Re: [Gumstix-users] Lego-compatible Gumstix case

[Andrew P. <ap...@gm...>]

On 1/5/06, Andrew Plumb <ap...@gm...> wrote:
> On 1/5/06, Keith Olson <kso...@gm...> wrote:
> [deletia]
> > How about using muscle wire?
> > http://www.robotstore.com/catalog/group.asp?gid=3D4
>
> It can be done, but it's quite tricky.  They are silent, but it takes
> some careful thermal and mechanical engineering to speed up the
> cooling/stretching/relaxation part of the cycle.  The
> heating/contraction part of the cycle is strong and fast, dependant on
> how much current you pump through and the thickness of the wire.
[rest deletia]

...and as is usually the case, the stars align and a related paper
appears in my "smart materials and structures" feed:

http://www.iop.org/EJ/abstract/0964-1726/15/1/034/

"Position control of a single-link mechanism activated by shape memory
alloy springs: experimental results"

Seung-Bok Choi 2006 Smart Mater. Struct. 15 51-58 =20
doi:10.1088/0964-1726/15/1/034

Enjoy!

Andrew.

--

If you don't know what to do, do something.