raymw Posted March 31, 2015 Share Posted March 31, 2015 Hi,I started out in 7mm about ten years ago, with the purpose of developing a more realistic operation of model railways. I did some work on dcc controllers, and thought about incorporating sound, but to my mind, sound does not work very well, due to limitations of scale - can't scale nature, and all that...However, in the past two years, I have been developing various systems for operating 3 link couplings in a realistic manner, without using magnets or 'the hand of God'.I started out with a system of cams and levers positioned at uncoupling locations around the track, but over time, the necessary fine mechanisms tended to jam, so that idea was soon discarded. I then thought, I could make one high quality miniature 'robot' if you like, with jewelled bearings, and molecular level motors, but this needed the added complexity of radio control, and as i wanted the robot to move around the track side, that meant using a battery, which added too much bulk, and of course it was something else to control.Then, one day, I realised that these dumb mechanical solutions would never give me the answers to this problem, it needed something more autonomous, something that worked with some small inbuilt intelligence, that would be able to operate between the buffers of coupled wagons, and with a good power to weight ratio. A basic neural network, once trained, would be able to recognise which couplings to operate, if, say, a small bar code was applied to the wagons. After a few false starts, utilising the lens, processor and other components from an old mobile phone, I again realised that size was still a problem.Thinking about it further, I decided to look at the natural world, if possible to find a mechanism that could walk around, with some sort of jointed arm/leg arrangement. I think I have the solution, and am offering members of rmweb the opportunity to invest in this project, on this rather special day, before I look into more formal crowd funding. I thought today would be a good time to make a public announcement of the plan to carry out some intensive breeding and training of cockroaches - genetic engineering coupled with some 3d printed bio material has to be the answer. Best wishes, Ray Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Reichert Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 See "Revolution couplers". Andy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
flexible_coupling Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 I heard that Dapol's 08 appeared on shop shelves today...? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Dava Posted April 1, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 1, 2015 I am patenting a superior auto coupling technology, based on magnetic memory effect wire & nano-hooks. It will be crowd funded so you can all invest soon! Dava Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
F-UnitMad Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Training cockroaches to do your uncoupling is all very well... it's dressing them up in Railway uniforms you'll have trouble with... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Gilbert Posted April 1, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 1, 2015 The old "1.4 "model coupling? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osgood Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Ray - I really don't think genetic manipulation of cockroaches is a good idea, it could backfire. Best stick with rare earth magnets……... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisf Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 In 2mm you could use dust mites. Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 I'm using a mark 80-12 fulminator not only miniaturized but now with cloaking so it is invisible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
puddlejumper Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 I'm using a mark 80-12 fulminator not only miniaturized but now with cloaking so it is invisible. Must make it a bit tricky to find it??? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
3 link Posted April 1, 2015 Share Posted April 1, 2015 Must make it a bit tricky to find it??? Easy just follow the foot prints Martyn. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
switcher 1 Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 Looking around the various forums/fora that I frequent, I have noticed a lot less 'April 1st' topics than there used to be. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
phixer64 Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Ray - I really don't think genetic manipulation of cockroaches is a good idea, it could backfire. Best stick with rare earth magnets……... CR.jpg Think your gonna need a bigger fridge!! Jeff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
raymw Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-33364938 not so far away.... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Reichert Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Couple: Lift, move forward, drop. Uncouple: Lift. move backward, drop. Looks pretty straight forward from here. . . . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simond Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 It would be easy to do this as a single link coupling a la Hornby tinplate. It should be possible to operate said link in such a way (perhaps with a servo) that it is lifted through about 90 degrees from the "loose" position to a position where it is clear of the hook on the opposing vehicle. It should be possible to make a chain that will bend one way (up, in this case) but is not flexible the other way (think, like two elbow joints in the same plane). In which case it would be possible to make three-link couplings act as a single link when lifted from the first link ie the one which is fixed to the hook, but which hangs naturally when coupled. The difficulty that I foresee with this is making the third link wide enough to ensure that in the majority of cases it would engage with the opposing vehicle, but not so oddly shaped that it looks daft, or simply worse than a single link coupling. And of course whilst you can imagine the loco fitted with remote coupling & uncoupling, it's going to be a bit pricy fitting all your goods stock with decoders and servos. And you'd have to decide whether to have one end or both ends "powered" and how to ensure you uncoupled the end you want to uncouple... Me, I'm sticking with THOG for the foreseeable future! Best Simon Edit -typos Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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