newbie with a few questions (electric actuators with reversing)

Hello,

I am a civil engineering graduate but I have no experience with electronics. I am working on a home project that will use a digibee+ with my VBA code to control an **broken link removed**. I want the actuator to be able to retract and extend. Could I use something like the **broken link removed** to control the actuator movements?

I will probably also need a separate relay to power to actuator, does that come after the L298N H Bridge? Is there a better / easier way of doing this?

No the L298N will not work, it's peak current draw is 2amps, your actuators max current is 4 amps, your idea of using a relay from the L298 might work but you'll need to specify the number of cycles and exact timing of how you're going to use the relays, they're not able to switch at high rates, especially from an inductive load such as a motor under load.

Thanks for the quick response.

My project requires the actuator to extend all the way, retract all the way and then extend all the way right after each other. Then there can be a pause for 45 seconds or so before the next operating cycle.

Maybe I need two relays one with regular polarity and one with reverse polarity and then just turn on the relay I need depending on if I want to extend and retract. Or is there such a thing as a reversing relay so that I can tell the relay if it should operate in regular or reverse polarity?

Warning!!! Actuators usually have very low duty cycles unless it's an air or vacuum actuator.

An easy design is a pair of automotive relays: 1 for direction and one for enable.

Limits are usually non-existant, but sometimes exist only at the end of travel. Position feedback can be potentiometer, hall effect, optical or microswitch, but not all at once.