Boom arms control

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sircastor

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My 6-year-old recently asked me if we could make a train crossing for our LGB Starter set. Being a 3D Printing enthusiast and amateur designer, I set right to it. It took a fair bit of test prints to get a final product that the rail I have would slide into (I got some Aristocraft 1ft sections I pulled off the ties) and it worked out pretty well.

I'm moving onto adding automatic boom arms for the train and I'm curious how this is handled in other products. Is it a single motor that lowers them via a pulley? Two motors? Something else? I suppose one could make an argument for some sort of magnetic deal. Anyway, suggestions welcome.

Screenshot 2024-04-03 at 5.20.08 PM.png
 
sircastor said:
My 6-year-old recently asked me if we could make a train crossing for our LGB Starter set. Being a 3D Printing enthusiast and amateur designer, I set right to it. It took a fair bit of test prints to get a final product that the rail I have would slide into (I got some Aristocraft 1ft sections I pulled off the ties) and it worked out pretty well.

I'm moving onto adding automatic boom arms for the train and I'm curious how this is handled in other products. Is it a single motor that lowers them via a pulley? Two motors? Something else? I suppose one could make an argument for some sort of magnetic deal. Anyway, suggestions welcome.

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The LGB one uses weight of the train, I think there is a pad beneath the xing that acts upon complex wire routes to drop the 2 arms. Good luck replicating that!
 
dunnyrail said:
The LGB one uses weight of the train, I think there is a pad beneath the xing that acts upon complex wire routes to drop the 2 arms. Good luck replicating that!
Click to expand...
Yeah, I have one of those....
 
Somewhere I have some code to control 2 level crossing gates run by servos, using reed switch contacts to detect the loco - these could also be optical sensors or micro switches, etc.

I'll see if I can dig it out for you.
 
Quite a few articles about using Arduino for the job. This one uses servos

circuitdiagrams.in

How to Build an Automatic Railway Gate Control Using Arduino

Automatic Railway Gate Control System: We understand the importance of public safety in railway systems nowadays. With the ... <p class="read-more-container"><a title="How to Build an Automatic Railway Gate Control Using Arduino" class="read-more button"...
circuitdiagrams.in circuitdiagrams.in

Rik
EDIT: PS Just noticed that this, and all the others I've found so far, relies on IR sensors to trigger the Arduino. IR sensors can be unreliable in the great outdoors, especially on those odd occasions during the year when the sun shines.

Alternatives could be:
  • Simple pressure switch on or under the track
  • Reed switch if all locos are equipped with magnets
  • Motion sensors
Alternatively (again), you could just operate it manually or remotely with a simple RC device (eg 433Mhz Wireless Remote Control Switch DC 12V 1CH Relay Receiver Module RF Transm | eBay
 
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If i may chime in?
Go old school. a magnetic read contact between the rails and a simple small dc motor.
When the first read contact closes the dc motor will close the boom.
When de boom is closed it wil go on a micro switch to disconnect the circuit.
When the train passes over the next read contact it will open the circuit with reversed + and - so the dc motor will open the boom again.
When the bom is boom is open again it will touch a other micro switch to disconnect that circuit and reset the whole circus again for the next train.

On aliexpress you will find all you need.
Geared dc motors(buy per ten) for under a euro a piece.
 
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