Barge Unloading Facility Build

[Rvjimd]

ESP,

Ya, I was thinking about that yesterday as a matter of fact. I actually already have some chain and two servo heads from servo city. I may try that at some point. I wish I could find some smaller chain, I remember some bent wire stuff from an old clock or something from my boyhood tinkering days...

For those of you still following along, here is a picture I found from a company that makes the full scale systems.







The Wintech Uni-Move System is a single winch system in which cables exit the winch in both directions. This type of system is commonly referred to as a continuous loop or one rope on/one rope off system. Uni-Move is available with both single speed and variable speed drives. The winch drum is grooved and is designed to accommodate the total shuttle travel of the barge. Total travel distance in a continuous loop system is limited to the length of cable contained in a single layer.

Note where at the end they state the total available travel is limited to the single wrap cable length. " I could have told em that."

Jim

[Rvjimd]

Servo motor question...

With a typical servo, is there a way to reduce the power off drag/braking effect?

If I could reduce the unpowered brake on either servo, I would be able to power ONLY the in feed winch and let the tailing winch free wheel. This would eliminate the slack cable issue.

With the futaba S148 that I'm am using now, the unpowered brake is to strong to expect it to unwind without a LOT of pull.

I think the braking effect is all coming from the stack of gears on the top of the servo.

Jim

[FlyingBeagle]

What if the cable didnt have to wrap all the way around the drum. It should not take much force at all to move the barges. If you built it like a basic rope tow at a ski resort you wouldnt have the problem with the calbe walking on the drum. Put a large traction wheel on the motor with smaller pullys below it on both sides. The cable is fed in below the small pulley, around the traction wheel and back out under the other small pulley. You could even spring load the pulleys to maintain tension.

Kind of like the block used to pull up the pots on deadliest catch.

http://www.kolstrand.com/catalog/pro...71/image/2303/



Here is another homemade version of a ski tow that shows the principle I am talking about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBXNlPtOtWo

[Rvjimd]

Good ideas all! I thought I was going to need a spring, just to keep tension on the system.

I like the tow rope idea. I should be able to do something like that.