Linear Actuators (for mezzanine bed)

[nelsonic]

The room where we are building the "Tiny House" is relatively small in terms of surface area. If we were to have a double bed at ground-level it would occupy 50% of the floor space and not leave much space for a wardrobe and movement.

Thankfully the ceiling is quite heigh at 2.8m ... 👍 so my plan is to build a mezzanine bed that makes the most of the height we have available.

IKEA has a "Loft Bed" called STORÅ which is reasonably priced at $299

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80160867/

Here's what it looks like in-use:

It looks "OK" in pictures but when you look at it in-person it's not very sturdy ... This reviewer summarises my feelings on the bed quite well:

I would love to have a "bedUp" https://www.bedup.fr/produit/bedup-cocoon-lit-au-plafond because the design is amaze ... but sadly, the price starts at €2.5k (w/out shipping or installation!)

Watch the video demo to see how slick the mechanism is: https://youtu.be/wnj4w4dlWMs

I think we can achieve a similar effect for €500 (including all materials). My plan is to use linear actuators to raise/lower the bed with the touch of a button.

I'm considering using 1000mm actuators for this application. These are the two most reasonably priced suppliers on AliExpress:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32994017416.html

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32825161763.html

The reason for using AliExpress instead of Alibaba (the main site) is quantity/volume. e.g: https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/linear-actuator-1000mm_62039851382.html

The price per unit is much cheaper but then the shipping fees are silly. 😞

I have previously done a bunch of research into linear actuators for https://github.com/nelsonic/standing-desk/issues/7 We probably only need two actuators (in opposing corners) to raise and lower the bed, but I intend to use four for redundancy.

[nelsonic]

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/3000N-load-capacity-linear-actuator-12v_62078270442.html

[nelsonic]

@iteles when you have 10 mins spare, could you please help me setup a one-time Visa card to pay for these?

[nelsonic]

Ordered the linear actuators for both the prototype sit/stand desk https://github.com/nelsonic/standing-desk/issues/7 and bed from AliExpress:

The actuators are 12v DC. That means I need a step-down power supply in order to use them on the 230 V mains electricity.

Sadly, the listing for the actuators does not specify how many amps.

But we can easily calculate it: https://www.rapidtables.com/calc/electric/Watt_to_Amp_Calculator.html

Ordered 6 as I have 6 linear actuators on the way. (2 for my prototype desk and 4 for the bed

Thanks @iteles ❤️

[nelsonic]

@iteles could you please check if the AliExpress purchase was debited from the card/account? The package did not depart from China as clear from the "Track Order" page:

And yet the useless AliExpress customer service chat bot:

claims that "buyer protection time has expired" ...

😡

[iteles]

My apologies, I didn't see this. Yes, I can confirm that the money came out of our account on 27th June 2019.

How long is the buyer protection time?

[nelsonic]

After much waiting and messaging on AliExpress the seller informed that the 1000mm linear actuators were "unavailable" and he gave us a partial refund. These paypal funds have been re-invested in a set of professional video lights. https://github.com/nelsonic/studio/issues/3

He then sent the 600mm actuators (the ones I need for the sit/stand desk https://github.com/nelsonic/standing-desk/issues/7) And these arrived yesterday! 😮 (faith restored in international e-commerce though not in the AliExpress customer service which are utterly useless!!)

I'm going to need to re-order the 1000mm linear actuators from an alternative supplier ...

[nelsonic]

@iteles there is no "receipt" from AliExpress.

This is the email they send confirming the order:

No total amount is included. (useless, I know!)

When I click on the order number I see: https://trade.aliexpress.com/order_detail.htm?order_id=103355339521160

Is that what you had in mind? There is no "receipt"; there is an order total.

As for the lights I purchased with the partial PayPal refund (no idea why the seller could not just refund it directly to your Credit Card) I'm keep track of what I'm buying for the recording studio.

I feel like this issue thread is now going way off topic. 😞 The purpose of this issue is not meant to be admin.