SparkFun Forums

[Tomfx]

I recently bought some Flexinol memory wire that I was trying to use as muscle for a robot. Accordingly it can contract by several percent (with a pull force of 2.83 pounds in this case), however, when I connected a 9v battery to it to test it, I couldn't get it to contract with that force. Do you have to heat it up while pulling on it with around that weight to get it to contract and expand like that?

[jacquelbot]

Have you tried it with a real power supply? A regular 9V battery is not going to give you enough current (or at least not for very long!). From the Dynalloy site, the Flexinol wire with a pull force of 2.83 lbs requires about 1.5 amps for a second to cause that kind of contraction.