Linear actuator for power SSQA?

94BULLITT · Feb 22, 2015

I don't think it being slow is going to hurt. When he is coming in to change attachments on the loader he can flip the switch to release the levers. Then he can change out the attachment and as he is on the move he can be latching the levers.

mangus580 · Feb 22, 2015

I agree with Roger - it wont take any more time than getting off the tractor twice to flip levers, thats for sure!

Fallon · Feb 22, 2015

Ya, we'll see how it works. Hopefully it works well on the move. As it stands now I often have to kick the forks or bucket to get things to line up & drop the pins. I figure I can bounce the loader for the same effect.

At least the brackets I'll have to fabricate up should be close for any future faster actuators.

pat32rf · Mar 1, 2015

As I have been making the hook and pin attachments for my JD FEL I haven't always oriented the pin holes exactly alike. Now I wish I had so I could do this same idea......As my hips and knees have gotten worn I would love to do it all from the seat...

Fallon · Mar 1, 2015

I did a quick test with some bailing wire (probably would have worked better if I had used ducktape as well). Looks like it has enough power. To much slack in the wire to fully actuate, but it has enough power to retract the pins. Not sure if extending the pins would be much harder, but it's enough to make me plan on putting the effort into fabbing up some brackets to mount it properly.

It's still freezing & snowing her. I'm gone for a week as of next week as well. So probably won't be much progress for a few weeks at least.

ishiboo · Mar 3, 2015

If you don't have physical ailments preventing you from getting on/off a tractor, I don't really see the purpose. In the Bobcat it's a PITA getting on/off and easy to trip over the implement, fall and smash your face, etc... plus to open the skid loader door the boom has to be ALL the way down and sometimes it's nice to have it up an inch or two... but on most tractors it's easy as pie. I can think of 25 better ways to spend the money than an insanely slow way to actuate the levers.

Entirely my .02 of course, my quick attach brackets are coming today so maybe I'll be enamored with it after I get them built onto the loader

Fallon · Mar 3, 2015

ishiboo said:
If you don't have physical ailments preventing you from getting on/off a tractor, I don't really see the purpose. In the Bobcat it's a PITA getting on/off and easy to trip over the implement, fall and smash your face, etc... plus to open the skid loader door the boom has to be ALL the way down and sometimes it's nice to have it up an inch or two... but on most tractors it's easy as pie. I can think of 25 better ways to spend the money than an insanely slow way to actuate the levers.

Entirely my .02 of course, my quick attach brackets are coming today so maybe I'll be enamored with it after I get them built onto the loader

I can't entirely disagree with you. However I've dumped my bucket or pallet forks more times than I'd care to admit because I was going to jump off & latch the SSQA just as soon as I got to the gate or what not.

I swap between my bucket, forks & plow a lot, probably at least once every time I use the tractor. I've taken to dropping my implement before parking it for the night so I can just grab the right one for the next task.

I can't justify a couple hundred bucks for this, but if I can do it for under $100 I think it might be worth it. The one saving factor for the slow actuation is the fact I can grab the implement & go then let the pins actuate while I'm traveling or what not. That may or may not work in practice, but we'll see.

chopped · Mar 3, 2015

ishiboo said:
If you don't have physical ailments preventing you from getting on/off a tractor, I don't really see the purpose. In the Bobcat it's a PITA getting on/off and easy to trip over the implement, fall and smash your face, etc... plus to open the skid loader door the boom has to be ALL the way down and sometimes it's nice to have it up an inch or two... but on most tractors it's easy as pie. I can think of 25 better ways to spend the money than an insanely slow way to actuate the levers.

Entirely my .02 of course, my quick attach brackets are coming today so maybe I'll be enamored with it after I get them built onto the loader

I think for the money its entirely well worth it..

Fallon · Mar 15, 2015

Back from travel & the weather is good, so i tinkered a bit this evening.

Eyeballed & cut some flat stock
Eyeballed & cut some random pipe with a sloppy fit over the nubs at the end of the actuator (its all i had & sloppy might be beneficial
Tacked the tube to the flat stock
Drilled some mounting holes
Rounded the end away from the actuator
Sandblasted it clean

Not sure if 'm going to have to enlarge the hole & put a bushing on the nut so it will rotate, but i suspect I will. Wish I had a lathe, but so far no luck finding a decent one locally on Craigslist for cheap (been looking for quite a few months now). Probably will pick up some bushings next time i'm near a hardware store.

The bracket attaches nicely with a captive pin, so i can remove it quickly if it breaks or works poorly. The other side will probably be the same with a much longer bit of pipe.

chopped · Mar 15, 2015

Really coming along good...

k0ua · Mar 15, 2015

94BULLITT said:
I don't think it being slow is going to hurt. When he is coming in to change attachments on the loader he can flip the switch to release the levers. Then he can change out the attachment and as he is on the move he can be latching the levers.

My thoughts exactly. I was wondering how I could hook up linkage for my single lever design Kioti.. Might actually be easier.

Fallon · Mar 15, 2015

More tinkering. Upon closer inspection, the "nut" behind the levers where they connect to the pin has a built in bushing, so the handles could rotate. You can barely see the integrated bushing standing proud in the photo. I did a hack job grinding down a shaft collar (sandwiched it between 2 nuts on a bolt, stuck it in the drill press & hit it with the grinder) & enlarging the hole (die grinder as I didn't have a bit bigger than 1/2") on my mounting plate so the actuator mechanism could rotate as well. I still probably need to grind them a bit thinner. Really wish I had a lathe.

I redid some measurements & realized I was off quite a bit. Not sure how I managed that. Luckily things should work out due to how the levers go over center to latch down.

34.5" between the mounting bolts when the levers are all down
31.5" between the mounting bolts when the levers are half thrown, but the locking pin is still all the way down
27" between the mounting bolts when the levers are all the way up to retract the pins

7.5" of total motion, but about half of that is just the levers going over center so they lock. With the linear actuator in place to lock things, 4" of travel should get enough to cycle between max pin extension & retraction & not having to worry about an adjustable limit switch. Might be a good idea to go with a 6" actuator though. If I end up making an automatic door on the chicken coop for the wife, it might get my 4" actuator & I'll get a 6" or something. We'll have to see how this goes.

At any rate, going to make the mechinism highly adjustable. Will make a socket to pin on some all-thread to connect to the actuator. The other end I'll weld a nut or coupler to the mounting plate. Probably drilling a hole on one end & in the all-thread so I can put in a cotter pin or something to stop the all-thread from coming loose, yet be easily adjustable. Need to pick up a couple couplers at the store tomorow for the all-thread I scrounged up.

jmc · Mar 16, 2015

Hate to see you needing to improvise too much for such an interesting project. Can you post a sketch of the bushings?

CDN Farm Boy · Mar 16, 2015

Looking good Fallon.

If I had the SSQA rather than the Kubota one, I'd have done exactly what you are doing years ago but likely hydraulic instead of electric. Got plans in my head to convert mine to hydraulic as it is....going to be sooooo nice not to have to get off to change attachments. Not that the getting on/off is that big of a pain but just simply will be able to swap quicker and easier, especially doing something that requires alot of back and forth between attachments.

Fallon · Mar 16, 2015

jmc said:
Hate to see you needing to improvise too much for such an interesting project. Can you post a sketch of the bushings?

The ones I made that go between my bracket & the bolt? Imagine a washer, only thicker. They are surprisingly round, but pretty sloppy & uneven on the thickness as I tried to make them thinner on the grinder & belt sander (couldn't get a good grip with the vice grips). The bushing is sandwiched between the OEM washer & another washer. The washers keep the 2 levers from rubbing, binding on the bolt head or each other & from falling off. My bushing is smaller than the one built into the "nut" attached to the pin, but bigger than the bolt head.

I picked up a pair of 3/4" couplers (2" long nut) today. I drilled & ground out the end of one of them until the end of the actuator fit in. drilled a cross hole through it & put in a captive pin to attach it to the actuator.

In the next day or 2 I should get the other coupler welded to the other bracket. It should just be a matter of cutting the all-thread to length,mounting everything up & giving it a shot. Need to figure out how I want to secure the all-thread to one of the couplers. Probably just lock-tight it to the actuator coupler or maybe tack weld it. Pull pin & you can tighten or loosen it up then put the pin back in to attach stuff & stop it from rotating.

Once I've proven it viable I'll probably try to clean up & thin down the bushings a bit. Clean it all up, paint it then mount the wiring.

CDN Farm Boy · Mar 17, 2015

If you've got enough room on the all-thread, what about double nuting it to lock it in?

jmc · Mar 17, 2015

Fallon said:
Once I've proven it viable I'll probably try to clean up & thin down the bushings a bit.

i'll try to PM you.

Fallon · Mar 17, 2015

Well, it's mostly together & working about as expected. I'm happy with my mechanism & the linear actuator seems up to the task, barely. It struggles a bit, but doesn't seem to have any serious issues. The arms move unevenly, which really isn't a problem, unless you have to short of an actuator. It seems to work at the moment, but I could see it being a problem down the road ending up with one pin all the way down and the other only half. Probably going to end up getting a 6" actuator at some point & reuse this one for a different project if it ever becomes a problem.