Ball mechanism

[Shuja.amjad]

So I am designing a mechanism where balls have to be fed from a feeder into a mechanism which can only intake 1 ball at a time. I have thought of multiple designs but all of them end up having the same problem i.e. the entry hole is choked if 2 balls try to enter at the same time. Does anyone have any idea to get around this?

One idea that seemed promising was the use of "magazine" type containers to allow 1 input at a time. In this mechanism balls in the right most column move out first and then corresponding column on the left is emptied. The colored "flaps" remain shut due to the presence of balls in the common duct until no balls remain beneath the flaps.The problem with this mechanism is that:
1) The mechanism might stop altogether if the pressure exerted on the flap by the balls in a particular column increases the friction in the common duct
2) if this mechanism was to be implemented in 3-dimensions then how can we ensure 1 common exit.

CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS:

This mechanism is to be placed in an area where:
1) Only a small battery is available to provide power (preferable if the mechanism doesn't need ANY power)
2) Ball size is limited to 2-3 cm dia

I am open to ideas. Any mechanism that achieves the above objectives would be helpful.

 

[GregLocock]

There may well be a mechanical solution, but I can't help feeling that adding $5 of Arduino logic would simplify this.

Cheers

Greg Locock


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[IRstuff]

I don't think your flaps will operate as you desire. You've got N balls weighing down the flap, but there's not enough gravitational force on the ball in the chute to overcome the friction. Additionally, even if one ball makes it past the flap, the flap will drop into the valley between it and the next ball in the chute, and almost certainly guarantee that the next ball will get jammed by the flap getting too low.

Is this for school? Student postings are forbidden.

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[hendersdc]

These already exist in the form of step feeders. Here is a link to the first one that showed up on Google, their video shows cylindrical parts but spherical ones work just as well: [URL unfurl="true"]https://performancefeeders.com/products/step-feeder[/url]

If you are trying to integrate this into your own equipment and can't buy one, copy the way step feeders function, using specifically sized steps and gates. Parts can be fed along the step with vibration, a conveyor belt, or a slope for spherical parts.

 

[IRstuff]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0Y3vuEjLpI

at 0:56, you can see it conveying balls of some sort. Seems like a slanted funnel could send all the balls at the last step into a single-file

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[IRstuff]

Alternate approach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUM2pcM6QW4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLVuDugVWUA

TTFN (ta ta for now)
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[kjoiner]

Hello,

There is a series of 4 books called "Ingenious Mechanisms". If you are looking for a mechanical solutions, there are several sections that cover feed mechanisms that may be applicable.

Kyle