Geek Task! Electric Opening of Cabinet drawer

[glennda]

Hi All,

 

I am trying to work out a way to electronically open the middle drawers on these... they don't open like drawers they fold down like the below.

 

I'm fairly sure with a little motor it should be straight forward to setup just gotta work it out.

 

Peoples Thoughts?

 

Edited August 4, 2014 by elsiegee40

[AMLinington]

I vaguely remember a Mechano type mechanism with cogs and wheels attached to a runner. When the wheel moves forward, the runner pushes out, when it goes backwards it closes it again. I'm not sure 'flaps' qualify as 'drawers' though...

[featured_spectre]

What will be going in there?

[glennda]

What will be going in there?

 

There is 3 of them, one of them has the sky box, one dvd player so the eventual result is getting a remote to automatically open the draw. Essentially just geeking something so that I can be lazy

 

That was my thought @AMLightfoot something along those lines, doesn't have to be fancy potentially controlled by a raspberry pi?

[unixman_again]

You want a linear actuator.

[featured_spectre]

a small motor, hooked up to a remote should do the job. Have it set to button 1 open, 1 close, 2 open, 2 close, 3 open and 3 close. Then set up a raspi or arduino to take the IR signal, set off the correct motor.

[pcstru]

You want a linear actuator.

^^^ this. They tend to be a little expensive (compared to a motor). You could do it with a servo and a lever (but you will need a fair amount of torque unless the door is very well balanced). You could perhaps most easily produce a device which opened the door but left the closing of it to a human (which would be counterweight + solenoid to give it a push).

[plexer]

What will you use to put the dvd in the tray when it opens a model helipcopter?

 

For the sky box I would just add in an rf2 adapter so that the infrared receiver can be mounted on the top surface of the unit so you can change channels without the drawer being open.

 

or one of these Infrared remote control extender: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

 

Ben

[johnat1121]

Ive done this exact thing to close/lock the knife draw in the kitchen a Linear actuator connected to a lightwave rf JSJSLW821 inline relay and a paddle switch JSJSLw826 barely any work required if ya want to make it ultra cool pick up a JSJSLW500WH and you can control the draw from anywhere in the world with iphone/android and web apps

*I should point out I don't work for lightwaverf I just love being able to control everything and the gf scaring the hell out of any visitors and family

[glennda]

What will you use to put the dvd in the tray when it opens a model helipcopter?

 

For the sky box I would just add in an rf2 adapter so that the infrared receiver can be mounted on the top surface of the unit so you can change channels without the drawer being open.

 

or one of these Infrared remote control extender: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

 

Ben

 

But that would be far to sensible!!!! It would make sense, i'm not actually sure what box it is (it isn't actually mine its the gf's) I just said sky to as it was easier! I'll look at the Lightwave relay stuff later then!

[AMLinington]

You can do this with a spinning motor, a cog wheel and a semi-circular toothed track. The direction of the motor turns the cog which rotates the toothed track, the end of which is attached to the flap. But I can't for the life of me remember what it's called or I'd link a pic.

[glennda]

You can do this with a spinning motor, a cog wheel and a semi-circular toothed track. The direction of the motor turns the cog which rotates the toothed track, the end of which is attached to the flap. But I can't for the life of me remember what it's called or I'd link a pic.

 

Awesome if you do let me know and I'll see what I can find!

[plexer]

chain actuator Rigid chain actuator - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Ben

[AMLinington]

chain actuator Rigid chain actuator - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Ben

 

Close. Not QUITE what I'm thinking of, but more or less. The one I've seen (possibly made of Mechano or Lego, possibly at School back in the dark ages) had a 1/4 circle of toothed track, a cog wheel and a motor. Simple as.