Saturday, March 24, 2012

"The Circulator"

I have finally finished my MOC! Presenting......... "The Circulator" 
 
  When I heard NXTLog was hosting a "crazycontraption" contest I couldn't wait to get started on an entry, but I only had one NXT set so I couldn't make a really big robot, but I started anyway and it turned out great. Okay now on too the details!
Overview picture.

Module 1: When the ball comes down the ramp it falls in between two technic beam liftarms with a 53 degree angle and will spin 90 degrees every 3.5 seconds. Then after 7 seconds it will be pushed of onto a ramp that goes to the next module.
Module 2: This one is based on a popular GBC module.  A motor geared down moves a beam with axles through the end in circles to push balls up a 45 degree angle, which pushes them onto another ramp that leads to the last module.
Module 3: This last module is one of the most common modules, all it does is wait until the ultrasonic sensor sees something pass by and waits 1 second to lift the arm up to start the chain all over again.

Conclusion: This has really been a fun project for me to build, and I hope to build an even bigger one when I get my 2.0!

Here is a bird's eye view of "The Circulator"

Video: You know the saying "a picture is worth 1,000 words Well I say this video is worth 10,000 words :P

Enjoy!

9 comments:

  1. You said on your you tube video that you could build it with NXT 2.0...sorry but you can't really, i have NXT 2.0 and i couldn't (well i could because i have other parts but using only 2.0) build that because 2.0 has less pieces and very little gears (it only has the double bevel gears, no grey gears.

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  2. Michael,
    I finished your Circulator project build as your youtube video guide, but I meet some problem:
    After I put the ball down the ramp it comes to he first module. The first module has eight "Technic liftarms" bent at about a 45 degree angle that are attached to the big 40 tooth gear the balls fit right between the two liftarms, the motor turns 90 degrees every 3.5 seconds. And then after 7 seconds it isn't pushed off onto a ramp that leads to the NeXT module.

    Could you please help me to fix it, detail information please refer to below video link:
    http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTEwMjU0Njc2.html

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    Replies
    1. It was hard for me to see exactly what was going on due to the lighting in the video, but if I read your description right then it seems that you may have made a mistake in the building, try rebuilding that part and if the problem persists tell me. Thanks for building it, I hope you can figure out the problem!

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    2. I actually checked the video as well, it seems like the part with the "Technic Liftarms" is spinning too fast, you might want to bring the power down some. I have not built this project, therefore I am not entirely sure if that is the problem but from what I could see that is my best guess.

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  3. Hey try to rebuild this project with nxt 2.0!

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    Replies
    1. At the moment I don't have the 2.0, but I might try rebuilding it using the EV3 when it comes out!

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  4. The program is located here: http://www.us.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/community/robotsteps?projectid=e4ce805e-eb09-459f-a39d-434cc8bc76a6 Just go down to the part of the page with the header: "PROGRAM AND VIDEO".

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