Sizing a Solenoid

[4WDlifeform]

Hey guys. First off, I am a mechanical person. Electricity scares me, but sometimes I screw with it for fun...

For those of you that know some electrical stuff, here is my situation - I was given a pinball machine from the 1970's. It works great, but the flippers are mechanically connected to function off of one solenoid. I want to actually remove the mechanical component, and add in another electrical component... what is wrong with me... :looney: I want the flippers to operate separately.

Here is what I can gather from the original solenoid:
Circuit voltage is 33 VDC
Coil Resistance is 4.3 Ohm
Travel is about 1 inch

This is the closest I could find one on McMaster Carr:
70155K5
http://www.mcmaster.com/#linear-solenoids/=emw7ba

It is rated for 24V. Keep in mind, this is for a flipper, so its duty cycle is only a second at max... Not sure if this is suitable for a 33v application?

The existing solenoid is pretty beef... I would have to guess about 5lb of force, but its really hard to tell.

Another thought, Should I just get two new ones? Or, I could replace one of the single solenoids elsewhere on the table with the new one, then I will have two similar solenoids on the flippers. This would prevent one seeming different than the other. The same solenoid is used all over the thing.

Open to thoughts. Thanks in advance!

 

[Wallyman]

33V eh? gotta love the proprietary stuff. I dont know that i would run a solonoid rated for 24V with 33V. Might not last that long. or it may... You could add some resistors in-line with the noid to get your new voltage. Or go all pneumatic and add an air compressor. how cool would that be. I say that because im currently taking a fluid dynamics class at college and were working with small pneumatic systems. Okay you probably DONT want to do that. It would just be neat. I recently got a catalog in the mail from www.allelectronics.com. Never ordered from them before but it looks like they have a good selection. Either you have to find a soloniod for the proper voltage or change your voltage to match.Of course you need one that can move with the ability to accomplish the task of kicking that ball around. I wouldnt go much lower than rated but i wouldnt think 24 VAC would be too low. I'm intrigued with the project though. Pinball machines are a work of art.

 

[87manche]

I'd start here:
http://www.lakesidepinballparts.com/coil.html

just buy another flipper solenoid. Plenty of pinbal parts vendors, there's a pretty big community of nerds repairing pinball machines.

what exactly is te machine you're working on, and what part numbers are on the existing solenoid?