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From: sasrer@unx.sas.com (Rodney Radford)
Subject: Re: Pneumatics?
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Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1993 02:39:40 GMT
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Peter Lucas <plucas+@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:

>On a related note, I've been thinking that automotive junkyards would be
>a goldmine of cheap actuators, both electric (power window/lock motors, etc)
>and pneumatic (climate control on expensive cars).  Is this in fact the case?

Definetly! For electrical the power window/lock are nice, but the power seat
mechanics are even nicer in many respects - high torque, worm gears, etc. For
small controls, don't forget the power mirror controllers.

Also, the older Toyota Corolla/Corona cards (mid 80s) had nice 12v fan motors
that Toyota used to just throw away when A/C was added. Since I worked at a
local Toyota dealer in high school, I was able to collect several of these
and even built a small platform based on two of these that could move 50lbs
on a level surface - not bad for free junk!

However, back to the junkyards,  some of the newer ones don't like you just 
wondering around the yard looking for parts. They prefer to remove the items 
themselves, or at a minimum, direct you to the specific car for you to remove 
the part.  I have had better luck at some of the older (ie: really junky 
junkyards), instead of the newer, computer inventory, junk yards.

Happy junkyard hunting....   ;-}
--
---
Rodney Radford          || Computer Graphics/Imaging
sasrer@unx.sas.com      || SAS Institute, Inc.
(919) 677-8000 x7703    || Cary, NC  27513

