Building Punchy Recoil With the Carlton Haptic Motor

The new Carlton Development Kit lets you prototype realistic recoil in minutes. 

Well-thought haptics turns an in-game action into an immersive experience. When the controller rumbles exactly as the on-screen event occurs, your brain fuses sight, sound, and touch into one convincing experience. Miss the timing or mute the force and the illusion unravels, leaving the scene to feel strangely hollow. Get it right, though, and even average visuals spring to life, sharpening the feedback loop that keeps players hooked.

That same precision matters even more when you shift from a gentle rumble to the sharp kick of a digital pistol. Although standard vibration motors can deliver simple jolts, they lack the nuance for haptic feedback for actions like loading, firing, and recoil. To replicate true, convincing recoil, impact haptics are needed.

The Carlton Linear Magnetic Ram (LMR) motor meets that challenge through its dedicated impact mode and modular design that lets developers swap components to customize both sound and sensation. Together, these features turn vibration into haptic feedback tailored to a specific game, tool, or training aid, all without needing CAD revisions or extra machine-shop work.

Tuning Haptics with the Carlton Dev Kit

• Discs = personality. Soft materials mute and deepen the effect; hard metals sharpen it.
  
• Magnets = vibration. Adding the dual-array magnets unlocks more vibration, and removes impact mode.
  
• Fast iteration wins. Because everything is customizable by hand, you can A/B test impact  sensations in minutes instead of days.

Below, we explore a few ways to adjust the Carlton’s haptic output using materials from the Carlton Development Kit. Each one highlights a customization that reshapes its standard output into new sounds and tactile sensations, including a distinctive recoil kick.

Effect Modes

Carlton Mode	Description	How It Feels / Sounds	Typical Uses & Drive Notes
Impact (“Tick”)	A single, sharp impulse used for clicks, textures, taps, and impacts.	Sharp, high-g jolt with a crisp click that can be heard as well as felt.	Recoil kicks, camera-shutter snaps, button or latch clicks.
Pulse	A single, soft impulse used for pulses, bumps, wobbles, and motion forces.	Silent “bump” that feels like a firm poke; no audible click.	Force cues, navigation bumps
Vibration	A continuous vibration with customizable frequency, intensity, sharpness, and waveform fullness. Used for alerts, textures, and other sustained effects.	Continuous buzz that depends on frequency and duty cycle and intensity.	Alert or phone-style vibrations, looping feedback

One Motor, Four Personalities

The Carlton Dev Kit includes four interchangeable impact discs that each give the recoil a different feel. Swapping discs changes how the ram meets the cap, so you can adjust the sensation without touching firmware.

Two Hard Impact Discs

The two hard impact discs included are: 

• Aluminum, 1mm (silver)
• Copper, 1 mm (copper)

Switch between the two for crisper, sharper haptic feedback.

Two Soft Impact Discs

The two soft impact discs included are: 

• Porom, 0.8 mm (black)
• Silicone 10A, 1.6 mm (white)

Switch between the two for a heavier, weighty “thud” effect.

Swapping discs takes seconds. Press the insert past each cap tab until it lies flat, pop the cap back on, and you’re ready to fire the next test.

Dual-Array Mode

The Carlton Dev Kit’s spare magnets let you build a dual-array motor. Slot the spare magnets into the impact-side cap of the Carlton to turn it into a non-impacting motor, ideal for noise-sensitive designs.

Carlton is built for experiences where tactile feedback and sound heighten immersion, whether in game controllers, handheld gear, or touch surfaces that need a satisfying “click.” For a real-world example, check out our Ragnok ErgoStrike 7 case study, where Carlton brings crisp recoil to a FPS gaming mouse.

Explore detailed specs for Carlton or the TITAN Core on our website, and pick up a TacHammer Carlton Development Kit to start prototyping right away. 

If you’re deciding between actuator types or use cases, feel free to reach out—we’re happy to help.

 

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