Re: hiding the front license plate
 

How about a kitty? Meow.

-A. Swift

Re: hiding the front license plate
 

Sorry I couldn't search that earlier. I was workin. I can't stop thinking about this idea. It seems so easy yet so hard. Plus I know there would be a definate demand for something like this and if it turned out well enough I could sure use an extra buck or two :)

Re: hiding the front license plate
 

"A normal servo is mechanically not capable of turning any farther due to a mechanical stop built on to the main output gear."

^Right from that site. Sounds like it stops on its own. This could be good boys!

Re: hiding the front license plate
 

This kit here from AutoLoc is a flip style and really expensive but you can see the mechanism they use for some other ideas. I like the slide up and down concept though.

Re: hiding the front license plate
 

I had a setup that did this on my first motorcycle. The guy had flipped it and broke the mounting bracket off he back, so he put bailing wire through the top two bolt holes. Once you got going it flipped up and no one could see it :D

I have the same issue on my Talon, I am going to think about it more and see if I can come up with something, I don't have room for it to flip back very far either.

Re: hiding the front license plate
 

I dont think the concept is very difficult at all and you have endless resources for mechanisms to use. Only thing with mass producing them is that there is hardly two cars that have the same options and place/space for mounting.

Re: hiding the front license plate
 

That is why I said a R/C Servo. Its small can fit behind the crash bar if its there. And I was thinking more about this. But also if need be you can bend the plate so it fits. Either way with a track system that lets the plate slide up and down. You can mount two Servos up in the bumper and have them pull the plate up and down. Either way I think it will work. You are thinking to far into this man. Only problem I can think of is to get the servos to move.

Re: hiding the front license plate
 

well most servos for RC cars aren't run on 12 volts... (correct me if i'm wrong)
Out of boredom (haven't worked since july) I might run to the somerset junk yard and see what I can find for small window motors and what not today

Re: hiding the front license plate
 

Good find! I couldn't find anything at all. That looks like its made to flip down at the bottom of the bumper and considering how many cars are lowerd these days that wouldn't be very convenient. I WILL make this work!

Re: hiding the front license plate
 

I understand this and it's the main reason I don't want to use something as big as a window motor. I'm trying to keep the design as small as possible. You can always custom make brackets and whatnot for any car. I've got a few buddies that would be interested and I could try making different mounting devices for different cars. I see your point though.

Re: hiding the front license plate
 

R/C servos are running on about 6 volts (4 1.5 AA batteries). I don't think you're going to get enough 'throw' out of a r/c servo. Most of them only turn about 180*. You might get 2" of license plate movement which isn't enough.

If you can find an electronic solenoid with enough throw, that would work also. The weight of the plate would keep it down when needed. When you want it up, flip a switch to send 12V to the solenoid and it would suck it up with the power of the electromagnet.

Re: hiding the front license plate
 

I thought about using 2 servos because I notice they are small and lack much power, but it all depends on the speed consistancy. If you mount a servo on each side of the plate, it is possible for the plate to come down at an angle because of two various speeds. I don't really think this would be much of a problem though, it was just a though.

I found a place that sells different size servos and I was planning on heading over there tomorrow and really getting this thing started. My next step is figuring out how to connect the brackets from the plate to the servo. I haven't decided how I want the gears to move the plate.

Re: hiding the front license plate
 

I've thought about this, which is why I wanted to go look at some different size servos and see if they make some that can rotate more than 180 degrees.

That sounds like it may work, but I would rather have it work backwards considering I'll mostly have the plate up unless I need it down for something. Sounds a little more advanced for me as well.

Re: hiding the front license plate
 

Are you familiar with CNC machines like lathes and mills. Why not use a lead screw type mechanism like a mill. Forget the servo and use a 12v stepper motor. Basically you would have a stepper motor attached to a threaded rod maybe 3/8" or so. Then you would have a 3/8" nut fastened to the bottom of the plate on the backside of it. The turning of the lead screw(threaded rod) will push the nut up/down depending on the rotation. A power window circuiit would be perfect to give the 12volt + / 12- to change direction.

Re: hiding the front license plate
 

I really like that idea. It seems like it might be a little slow though with all the threads on a screw. The idea does seem really simple thought considering the threaded rods could act as possible braces for the plate as well. The downside is that power window motors are kinda pricey and larger than I would like to use. I was told there are different powered servos so I'll see if that would be a possibility. Thanks for the advice.

Re: hiding the front license plate
 

http://www.fbimini.com/product.asp?a...icks&idno=8436

Got a couple ideas from that design. I have a pretty good idea in my head of what I want to do, I just dont know how I could attach a threaded rod to a motor of some sort that would cause it to rotate like a drill would. Hmm I could always just mount a drill in my bumper and haha....nooooooooo

Re: hiding the front license plate
 

http://www.stylinconcepts.com/Articl...e/Article.aspx

There's another idea. But for $300 no thank you. They used a power seat motor which sounds interesting. Probably the reason its $300 though haha. I like this one a lot though because its so small. That's what I'm trying to get at.

Re: hiding the front license plate
 

Well i haven't forgot about this thread at all. I've been doing some searching for cheap linear actuators and I can't seem to find any that travel 6-10 inches for under $100ish. Like I said, I want to keep this as cheap as possible so I make this a realistic alternative to throwing the license plate in the window. If anybody knows where I can get some cheap linear actuators lmk. I've done a yahoo search and called a few places and check ebay. Nothin but expensive 300lbs capible actuators or 3 inch door locks.