[Crafts4Me]

please help me with mini 12v actuator/motor i want my toy diorama crane boom to shake back and forth slowly
what do i need to purchase and connect to make that happen
it must be 12v please
thanks so much in advance
i am a hobbyist

 

[Harald Kapp]

With this question you might be better off in a model maker community. Anyway, here's an idea:

The rotating drive ha a small dc motor. The coupled disk translates the rotation into a linear (more or less) translational motion which in turn shakes the crane (symbolized by the fat vertical line). The crane needs to be able to pivot or at least bend at the bottom. The amount of shake can be adjusted at two points:

• speed of the shake is adjusted by the rpm of the motor. Use a geared motor for slow motion.
• displacement of the shake can be adjusted by the distance between the axle of the disk and the bearing for the translating lever or by the distance between the transmitting lever'S mounting point at the crane and the crane's pivot. Or both.

Since you probably don't want the translating lever to be seen in your model, the distance between this lever and the crane's pivot is probably very small. To avoid too much displacement, the bearing on the disk where the lever is attached will have to be near the axle of the disk.

 

[Harald Kapp]

Hmmh,
or do you mean the trolley to shuffle back and forth on the jib? That would be done by reversing the motor that controls the movement of the trolley whenever the trolley reaches the endpoint at either end of the jib.
Here's a thread discussing the same issue for up and down movement, can be used for any to-and-fro movement as in your case.
Here's another thread using a relay and limit switches.
And then I found this discussion.

I seem to remeber another reply of mine to a similar problem, but can't find it easily



Here's how crane parts are named.

 

[Crafts4Me]

hi
i wanty a shaker for the boom to shake slowly right to left
what parts do i need to purchase 12v?

 

[Harald Kapp]

Depends on how the boom is mounted. You will need a mechanism to move the boom from left to right, probably an axle from the boom down the mast into the underground where a motor is mounted to rotate the boom.
I finally found the thread I was looking for. Have a look at post #20. It does exactly what you are looking for: rotate a disk (here you would use the axle) back and forth.
All you need is a geared motor and a dpdt switch. Plus the skills to mate the motor to the disk and the axle to the crane.

Btw: Personally I wouldn't shake a crane from left to right, swing it and it will look much more natural.