GBC Le Train

[higgins91]

Hello,
I present to you my last GBC module: "Le Train" (In French )

GBB Le Train by alex peraux, sur Flickr

I wanted to use train rails to make a module, but not wanting to use a battery for a question of autonomy, I wanted a system where the engine would be powered by a wire. So impossible to have the engine in the wagon. So I deported the engine to the center of the circle and transmitted the movement to the wagon by an axle.

As you can see in the video, the wagon is not just a simple carrier, there is a mechanism that allows it to be lowered to take the ball and climb to empty them. Without it, a much higher entry system would have been necessary and was no longer interesting kinematic level

The entry is automatic, the wagon raises the barrier to drop the balls. Alas it is 13 studs high.
The output is 10 studs high, the plate is raised by an inclined beam.
The module will be after the ball pump (raised) which allows a regular flow because the entry is not very large (capacity a little more than the wagon in 1 turn).

Here is the video:

https://youtu.be/xqQLkozJKkI

the entry in detail:
https://youtu.be/SW7WIoxqFuY

the output in detail:
https://youtu.be/fn1D7L-Tsd4

feel free to comment ;)

 

Edited June 7, 2020 by higgins91
added detail

[aeh5040]

Very nice module - clean and robust.  I have thought about supplyling power this way.  It would be interesting to see it developed further.

[higgins91]

thank you, i will see according to the ideas that come to me

[howitzer]

As I read the words of "not wanting to use a battery for a question of autonomy," my first thought was a pullback motor combined with some sort of windup-mechanism, so that while loading the balls the mechanism would wind up the pb motor and then release it on the track to travel to the unloading station, where a similar winding would happen while unloading the balls. I have no idea how this could be achieved though or if it could be made reliable enough and I don't even have the train parts nor pb motor to try to build it myself (nor any experience in designing my own GBC modules...)

Nice job on the external power delivery though!

[higgins91]

this could be a good approach, but I'm afraid that the energy transfer is not enough enough during the short time of loading and unloading ...

it would be necessary to modify the operation to stop the wagon when loading the ball while reloading the engine and do the same for unloading