Heavy Duty Electromagnetic Lock - 12V Solenoid

As any Maker here in South Africa knows, safety is an important factor to get right if you want your life, wellbeing, home or workplace to be secure from criminals and devious characters. However, as Makers, we like to DIY things in our own custom ways, and that’s why we love cool DIY safety and security products like these Heavy Duty Electromagnetic Locks, which are 12V Solenoids built into a clever lock system that can be controlled via simple Microcontrollers like Arduino Boards, enabling you to secure your premises, personal belongings or other valuables without having to purchase proprietary products that you can’t customise.

These awesome locks are designed to be heavy-duty for hobbyists, with a stress resistance of up to 735 Newtons of force and a default locked state when not energised. This makes it quite tough (although not impossible) to break or bypass compared to locks that are unlocked by default, while also offering some handy extra functionality such as analogue positional feedback, a secure menual unlocking mechanism, as well as a tiny form factor despite the high level of durability. These features, especially the compatibility with various Development Boards, makes this lock a great choice for light to moderate level security, with options to make it remote-operated, automated with IoT, or even defined to a set schedule to allow access at specific times of the day.

Of course, it must be realised that this lock does not quite have the same level of security as consumer-grade heavy-duty locking systems, although it is still an excellent choice for interior locks, secure cabinets, vending machines and other applications that don’t need extreme security, but still need to be kept securely locked and out of reach of deviants.

Please Note: Although this solenoid lock is typically used in conjunction with a microcontroller, you will not be able to drive it directly from most microcontrollers, and so we suggest getting a 12V Power Supply along with one of our 12V capable Relay Modules in order to control and energise this solenoid lock without unexpected problems. Furthermore, while an MCU does add more functionality, this lock doesn’t necessarily need an MCU to operate effectively, and simply needs 12V 1.5A power input to unlock and spring the latch open.

Additional Resources:

• If you want to find more details about this electromagnetic lock, as well as sample code to get your next project started, be sure to visit the official DFRobot Electric Solenoid Lock Wiki Page.

As self-proclaimed “Robo-holics”, DFRobot is a company comprised of over 100 staff members, of which 30% are engineers who love to build robots. It was started in 2008 with the goal of embracing and promoting open-source hardware, with a core focus on Arduino, Raspberry Pi and their very own LattePanda development boards. Since then, DFRobot have manufactured over 1300 unique modules, sensors and components that all work together and complement each other, allowing users like us to enjoy a full spectrum of cutting edge robotics and electronics without having to pay premium prices.

With the primary goal of developing and manufacturing great quality products, while making them accessible to as many people as possible, DFRobot are rapidly becoming one of the most common-place brands in the world of open-source robotics and electronics. With more than 1300 products developed in-house, and an impressive range of different categories and specialisations, there are few brands in the world who can compete in terms of quality, accessibility and genuine innovation.