Thomas the tank engine. TTTE.

The fingers are ok. Not too much damage this time.[emoji2957]

 

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Now, if we can only get them in adult sizes for you Trev :)

 

No cuts today.[emoji6]

Driver board design for the 5 x engine shed linear actuators with one limit switche input each and 3 outputs to drive relays for Thomas, Harold and the Fat Controller motors.

The two limit switches on each actuator will be wired in parallel to reduce the number of data pins required as this uses all but pin 1 the Tx pin.

The big black block is an Arduino Leonardo.

Cheers Trev

P.S. I now have two 3d printed buildings, one to cover each flipper switch.[emoji16]

 

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This is absolutely amazing ! You have a gift!

New lower profile linear actuators with adjustable switch positioning. I needed a bit more clearance underneath so I moved the micro switches to the side and reduced the height by 5mm. I also needed to be able to adjust the position of the switches to allow all the trains to stop in the same place. The mounting rods for the engines are in different places so I need to move the switches for each engine.

 

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Yes I'm still working on Thomas. The decals for the plastics arrived yesterday from @MamePatrol and they look awesome. They've now been fitted to the plastics, I'm just getting up the nerve to do the big plastic that the tracks mount on. I also 3d printed some mounting clips to hold the switch covers in place.

 

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Cool Bananas.

 

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Things are changing at the Big Trev household in 2020. I've applied for a Tech coordinator's role in the new year and Christopher my son starts school so I've got no excuse to stay at home anymore. While I'll have a bit less time for projects on the plus side I'll have more cash for them like this one and the 20 others I've got lined up.

The Tamworth Tech Shed (Maker space) is going well and we now have a great committee and enthusiastic committee members who are willing to share the load which is awesome.

​​​​For those who voted for us in the Greater Bank grant, thank you we won by nearly 900 votes.

I'm looking forward to getting Thomas finished, my Hankin restorations finished a game room setup and getting back out to Pinfest to check out all the homebrew machines being made.

I'll try and post more updates in the new year. I have to add a huge thanks to Bel and Vic Drash @Pash for an awesome Christmas present of a Hafco pinball trolley. One of the best things to come out of this hobby is their friendship and the others I've made.

Have a safe and happy new year one and all.

Cheers Trev.

I'm getting motivated again now I've got a bit of cash to spend on this project. I've ordered the play field protector with artwork and engine shed plastic.

Unfortunately when I got the last lot of decals I put the large gravel decal on the wrong side of the plastic so I've had to wait to get it reprinted. That stopped me from fitting the track and engines that sit in the shed.

I'm happy now the cabinet artwork has stuck down well with just a bit of shrinkage on the front edges due to the heat in the shed but it's not too bad. I'll probably have a play with it tomorrow now Christopher is back at school two days a week.

Sorry it's been so long since my last post but life has got in the way a bit lately.

Cheers Trev.

Just hurry up and get this damn thing finished already........ :) LOL

Here's today's effort.

Edited May 20, 2020 by Arcade King

Tiptastic :)

Making sure everything fits. I can't wait for the playfield to arrive it should be a lot brighter than this Officeworks draft print.

Can you guess where the playfield came from?

I've finished assembling the engine shed mechs V2.0 and I've made a start on the wall that blocks you from seeing Thomas in the back of the engine shed.

The large gravel decal arrived today so I should be able to get the track, shed engines, bridges and steam truck fitted while I wait for the playfield art. I managed to get out to Bunnings too so I can finish the black curtain/divider in the engine shed.

The track has steel inserts under it and will have tinned copper braid epoxied in where Thomas' wheels run to provide power to the engine.

Cheers Trev

Large decal applied, shed engine mechs fitted.

The track has been screwed down for hopefully the last time and I'm getting the braid ready to lay in the grooves.

I'll 3d print a roller next to help glue the braid in place.

Braid roller.

One track glued one to go. � [ATTACH=JSON]{"data-align":"none","data-size":"large","data-tempid":"temp_152058_1590458249193_456"}[/ATTACH]​

Well that works. I've got to change the tyres on Thomas to softer ones and tinker with the magnets but atleast the braid is mostly glued down and the engine works.

 

(If you don't know the source:

)

Wow, fair rate of knots there! I wasn’t expecting him to take off that quick :)

Still needs tweaking but I'll have to wait for more magnets to arrive.

Wow, fair rate of knots there! I wasn’t expecting him to take off that quick :)

 

I can slow it down and will probably have to.