[TC10] Pneumatic lift [GBC] module

[Captainowie]

Hi.

With the quality of entries I've seen so far, I don't like my chances of winning, but it would be nice to get a badge!

I'm going to use this contest as an excuse to redo a previous model of mine - a GBC module powered by pneumatics. This is what the old version looked like:

I have used it in a previous display, but it has numerous shortcomings as a GBC module.

• The output is not in line with the input, violating the spec. It was what I needed at the time, but it's not suitable for general use.
  
• The output is impolitely high. Again, it was what I needed at the time, but I couldn't put this into a normal circuit.
  
• It would frequently jam.
  
• It spilled lots of balls.
  

I will be using the same sequencing (basically the simplest alternating sequence possible). I had toyed with the idea of something more complicated, but 1) I couldn't get my head around how to make the sequence I wanted, and 2) it would have been too slow anyway.

I probably won't make a compressor for this one, leaving it hand-operated. The idea being that in a display it can be somewhat interactive - the audience gets to power the Contraption (or at least some portion of it).

Best of luck to all entrants!

Owen.

[Andy D]

That is really cool! Good luck!

Andy D

[Milan]

Everything non-vehicle seems to attract lots of votes, so you never know :)

[Captainowie]

Everything non-vehicle seems to attract lots of votes, so you never know :)

That's true. Also, I'm hoping the fact I've got a sequence in there (so that as long as there is a supply of pressure, it will keep operating forever) will buy me some votes too. But that Flight Sim is going to be hard to beat!

[Captainowie]

Ok, I'm finally able to report some significant progress. It's a little bit colourful at the moment, but that's normal for prototypes! Hopefully this series of still images gives an indication of how it works.

My next priority is to try and get a switch mounted in there, that gets flipped as the platform is raised and lowered. It also has some significant faults as a GBC module: it doesn't handle a large batch of balls particularly well, and when balls do spill, they easily get into the internals of the module.

But I think it's good progress nonetheless.

[kieran]

Nice start, I love gbc and pneumatic so this is right up my ally 

[Captainowie]

Aargh, suffering a terrible case of Heisenleak - each component, and each combination of components, seems sufficiently airtight - but put it all together and *poof*, a leak. So frustrating!

[Captainowie]

Well, I got the Heisenleak sorted out, apparently by just messing around with things. Compared to the previous images, I have moved the pistons to the inside, added another switch/piston to form a repeating sequence, and finally rebuilt it in a more consistent colour scheme - black grey and yellow, with highlights in red and blue.

 

Some more photos:

Moving tray at its lowest point, ready to accept a load of balls.

Moving tray at its highest point, ready to move its balls on to the next module.

View from the side, showing the panel that prevents wayward balls from dropping into the innards of the module.

Because there always has to be a shot from underneath.

The internals.

So, it's done. It meets much more of the spec than its predecessor, but as to how it will perform in an actual GBC circuit, only time will tell.

Once again, best of luck to all contestants, there are some great models in the competition!

Owen.

[RohanBeckett]

hey! very well done!

looking forward to seeing it in person! :)