An Ify Bridge

[Rheged]

I hope I don't disappoint.

No disappointment at all!  I'm all agog waiting for the next instalment .

[NARSES2]

I hope I don't disappoint.

No disappointment at all!  I'm all agog waiting for the next instalment .

That's two of us then 

[Old Wombat]

The only disappointment would be to not see it finished.


Otherwise ...

[McColm]

What scale is the bridge?
Great build

[Ify]

Thank you Rhedged and NARSES2 for your support.

[Ify]

The only disappointment would be to not see it finished.
Otherwise ...

Thanks Old Wombat.
Don't worry, it's for the museum, so it will be finished one day.

[Ify]

What scale is the bridge?
Great build

Thanks for thumbs up.
The scale is 1/72.

[Ify]

The gates are driven by servo motors. I have two brands of servos. I found a servo controller circuit on the Internet and soon discovered that both servo brands respond differently to the circuit. I tweaked the circuit to respond most positively to the Tower Pro servos.

These servos arms only need to rotate 90 degrees. Two potentiometers are used for adjusting the exact, open and closed, positions for the gates.



Here is the circuit board containing the four servo controllers for the gates. Those blue boxes are the potentiometers (adjusting trim-pots).



Wooden blocks were cut-out for mounting the servos and the gate axle brackets.
The bottom photos show two of these attached under the display table.



There are two microswitches for each gate. They do not limit the servo action as most modelers may use them for. I am relying on the servo controller circuit to do that.
So these microswitches only register when the gate is open or closed. From this, other sequential circuits, for bridge operation, become enabled and disabled.

The microswitch board is assembled over the servo arms. Two sets for each side.

[Ify]

Late last month I ordered two wooden fishing boats (kits) from China. I have a feeling I won't see them arrive till next year 
The WHAT IF part about the boat is that it will be made from two Bow sections. Hopefully it will look symmetrical, so that the boat does not look like it is reversing back to its start position. The boat only travels once across during one operation of the bridge. The next operation has the boat going back.

I will return after Christmas.

Thanks for following, and I hope you will have a fabulous Christmas.
May you find a new model kit under the Christmas tree.

[Scotaidh]

 
I'm just gob-smacked by your work.  I'm a bit late to the viewing public, but this is amazing.  You certainly give us very high bar. 

[Ify]

Thank you Scotaidh for compliment. Sorry for such a delay in responding to you.
Been very busy, including part time work on this project.
As previously mentioned...

Late last month I ordered two wooden fishing boats (kits) from China. I have a feeling I won't see them arrive till next year 
The WHAT IF part about the boat is that it will be made from two Bow sections. Hopefully it will look symmetrical, so that the boat does not look like it is reversing back to its start position. The boat only travels once across during one operation of the bridge. The next operation has the boat going back...

...the boat kits arrived last month.

Meanwhile, I have been working on how to use the two motors for the lift-span and the boat. The two motors will be operated by a push-pull circuit, Meaning, it be switchable, electronically, between clockwise and counter-clockwise shaft rotation. Digital signals will determine which rotation the motors ought to be in. This will allow the raising and lowering of the bridge-span, and the up and down stream travel of the boat.

I discovered that the motor runs too fast for raising the span (4 seconds). So I dropped its supply voltage by half to double the time. Now it will take almost 8 seconds.

Also discovered that the motor shaft still rotates (drift) after switching it off. This is important to know, so I can switch the motor off, via sensors, just before the span docks onto the bridge.


Designed the circuit board, etched it, and added the components. Two motor controllers on the one printed circuit board.

[Old Wombat]

Woh! Electrickery magic! Woh!

[Ify]

Woh! Electrickery magic! Woh!

Yes, it is illusive, especially considering that nobody really knows what electricity is.

[Ify]

What about the boats?
Finally got two similar wooden boat kits from China. They will be modified to create a boat of symmetry.
The boat will be travelling up and down stream without turning around. So which ever way it goes it ought not to look as if it is going backwards.

The boat will be made from two bow sections, and with two sets of navigational lights, to assist in this illusion.
Below picture show a modified image of the boat to give me an idea of how it may look when completed.



The two decks, cabin walls, and keel sections got cut in half and the two bow portions got joined together.
Used only the bow portions of the bulkheads.
I found the planking too stiff for gluing along the bulkheads so I had to bend-shape them under heat.
A planking iron was too expensive to justify for a single boat. However, I found a DIY method, which simply uses a tea-candle and a tin can.
This proved to be very effective, and was able to quickly shape the planking to follow the shape of the hull.

[Old Wombat]

And he's a flippin' boat builder! Are there no end to the man's talents?