 for legal, its a Servo under $75. 3468 also used one last year. Word of warning if you do decide to use one, these use the standard 1000us-2000us servo PWM range, but for some reason WPILIB’s defaults for a Servo is 600us-2400us, so you will need to change the bounds in your code. The details for this are on the AndyMark page.
Totally concur. Sold as a servo, FMV < $75.
Disclosure: to date I have inspected at robots at one event. That event has accepted me as an inspector again this year.
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This thread hasn’t been picked up for a year but I was wondering if anyone was watching it to answer my question. Is the linear actuator I have linked below work for the FRC 2020 season? Is it legal? Is the motor legal?
Link: https://www.amazon.com/ECO-LLC-225lbs-Actuator-Waterproof/dp/B07ZF56NYR/ref=sr_1_54?crid=2XVNFYLJ3UCL8&keywords=linear%2Bactuator%2B12%2Binch%2Bstroke&qid=1580175971&sprefix=12%2Bstroke%2Blinear%2Bactuator%2Caps%2C257&sr=8-54&th=1
It’s halfway through build season and we had already ordered these actuators and we just learned about the legality rule which may be a problem so I’d like to get some insight. Thanks.
~ Team 2594!
Do you plan to swap out the motor to an FRC legal motor?
This is similar to teams using the vacuum systems last year, the system is fine, but the motor is not.
The motor is not legal, so you will need to swap it out to use the actuator.
Agree with everyone else on here, you can use it IF you replace the motor with an FRC compliant motor like a CIM or a Bag.