I'm lookin' for a drawer latch that I can drive with a mosfet. What I have is more-or-less like a cash register drawer. I'd like to find something inexpensive -- or at least less expensive than designing my own latch and having to have it sent out to be made. Quantities are low, probably ten or twenty a month.
I'd like to avoid bringing in a 12V line for a solenoid, although (I suppose) a dc-dc converter is possible.
I was hoping to keep the current for the entire product below 100ma, and the electronics only pull a few mA. I was thinking that maybe I could charge up a capacitor or something and then use that stored energy to kick open the solenoid. Off-hand, that doesn't sound practical, but I thought I'd mention it.
I've also been thinking about making (or finding) a nitinol latch. It resolves the issue of the 12V, and the whole mechanism will probably be less expensive than one driven by a solenoid.
Another, possibly inexpensive way to go about this would be to use a small motor and a few plastic gears to drive a pin.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Mike