Lowa Posted January 12, 2017 To all LEGO train automation enthusiasts, Now that our track switch motors are out, I finally found the time to make a short clip of the first fully functional prototype of our level crossing motor. The main goal was to have a small motor specially designed level crossing barriers. We managed to pack a tiny digital servo into a brick that measures 2 studs wide, 4 studs deep and 3 brick high (16x32x28.8mm). In front, the motor has a 'square stud' to attach the barrier. In this setup I also added a prototype of our 'train traffic light' that I put on its side and added 2 red transparent 1x1 round LEGO bricks. The motor and light are controlled with our nControl software. The final motors would be printed in black, as I assume that would be the most requested color for barrier motors. Let us know what you think. This is not a final product, so all feedback/questions/suggestions are welcome! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MaineBrickFan Posted January 12, 2017 Looks great -- is the idea that your sensors will be able to be connected for automatic train detection and lowering/raising the crossings? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrispyBassist Posted January 13, 2017 Woah, very cool! I'm curious about the train detection too. I presume the lights can also be replaced with other types? This could be cool for semaphore signals as well... hmmm... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lowa Posted January 13, 2017 38 minutes ago, MaineBrickFan said: Looks great -- is the idea that your sensors will be able to be connected for automatic train detection and lowering/raising the crossings? Thanks! Yes, the idea is indeed to be able to link all the sensors, motors, lights, etc. with the nControl software. So automatically lowering/raising the barriers when the sensor detects a train is a typical application of that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lowa Posted January 13, 2017 52 minutes ago, CrispyBassist said: Woah, very cool! I'm curious about the train detection too. I presume the lights can also be replaced with other types? This could be cool for semaphore signals as well... hmmm... Thank you! Yes, the lights are separate and can be removed / replaced by something else. The motor is a 2x4x3 brick with 8 studs on top, so you can customize it the way you want. I didn't think of that but this tiny motor could indeed be put into a base of a functional semaphore signal... that's an interesting idea... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lowa Posted January 13, 2017 FYI: the wire comes out of the motor at the bottom. Internally the wire comes out of the servo motor at the top, but I managed to find the space inside the brick to run the cable down to the bottom so it's easier to hide the cable in your layout. The picture below shows a prototype without studs, the final motor will have 8 studs on the top surface. In the video, the wire of the light comes out at the side, but that's because this is a 'traffic light' on its side. I'm planning to make a variant with cable coming out at the side of the light; so if you put the light on its side like in the video the cable comes out at the bottom. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrispyBassist Posted January 13, 2017 3 hours ago, Lowa said: FYI: the wire comes out of the motor at the bottom. Internally the wire comes out of the servo motor at the top, but I managed to find the space inside the brick to run the cable down to the bottom so it's easier to hide the cable in your layout. How small is the servo itself within the brick? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M_slug357 Posted January 14, 2017 @Lowa, Just a few suggestions: -Maybe make a groove on the side of the motor housing that could accommodate the light unit's cable? -What's wrong with dark grey? You should offer both color options (and maybe white for dying/painting?) if possible! Other than that, this looks great! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lowa Posted January 17, 2017 On 1/13/2017 at 10:39 PM, M_slug357 said: @Lowa, Just a few suggestions: -Maybe make a groove on the side of the motor housing that could accommodate the light unit's cable? -What's wrong with dark grey? You should offer both color options (and maybe white for dying/painting?) if possible! Other than that, this looks great! There are no technical issues with a making those motors in various colors, it does however complicate the logistics. If you want something in a specific color, you can always ask and we'll do it; we don't charge anything extra for that. But offering the these motors both black and dark gray must be feasible. A grove on the side for the cable of the light would be interesting but I need to check it it's feasible. It was pretty tight to get the motor in there and I'm not sure the walls are thick enough to allow a groove for a cable, but I'll check... Thanks for the suggestion! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
legoman666 Posted January 17, 2017 What sort of signal/voltage is the motor expecting? I'm working on my own level crossing automation and would love to integrate the motor in with my own lights and sound and sensors. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lowa Posted January 17, 2017 4 hours ago, legoman666 said: What sort of signal/voltage is the motor expecting? I'm working on my own level crossing automation and would love to integrate the motor in with my own lights and sound and sensors. It works like a standard hobby servo motor: 4.8-6V input and a pulse width of 544 - 2400 microseconds. If you're using an Aruidno board, just use the servo.h library with default settings and you're good to go! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
legoman666 Posted January 18, 2017 7 hours ago, Lowa said: It works like a standard hobby servo motor: 4.8-6V input and a pulse width of 544 - 2400 microseconds. If you're using an Aruidno board, just use the servo.h library with default settings and you're good to go! I'll need to tinker with one, I've never messed with pulse motors or servos before. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lowa Posted January 18, 2017 49 minutes ago, legoman666 said: I'll need to tinker with one, I've never messed with pulse motors or servos before. We have a detailed example on our website that shows how to control our track switch motors with Arduino, it show how to wire it and the Arduino code: https://www.4dbrix.com/documentation/arduino/2.02.001/ The level crossing barrier motor works in the same way, the only difference would be the angles: you would actuate the motor between 0 and 90 degrees, not between 25 and 105 as for the track switch motor. When we release the barrier motor we will also add an example to our website so you have a starting point. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CrispyBassist Posted January 18, 2017 14 hours ago, Lowa said: The only difference would be the angles: you would actuate the motor between 0 and 90 degrees, not between 25 and 105 as for the track switch motor. So theoretically a semaphore would be 0, 45, and 90, right? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lowa Posted January 18, 2017 1 hour ago, CrispyBassist said: So theoretically a semaphore would be 0, 45, and 90, right? If you would put the sign directly onto the motor, yes. I you would put the motor at the base you might need different angles in function of the mechanism used to move the sign. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
