I'm working on a project where I want to move a 3d-printed part a few centimeters back and forth. The part will "lay against" the body of the piece normally and then "move away" perpendicular to the surface. The piece will be about the size of your palm and I will have a couple inches of space under it (i.e. inside the main body) for the mechanics. Attached is an illustration of the concept in the open position. The shaded part is the amount it moved away from the body. Someone recommended a scissor-jack as a way to get the piece to move away in a straight line and maintain its orientation.
My question is what's the best way to power the jack? My first thought was to use a servo. I could also use a DC motor, which might be smaller, but to do that I would need a motor controller wouldn't I? Can micro-controllers natively run a motor in both directions? I don't need to be able to vary the speed (thought it might be nice) so if necessary I could dial in the voltage with a resistor to get the desired speed and keep that static with only on/off and forward/reverse. This also seems like it would require two switches so I could stop the jack at both ends.
Any feedback or other suggestions on how to achieve the desired effect would be appreciated. Thank you.
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