Hi there everyone
I'm working on an electronic shifting system for a Formula SAE car 
(motorcycle engine/tranny)
We want to implement shifting utilizing solenoids and (of course) we're 
trying to do it on the cheap. What I need are solenoids that can travel 
about an inch and provide a force of around 10 pounds for a duty cycle 
of about 10%. I don't know where to look for such a thing, so I'm 
wondering if anyone has any ideas as far as that goes. Our electrical 
system is 12v.

The other idea I was looking into was using a solenoid originally 
designed for a lower force, but feeding it a much higher initial current 
to get it moving faster, giving it more momentum for the portion of the 
stroke that would require a stronger force. This is what I'm thinking so 
far:

12v ------->D1>------------o X1 o-----))))solenoid coil))))-- GND
		     |
                      |--|C1|---GND
		     |
12v->n*12v converter--

X1 is a contactor, C1 is a capacitor bank (20mF or so)

Part 3 is a question as to what would be required to design and build a 
solenoid that could do everything we need. I sold my physics book so I 
haven't had a chance to refresh myself on the physics of solenoids yet.

Thanks for any ideas everyone.


-- 
Martin K
http://wwia.org/sgroup/biofuel/
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