Project Files of 12V Linear Actuator Library for Proteus V1.0 (50mm, 1000N, Arduino)

12V LINEAR ACTUATOR LIBRARY FOR PROTEUS - V1.0 (a 50 mm, 1000 N actuator with limit switches, self-locking)
Designed by The Engineering Projects
www.TheEngineeringProjects.com

IMPORTANT LINKS
Article (read it first - pictures, step by step, every feature explained):
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2026/10/12v-linear-actuator-library-for-proteus-v1-0.html
Report a bug or suggest a feature (our forum):
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/forum/category/motor-driver-proteus-library
The demo runs on our Arduino UNO V4.0 (included) - working LEDs, RESET and a
built-in serial monitor - its own article:
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2026/10/arduino-uno-library-for-proteus-v40.html
The demo's driver is our BTS7960 Motor Driver - a SEPARATE library, not in this
package: download and install it first - its own article:
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2026/10/bts7960-motor-driver-library-for-proteus-v1-0.html
Support us (the libraries are free):
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/donate

FILE STRUCTURE
12V-Linear-Actuator-TEP-v1.0/
|-- Proteus Library Files/
|   |-- ArduinoV4TEP.LIB                              201.9 KB   TEP Arduino boards V4.0 (UNO) -> LIBRARY
|   |-- TEPLINACT.LIB                                  17.0 KB   the library -> LIBRARY folder
|-- Proteus Model Files/
|   |-- TEPARDUINO.DLL                                883.5 KB   the Arduino board model -> MODELS folder
|   |-- TEPLINACT.DLL                                 287.5 KB   the model -> MODELS folder
|-- Proteus Simulation/
|   |-- 12V-Linear-Actuator-BTS7960-ArduinoUnoV4.pdsprj   25.0 KB   the demo project
|   |-- LinearActuator_Demo.hex                        14.3 KB   the demo firmware
|   |-- TEPARDUINO.DLL                                883.5 KB   copy of the board model
|   |-- TEPLINACT.DLL                                 287.5 KB   copy of the model
|-- Arduino Code/
|   |-- LinearActuator_Demo/LinearActuator_Demo.ino     3.5 KB   the demo sketch (source of the .hex)
|-- README.txt                                        ~17.7 KB   this file
Total: 2.56 MB (unzipped). The C++ source code of the models is not included.

WHAT IS IT?
A simulation model of the common 12 V DC linear actuator - the "electric
putter" of TV lifts, hatch and window openers, solar trackers, adjustable desks
and robot joints: a DC motor beside an aluminium tube, a gearbox and a lead
screw that push a rod in and out, two built-in limit switches and a
self-locking screw. This one has a 50 mm stroke and a 1000 N rating. Our own
model, not Proteus's DC motor:
  * The motor between + and - is analog: the winding (1.23 ohm), the
    back-EMF, the friction of the gears, the screw and the seals, the
    equivalent mass and the load, all seen at the rod - 12 mm/s and 0.75 A
    with no load at 12 V, about 9 mm/s and 3 A at 1000 N, a stall near
    4000 N (about 10 A). Any driver works: a BTS7960, two relays, an L298N
    for light loads, a MOSFET bridge, PWM or DC. + positive drives it out.
  * The lead screw: its friction grows with the force it carries (1.08 x the
    load), so the load can never push the rod back in - SELF-LOCKING; pulling
    the rod in against a load still needs the motor.
  * The limit switches: at 50 mm the "out" switch opens, at 0 mm the "in"
    switch - the motor stops by itself with 0 A, and only the other
    direction runs on (a diode across each switch). No stall at the ends.
  * The sheet: the actuator standing up, its rod pushing a platform with the
    load on it (the force in N written on the block) over a 0 - 50 mm ruler;
    the rod moves with the simulation. 100 N is about 10 kg on the platform.
  * What it tells: the rod's speed and direction, its position, the average
    voltage, the current, PWM (frequency and duty) when the driver really
    switches, the ends ("fully out ... the limit switch opened"), the
    warnings - STALLED, OVER-VOLTAGE (more than 15 V), a reversal at speed;
    and "holding ... the lead screw locks" when it holds a load with no drive.
The symbol shows the actuator from the side at 0.25 x its size: the rear clevis,
the black gearbox housing with the cable gland, the aluminium tube with its rod
seal, the black motor with its silver end cap, the polished rod and its clevis,
and the red / black wires from the + / - pins. The plate, the platform, the
load, the ruler, the OUT / IN LEDs and the strip under the plate (SPEED,
POSITION, AMPS, OPEN PANEL) are TEP additions; the real actuator has none of
them.

ONE DEVICE (search "actuator" or "LINACT" in Pick Devices):
  LINACT12VTEP   "12V Linear Actuator V1.0"   (category Electromechanical >
                 Linear Actuators), model TEPLINACT.DLL
  The pop-up panel "TEP 12V Linear Actuator" opens at Run (and with OPEN PANEL
  on the strip) - the look of the TEP Serial Monitor. Tabs Actuator, Graphs,
  Event log and Check; gear and ? icons for Settings and Help:
    Actuator   the state in big letters (EXTENDING / RETRACTING with the load,
               FULLY OUT / FULLY IN - THE LIMIT SWITCH CUT THE MOTOR, HOLDING
               ... THE SCREW LOCKS, STALLED, OVER-VOLTAGE); the speed gauge
               (-15 .. +15 mm/s, out to the right, the 9 - 12 mm/s band from
               1000 N to no load marked); the live values (speed, direction,
               the average voltage, the current, the drive: PWM Hz and duty,
               or STEADY; the power, the load, the position); the drive across
               + / - over the last 5 ms. The toolbar: the load on the rod
               (None, 250, 500, 750, 1000 N).
    Graphs     the speed, the current and the rod's position over the last 1,
               3 or 6 s (a flat position with no drive: the self-locking).
               Live / Freeze.
    Event log  the drive, every steady speed ("steady 8.9 mm/s out, 1000 N, at
               11.92 V average, 2.998 A"), every direction change, stops with
               the position, the load, the ends, the holds, the warnings;
               filters All / Drive + speed / Warnings, Pause, Clear
    Check      Good for: an actuator that does not move, moves slowly or the
               wrong way, stalls, or resets the Arduino - the drive, the PWM,
               the current against the common drivers, the speed, the load,
               the self-locking, the position and the limit switches, the peaks
    Settings   theme, text size, open at Run, window size
    Help       report a bug, suggest a feature, article, updates, donate,
               forum; Copy diagnostics for a bug report

TEST STATUS
V1.0: verified in Proteus 8.5 on 29 Oct 2026 (the demo project as shipped: an
A3 sheet, an Arduino UNO V4.0 with its built-in monitor, our BTS7960 driver -
its pop-up version - with B+ on +12V, the actuator on M+ / M- with 500 N on the
platform, RV1 on A0; all pop-ups open). What the runs showed:
  * The project loads and starts cleanly. RV1 at 75 %: "Pot 768 -> out 49 %
    (PWM 127/255)" - "steady 4.0 mm/s out, 500 N, at 5.95 V average, 1.872 A".
  * "stop" at 21.5 mm: "holding 500 N at 21.5 mm with no drive - the lead
    screw locks (self-locking)"; the 1000 N chip: still held, 0 A.
  * "out 100" with 1000 N: "steady 8.9 mm/s out, 1000 N, at 11.92 V average,
    2.998 A", on to the end: "fully out (50.0 mm): the limit switch opened -
    the motor stops, 0 A" (it stops at 50.1 mm, 12 V across it, 0 A).
  * "in 100" with 1000 N: "steady 11.9 mm/s in, 1000 N, at -11.95 V average,
    -0.838 A" - the screw has to be driven in too, with less current.
  * "stop" at 21.8 mm: "holding 1000 N at 21.8 mm with no drive".
  * The BTS7960's own pop-up: B+ 12.00 V, its PWM, the run's peak current.
  * The simulation runs at about 0.2 x real time on a desktop PC (the whole
    demo run: 27 s of simulation in about 2 minutes).
  Plus automatic checks on a PC, 0 failed: 16 on the actuator (12 V: 12.00
  mm/s, 0.750 A, 90 % of the speed in 18 ms; 1000 N: 9.00 mm/s, 3.00 A; 6 V:
  5.5 mm/s; the out end: 0 A and it runs back in; the in end: 0 A; 1000 N held
  for 2 s with the motor shorted and with it open - 0.006 mm of creep - while
  the same screw without its friction lets the load push it all the way in;
  retracting under 1000 N: 11.9 mm/s, 0.84 A; 4500 N stalls at 9.75 A; PWM
  980 Hz at 50 % found; a reversal at speed: 16.4 A peak and its warning; 16 V:
  over-voltage); 6 on the pop-up pages rendered; the demo project read back
  from disk (90 checks: devices, pins, wires, labels, no wire through a part,
  no crossing).

INSTALLATION (about 2 minutes)
1. Close Proteus. Extract the WHOLE ZIP to a normal folder (e.g. Desktop).
2. Copy everything in "Proteus Library Files" (TEPLINACT.LIB and our Arduino
   library V4.0, ArduinoV4TEP.LIB) to the LIBRARY folder of Proteus, for
   example:
     C:\Program Files (x86)\Labcenter Electronics\Proteus 8 Professional\LIBRARY
   (on some PCs: C:\ProgramData\Labcenter Electronics\Proteus 8 Professional\
   LIBRARY - use the folder that already holds Proteus's own .LIB files).
3. Copy TEPLINACT.DLL and TEPARDUINO.DLL from "Proteus Model Files" to the
   MODELS folder (...\Proteus 8 Professional\MODELS). The demo's driver is NOT
   in this package: install our BTS7960 Motor Driver library the same way (its
   own ZIP - see IMPORTANT LINKS): TEPBTS7960.LIB and TEPBTS7960.DLL.
4. Delete TEPLINACT.IDX from the LIBRARY folder if it is there.
5. Start Proteus. In Pick Devices (P) search "actuator".

RUN THE DEMO
"Proteus Simulation\12V-Linear-Actuator-BTS7960-ArduinoUnoV4.pdsprj" - keep the
.hex file and the DLLs beside the project.
  ARD1: Arduino UNO V4.0 running LinearActuator_Demo.hex, its serial monitor
        built in (window "TEP Arduino UNO - ARD1").
  DRV1: the BTS7960 (IBT-2) driver, pop-up version: RPWM on D5, LPWM on D6,
        R_EN on D7, L_EN on D8, VCC on 5V, GND - by net labels; B+ on a +12V
        power terminal (Proteus's 12 V rail), B- on ground; R_IS / L_IS open.
  M1:   the actuator on M+ / M- (M+ to +, M- to -), 500 N on the platform.
  RV1:  a 10k potentiometer on A0: the speed and the direction.
  1. Press Run. The monitor and the two pop-ups open (move them aside). RV1 at
     75 %: the rod goes out at about half speed.
  2. Click RV1's arrows: the middle stops it, right = out, left = in.
  3. Type in the monitor and press Enter (or Send): out 80, in 50, stop, knob.
  4. Stop it halfway and change the load on the pop-up: the screw holds it
     with no drive.
  5. Drive it out to the end: the limit switch stops it with 0 A.

WIRING (the same in Proteus and on a real board)
  BTS7960 (IBT-2)  Arduino UNO / supply
   RPWM            D5 (PWM, out)
   LPWM            D6 (PWM, in)
   R_EN, L_EN      D7, D8 (HIGH = on)
   VCC, GND        5V, GND
   R_IS, L_IS      not used here (the current sense: see the BTS7960 library)
   B+, B-          the 12 V supply (GND common with the Arduino)
  Actuator         M+ to + (red), M- to - (black)
In the sketch (no library needed):
  out:   analogWrite(LPWM, 0);  analogWrite(RPWM, speed);   // 0 - 255
  in:    analogWrite(RPWM, 0);  analogWrite(LPWM, speed);
  stop:  both 0 (the screw holds the load by itself anyway)
REAL HARDWARE:
 * The current: about 0.75 A with no load and 3 A at 1000 N, near 10 A for a
   moment at a start or a stall. A BTS7960 / IBT-2, two relays or a MOSFET
   bridge suits it; an L298N (2 A) only for light loads; an L9110S is too
   small.
 * The limit switches stop the motor at the ends by themselves - the sketch
   does not need to; to stop in between, you need a timer or an actuator with
   a feedback potentiometer or Hall sensor (the plain actuator has none).
 * The supply: 12 V that gives 3 - 10 A, wires for that current, a fuse, GND
   common with the Arduino.
 * Self-locking holds a load at rest (the self-locking force: 1000 N here); it
   is not a brake for a load that is already moving fast; never stand under a
   lifted load.
 * Side loads bend the rod: mount it with both clevises on pins so it only
   pushes and pulls.
 * Know your actuator: 12 V actuators come with strokes from 25 to 1000 mm and
   forces from about 100 to 6000 N, faster ones with less force; this one is
   the 50 mm, 1000 N, 12 mm/s type.

THE DEMO SKETCH ON THE SERIAL MONITOR (LinearActuator_Demo V1.0, 9600 baud)
  out 80    extend at 80 %            in 50     retract at 50 %
  stop      both PWM LOW (the lead screw holds the load by itself anyway)
  knob      follow the pot again      help      the list
EXPECTED MONITOR OUTPUT
  12V Linear Actuator demo - The Engineering Projects
  BTS7960: RPWM D5, LPWM D6, R_EN D7, L_EN D8. Turn the pot on A0: the middle stops, right = out, left = in.
  Commands: out 80 | in 50 | stop | knob | help
  Pot 768 -> out 49 % (PWM 127/255)

PROPERTIES (double-click the part > Edit Properties)
  LOAD     the load pushing the rod in, in N (default 500; it pushes 1000 N
           at about 9 mm/s and stalls near 4000 N at 12 V)
  START    the rod's position at the start in mm out (default 0: fully in;
           50 = fully out)
Every run starts again from the properties.

TROUBLESHOOTING
* The rod never moves and the pop-up says NO DRIVE: the driver's R_EN / L_EN,
  its B+ supply, or the actuator's wires on the wrong outputs.
* It does not move in one direction, 0 A: it is at that end - the limit switch
  is open; drive it the other way.
* Slow, about half speed: the driver's B+ is on 5 V or 6 V, not 12 V.
* It goes in when it should go out: swap the actuator's wires (or RPWM /
  LPWM).
* STALLED: less load, or more drive.
* The part is not simulated / nothing moves on the sheet: TEPLINACT.DLL is
  missing from MODELS and from the project folder. No driver: install our
  BTS7960 library (TEPBTS7960.LIB / .DLL). No UNO / no monitor window:
  TEPARDUINO.DLL, or click the UNO's USB port.
* The pop-up does not appear: click OPEN PANEL on the strip, or turn "Open the
  panel at Run" on its Settings page back on.

BUG REPORTS AND FEATURE REQUESTS
Please post them in our forum with a screenshot, the Serial Monitor text, the
simulation log and the pop-up's Copy diagnostics text:
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/forum/category/motor-driver-proteus-library

SUPPORT US
This library is free. If it saves you time, please support our work:
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/donate

LICENCES AND THIRD-PARTY NOTES
* The actuator model (TEPLINACT.DLL), the symbol and artwork and the Arduino
  Library V4.0 (ArduinoV4TEP.LIB / TEPARDUINO.DLL) are made by The Engineering
  Projects. The model is an independent implementation written from the
  typical data of 12 V 50 mm 1000 N linear actuators. The models use only
  standard Windows libraries; no Visual C++ redistributable is needed.
  The C++ source code is not included.
  The demo's driver, our BTS7960 Motor Driver library (TEPBTS7960.LIB /
  TEPBTS7960.DLL), is a separate download.
* The potentiometer is Proteus's own POT-HG.
* The demo's .hex is built from the demo sketch and the Arduino AVR core 1.8.6,
  which includes LGPL-licensed code; its source code is available at
  https://github.com/arduino/ArduinoCore-avr/tree/1.8.6
* Proteus is a product of Labcenter Electronics and is not included. Arduino is
  a trademark of Arduino SA.
  This library is not made or endorsed by Arduino or Labcenter.

REBUILDING THE FIRMWARE (OPTIONAL)
The HEX file is supplied; Arduino IDE is not needed to run the demo. To edit the
sketch, open Arduino Code\LinearActuator_Demo\LinearActuator_Demo.ino, select
Arduino Uno and use Sketch > Export Compiled Binary. The sketch needs 5,188
bytes of flash (16 % of the UNO) and 254 bytes of RAM.

MODEL SCOPE AND LIMITS
Modelled: the winding resistance, the back-EMF, the friction (Coulomb and
viscous) of the gears, the screw and the seals, the screw's load-dependent
friction (the efficiency and the self-locking), the equivalent moving mass,
the load, the two limit switches (an open circuit for the direction that would
go further), stops 1 mm beyond the ends, the current both ways.
How it runs: the rod's speed is an internal analog node solved together with
the driver (backward Euler, analog steps of 2 ms or less); the position is the
speed integrated.
Not modelled: the winding inductance, the backlash of the gears and the screw,
side loads, the switches' hysteresis and bounce, heating and the duty cycle
limit (real actuators are rated for about 10 - 25 % on-time), the differences
between real actuators.

VERSION
TEP 12V Linear Actuator library V1.0 (Oct 2026). Device LINACT12VTEP
(TEPLINACT.LIB / TEPLINACT.DLL). Demo sketch LinearActuator_Demo V1.0. Demo
driver: BTS7960ADVTEP (TEP BTS7960 Motor Driver library V1.0). Demo board:
ARDUINO UNO V4.0 (TEP Arduino Library V4.0) with its built-in serial monitor.