132 replies to this topic

[JayketheKid]

I can understand how a Ferris wheel lift could be extremely unreliable with two different gondolas operating at once. But an elevator lift will still be quite interesting and much more reliable. I cant wait to see how you incorporate it into your design.

[~stεεlspectrum~]

I know it may seem disappointing but I'm actually more excited for this elevator lift! The one on Cobra's Curse is a really cool mechanical design and I can't wait to see how you've done it.

Hypothetically, what do you think would make the ferris wheel lift more reliable? I suppose stiffening the towers that hold the track at the top would help a lot. And maybe it would help to add a clamping mechanism that aligns the track like I was talking about. Idk. I'm interested to find an engineer from Premier and ask how they dealt with alignment on Round About. Unless anyone on SSC knows about it?

[Chaos]

I have about a thousand ideas on how to make the design more reliable, but here's the first couple off the top of my head:

 

1) Make it BIGGER. Create a solid structure around the "rings" that hold the carriages so they'd all be exactly the same size/shape. This would enable more weight to be added under the carriages so they'd stay upright more reliably.

 

2) Turn the wheel with gears or something that doesn't slip. This should prevent a lot of the errors associated with getting the carriages to stop at the right time.

 

3) Instead of rings, have the carriages hang like on most normal ferris wheels.

 

One day, I'll probably go back to this, but for now, the elevator lift construction has been pretty successful so far.

[Chaos]

So the elevator continues to work pretty well! Watch the video to get a better idea of how it works. Next up we'll see how well it will interface with the LEGO EV3.

 

 

Edited by Chaos, 27 December 2018 - 05:20 PM.

[Mister Piglette]

Wow, that is such an awesome concept! I loved the explanation of the lift as you explained it part by part. Really shows the creativity you can show off! Keep going, this is great!

[rgarner42]

Ingenious.

I hope you find this easier than the other lift to automate. 

Edited by rgarner42, 01 January 2019 - 07:04 AM.

[Chaos]

The elevator is now fully functional! I"m sure I'll have to tweak it here and there, but it works better than I expected! I'm excited to get back to building and shaping track soon.

 

[SCM]

That is certainly impressive. I admire your dedication to working on it "after months of trial and error". That is pretty inspiring, actually. My only criticism is that the track doesn't line up perfectly with the elevator's track. I know I'm nitpicking here and that the train can get through just fine, but it's kind of an eye sore. 

[Chaos]

^Thanks! The tweaking will probably continue for a while (and hopefully lead to better track alignment). But the elevator is now in place. And it works consistently! 

 

[Chaos]

So, I finally got around to re-profiling that ending drop that's been bugging me for MONTHS. It has now changed from a double down to a triple down. Also, I built an inclined dive loop/overbanked turn.

 

[Chaos]

New update is live! It's pretty easy to see how the rest of the track is gonna go at this point.

 

[FrIeDeGgS]

It's nice to see this coming together so well!

[Chaos]

^Thanks! Got the switch track connected! It's working pretty reliably so far.

 

 

 

 

[SCM]

Oooh fancy. I read your mind about themeing that tire. I think I actually understand how that mechanism works. The train pushes the stopper (or whatever it's called) back, causing the other side of it to pull. It's attached to the counterweight so that the counterweight is pulled towards the center, thus allowing the train to now be the heaviest so it can be lowered. Once the train is gone, the other end is now heavier and goes back up as a result while the counterweight moves back to its original position so the process can start again. 

[FrIeDeGgS]

I don't really understand the theming of the tire, but the tilt track is really cool and seems to be very reliable. It's really amazing how many different mechanisms and elements you've implemented into this coaster!

[Chaos]

The station automation is complete! 

 

I had originally planned a full-fledged block brake system, but have since decided on a slightly different path. This video shows 75% of the braking system. The remaining 25% involves the elevator, which will be programmed to only eject a train once the previous train has already launched.

 

[SCM]

I never would've thought to do the brakes like that, so kudos to you. After seeing this, I'm definitely interested in buying one of those Lego Mindstorm things. It would certainly add a touch of realism I've always been lacking in my rides. Is the programming easy to work with or do you need some background knowledge? 

[Mister Piglette]

I watched this last night and it looks spectacular. I also have a question about the programming. How much of it is hard-coded with timing? I'm not sure how dynamic Lego Mindstorms is.

[Muzz135]

Love how you’ve got this working! Wish I had/could justify spending the money on the Lego Mindstorm stuff cause it seems fairly simple but adds a lot to a ride. Really getting excited to see this all working now, it’s gonna be amazing!

[Chaos]

The LEGO EV3 is really incredible, but also really expensive (unless you get lucky on one of the EV3 auctions on eBay). The programming is actually very intuitive, with a simple drag and drop system for motors, sensors, timers, etc.

 

As for the timing issue, you can set the motors to stop after a given time, set # of rotations, whenever a sensor is activated, and probably a million other things I haven't thought of. You can also have nested sequences in loops and two sequences running concurrently, but I didn't want to get too complicated with mine.

 

The HUGE drawback about the EV3 is that you should be able to use a standard ethernet cable to connect to the motors and sensors, but you can't because LEGO is greedy and puts the little plastic tab on the side and not the middle like a normal ethernet cable.

 

I currently have the station brakes on a timer, but I will probably end up adding a sensor that starts the sequence when the train comes around the turn high above the final brakes.