12V stepper motors and controllers.

[Tasmaniak]

I think you are overcomplicating a simple mechanism.

It's a car, it's made of metal, there is always room.

Have you tried thermal wrap around the cable to stop it melting.

There has to be a simpler solution....really does.

But...

Arduino is the way to go. Contact Atreidae on here. He is currently prototyping an Arduino BCM for his VT but this is up his alley. He once did a carputer in his VS that had climate control on it as well..... dudes got brains.

 

[Tasmaniak]

Just PM'd Atreidae....hopefully he will drag his head out of his arse....and be socialable. lol

 

[ari666]

is he a member on JC? ill be honest, the idea of that controller excites me a little. my brain is expaning on it, but im limited to my knowledge. the description says it can control TWO motors, so really i could have 2 inputs outputting 2 motors, thus the second motor i could setup to be a variable speed motor for electronic power steering, such as the astra pump ive been looking at. next camaro i get in i will look closer at the steering wheel position sensor, which is a ring that goes on the column much like a horn rings, and is a trim pot. so that could be used by the controller to determin steering wheel position and increase power to the electric pump accordingly..
or something.

my mind is pretty much set on a three pole switch setup to be honest. i.e. start the car, press down on the column for reverse, press down twice for N, 3 times for D etc. this would be ideal for the impala. the switch setup would not be hard for me to make, and the servo setup on the trans not hard at all, i just need to learn a bit more about the workings of the rest of it.


im no longer gonna answer questions like "have you tried thermal wrap" "surely there is room in there" yes, of course ive tried. this thread isnt about how to make the cable work, this thread is about making an electronic shift for my trans, so please just forget that the cable option exists ok?

 

[Tasmaniak]

Yep he is a member here. He wrote the VN, VP, VG, VR, VS stereo install guide in the car audio guide. He will pass by hopefully. Although I know he is a pretty busy fella also.

 

[Sandman]

The 3 pole switch or an arduino based unit sounds like the way to go. Switch is simple and the arduino allows for many avenues of programming. The RC servo idea is alright but lacks the ability to hold in a specific place without input.

 

[Tasmaniak]

Remember the push button autos? How did they operate?

 

[ari666]

they have seperate buttons for each gear...



also a small point. they have been discontinued....


im sure there was a good reason to.

 

[Tasmaniak]

Yes, but if you go this path and they were electrical buttons, I would think they make a good controller.

 

[one_and_only2004]

Hmmmmmmmmmmm it's got me thinking - paddle shifters on a fully Manualised auto would be pretty cool.

Time to learn how to speak computer jibberish

 

[ari666]

Time to learn how to speak computer jibberish

LOL, reading up on steppers; at first i was like "i can do this, i can understand this" then i was all like: crosseyed.

if you guys didnt see Dr Haxzaws post in my build thread:

ok so i didnt have a huge amount to do tonight other than maybe play some coh2 with my brother who i just realised i blew off to do this lol that and no footy was of any interest to me

i got some brackets drawn up for these:

25 lbs. Linear Actuators

I'm hoping it will have the speed to do it and should be enough force im thinking... if not can go to a slightly stronger but slower one or design a linkage to get some extra leverage in there

this is a pretty rough job as dimensions were sorta guessed and i wanted to get something sketched up to work from so excuse rough it looks (the big slab that everything is mounted to is the gearbox casing)

im LIKING this, still unsure how to make it work in steps, but those solenoids would easily be strong enough and simple as to fit.


on the buttons subject, im not really a fan. i like my column shift and would like to retain the whole column assembly to look factory. i spent a lot of time researching my guages and installing the stereo to make the interior look 100% factory spec, so id like to keep it that way.