The Adafruit Mini Push-Pull Solenoid turns digital ones and zeroes into linear mechanical motion for those times when the rotary motion of a motor or servo isn't appropriate. It has a 3mm travel, which means that when power is applied the central metal shaft pops forward by 3mm, enough to actuate a switch, push a lever or similar small action.
When 5V is applied it actuates and when the power is removed a return spring pulls the armature back in. As the power is applied there is an inrush current of around 1A which can be supplied by a power transistor or Adafruit's neat 2-solenoid driver board if you want to control it from a microcontroller. Similarly, when power is removed there's a current surge in the other direction (flyback current) so you'll need a protection diode such as the 1N4004. The high inrush current would put a lot of stress on a PC USB port, you should consider using a separate power supply just to be safe.
Supplied as a fully assembled and tested solenoid with 57mm (2.2in.) leads to a 2-pin JST connector. Adafruit supply a helpful circuit diagram to get you started.
3mm (80g) travel mini-solenoid with spring return
Captive armature
5V DC compatible
Adafruit part no.: 2776
*Customers looking to resell on eBay or Amazon should contact Adafruit directly.
