Lowa
-
Posts
204 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Gallery
Everything posted by Lowa
-
We just finalized our button control for train traffic lights. It’s part of a range of buttons we're developing to control your LEGO train layout with a physical control panel. The outside is identical to the track switch motor button control we presented a while ago but inside it has a driver for traffic lights. It’s more than a simple light switch, this button control also supports a number of blinking effects. The two indicator LEDs on the button control mimic the behavior of the traffic light so you can see the current state of your layout on your control panel. The button control can also be reconfigured to be used as crossing barrier light controller: right button = lights off, left button = both LEDs blinking. The next step are button controls for boom barrier and the decoupler track. Let us know what you think!
-
We have been making good progress with the development of the 12V style control buttons to automate LEGO train layouts. We redesigned the buttons using the great suggestions of @CaL: we lowered the back part, moved the LEDs and added additional studs so you can customize the back with tiles to indicate what the buttons do. The first button control is powered by a power brick; the buttons are interconnected and can power each other so you only need one power brick. The power brick connects to a wall socket with a standard 9V power supply. Besides powering the automation button controls it also has 2 PF power outlets that can power PF motors and IR receivers. So you can power a ferris wheel or carousel from a wall outlet instead of using battery power.... Let us know what you think!
-
Well, we use the MQTT protocol and it's pretty straightforward to avoid a messy situation. Each message has a topic and devices can subscribe to the topic(s) they want to receive. So it's pretty simple to send a message to one particular train only. I'm very interested in your experience with the color sensors, please keep us posted! -
You can use this brick to control a train, but we're also working WiFi based train controller. You can find some pictures in this Eurobricks discussion: The motor control brick would be around $15, the WiFi train controller around $25. Tracking trains on a track is indeed a challenge. We have been thinking about a sensor in the train that can identify markers on the track (e.g. reflective sticker on a tile). When the train detects a marker, it would inform the control software that would use that to track the position of the trains. As it's the train that sends the information, distinguishing the trains is easy. Tracking the position of the train would be harder but should, in theory, be possible with this system. If you know where the train started and you know the position of the marker on the track the software should be able to figure out where the train is. This would be a cost effective approach as you only need one sensor in the train and multiple cheap markers.
-
Our switch motors are designed for the PF / 9V LEGO switches, so as long as you don't change the actual switch mechanism this system will work fine. So it should work on those custom switches... Thanks! I'm using standard tactile push buttons. So you hear and feel a solid click when you push the buttons.
-
Thank you! I'm still planning to rework it with the suggestions of @CaL
-
Thank you! This is very useful feedback. We started working on this to provide a solution that didn't require a computer. And also out of nostalgia for the 12V system, it just seems like a lot of fun to have a control panel made out of bricks. But as you mentioned it might indeed bring you 'closer' to your layout. For the trains we would use WiFi as this is compatible with out other systems.
-
The main idea was to have stickers on the tiles, but the solution of @CaL looks pretty interesting to me so I'll experiment with that approach. Concerning the cost, we need the 'final' version before we can fix that but I think it well be around $20-$25. I like your design of the top very much! It might be tricky to get the LEDs so close to the edge but I'll give it a try! The LEDs are not too bright (so it's not uncomfortable when you look at the button), so in worst case I put them on the second row of studs. About the size, 3D printing is not a cheap process and making the buttons larger would have an impact on the price, that's why I made them 2 studs shorter.
-
The Raspberry Pi is very handy for this. With the current version of our control system/software you can already use it in combination with a tablet by logging in remotely. It's a solution that really makes sense to me as you have an small control unit (Raspberry Pi) that manages and power the automation system.
-
This is an early prototype of a 12V style button to control our track switch motors. The button has all the hardware it needs to control the motors, it just needs a 5V power supply (from a brick we're still working on). It has 2 LEDs to indicate the state of the button (the LED on the left is not positioned properly in the prototype and doesn't show in the video). The LEDs are in a hollow stud so you can customize the color by adding a transparent brick. There are 4 studs in between the LEDs so you can add a tile with a label to mark the button so you know what it controls. There are power connectors on the side of the buttons, so if you connect them side by side they can power each other. We're planning on making similar button for the traffic lights, decouplers, etc. For those of you who prefer not to use a computer or want to build a control panel in bricks, is this an approach that would work for you ?
-
The software is available on Windows, macOS, Raspbian and Ubuntu. We're working on a system where you can use you phone as remote control while the system is connected to computer to control and power the motors, lights, etc. The 'computer' can be very small/cheap as we support nControl on the Raspberry Pi. We made a prototype of a level crossing with lights and boom barriers a while ago: Unfortunately there are supply problem with the servo motor we used for this prototype, so we'll have to redesign it using the servo motor we use for the track switch motors.
-
There are indeed quite a few members of the train community working with Arduino. I'm not sure what would be the best place to re-post: train or general discussion. I don't want to start posting it everywhere because then it becomes spamming...
-
Great! We're indeed thinking of making a IR sensor dedicated for robots. A LEGO / Arduino compatible touch sensor should be possible too... Sure, there will be people who prefer to solder it themselves. But we're providing an alternative if you want to focus on developing your LEGO creation. This is also part of a larger project where we'll have additional components so you can create LEGO robots using Arduino without having to make PCBs and soldering components... Indeed, the goal to have off the shelf LEGO-Arduino compatible components that also look good. A box to conceal the Arduino would indeed be interesting...
-
Indeed, this brick has a motor driver IC similar to the L293D, the one we use can handle more current than the L293D. I apologize for not going into more detail; we just had our previous kickstarter campaign copied while we're still fulfilling our backers pledges ... So I'm a bit cautious now. Of course we going to provide the specifications you need to use it!
-
We indeed have a few things going on already. But kickstarter really helps with the logistics to get things going... for example, it always us to buy components 'in bulk'.
-
Great! Any ideas on how we can spread the word ? Our main contacts are within the LEGO train / monorail community. Are you aware of something specific for AFOLs involved in Arduino ?
-
Sorry for the confusion. We try to keep our channel 'clean' and only make the videos that are properly edited visible. Short clips like this that are meant to embed in our website or forum post are indeed not visible. You certainly have a point that this might be confusing... I added a playlist with all the short clips like this to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2Uj7DpKkZjiwdvn7WX6OJKwq8qhpRFxU
-
Thank you!
-
I'm not familiar with the LEGO servo motors and wedo, so thank you @Xewyz2001 for your feedback on this one. If you want to integrate servo motors into your Arduino powered LEGO creations you might want to take a look at our servo motor. It's fully LEGO compatible: technic axle for actuation, 4 technic peg holes in the front and 4 axle holes on the sides to mount the motor. Our servo motor has a range between 0 and 180 degrees with a step of 1 degree. You can use the Arduino servo.h library to control it. The servo motors are available in our online store (www.4dbrix.com) for $15/motor. This video shows one in action. The motor is on the left, on the right you have a prototype of a LEGO / Arduino compatible rotation sensor. In this demo, the servo copies the angle of the sensor. We have an Arduino compatible 'train detection sensor'. It detects objects that are in a range of 1 - 5 studs of the sensor. You can use it a proximity sensor, but I guess we would have to change the shape of the brick to make it practical for robotics applications.
-
It's very easy to use and does not require any Arduino libraries. Connect the two control pins (orange and yellow wires) to two PWM pins of your Arduino board. To run the motor, set control pin 1 to GND - analogWrite(0) - and control pin 2 to a higher voltage - analogWrite(0-255). The higher the voltage, the faster the motor goes. To run the motor in the other direction, set control pin 2 to GND and control pin 1 to a higher voltage. If both pins are GND the motor stops. We're thinking of starting a Kickstarter campaign later this month. The bricks are going to be 3D printed; we have a lot of experience with 3D printing LEGO compatible parts. We currently producing and selling automation systems for LEGO trains and monorail. All our motors and sensors are mechanically compatible with LEGO and electrically with Arduino. You can find detailed information on how to link our LEGO compatible components to Arduino on our website: https://www.4dbrix.com/documentation/arduino/ The price point for this motor driver would be around $15.
-
You can indeed not drive a motor directly from an Arduino board. This brick contains a motor driver to provide the power/current the motor requires. That's why there are 4 pin on the cable: GND: connected to the 9V power supply 9V: connected to the 9V power supply Control pin 1; connected to a PWM arduino pin Control pin 2; connected to a PWM arduino pin
-
This is a fully functional prototype of a brick (2 x 4 x 1) that we developed to make it easy to control PF motors with Arduino boards. It has a PF connector on the top to connect the PF motor and a 4PIn cable to connect to the Arduino board; it has 8 anti studs on the bottom to connect it to LEGO bricks. It allows controlling the direction and speed of the PF motors. We tested it with the M-motor, L-motor, XL motor and the train motor. This is the brick in action with an M-motor: Let us know what you think or what you would use it for!
-
Both BrickTsar and DunksterBricks seem to have had a lot of fun making a review of our automation system! BrickTsar focuses on how to get the system up and running while DunksterBricks shows what it looks like in a real layout. Now that the switch motors, traffic lights and sensors are out, what do you think we should focus on getting out next ?
-
4DBrix ‘Modular Track Switch’ concept blatantly copied.
Lowa replied to Lowa's topic in LEGO Train Tech
I couldn't agree more! We indeed have a virtually endless list of things we could still develop, why start copying what others have done or you know they are working on ? It's one of the reasons I started this post; I cannot find any decent reason for what they did so I wonder if they plan on making this a company strategy: copying successful innovative concepts of others. If so, this could be detrimental to innovation with our community. It certainly makes it impossible to share ideas on what we're working on. Well, as you are a (former?) customer maybe you should let them know what you think of this. Maybe that will make them reflect on their actions. -
4DBrix ‘Modular Track Switch’ concept blatantly copied.
Lowa replied to Lowa's topic in LEGO Train Tech
Indeed, I'm glad you agree that they upgraded their system using our modular concept. They could have upgraded their system without making it modular; I would have been totally fine with that. But I guess the advantage of the modular concept was too tempting not to copy it. We're in contact with them but so far it hasn't brought anything. I only got fuzzy attempts to justify why 'they didn't copy us'... their main mantra seems to be "their switches are similar because there is no other way to do this". I don't think not knowing how to solve a problem justifies taking the solution from someone who does. They claim they needed the modularity to be able to add studs to their naked switches. But if the modularity is not a design feature, only a means to add studs, then why do you market them as modular switches and not studed switches ? I certainly doesn't sound credible to me...