smithhayward
Large Child
Hey Gang, so I totally know what you're thinking... Oh lord, ANOTHER project this guy has going on?!?! He's never going to finish any of them... You know what I say to that?
Yeah, you're probably right.![Stick out tongue :p :p](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
![Wink ;) ;)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
However, that doesn't mean I don't ATTEMPT to. Sharing is caring and I have an idea I think can really pan out given the time and effort and the teamwork we have all come to love here on the FT forums.
I also welcome all links and references to existing products/projects that are like this - I have not been able to find anything EXACTLY like this. One guy using 2 servos with 3 rubber bands to drop parachute guys. And of course the $25 E-Flite servoless bomb drop.
I don't have any drawings yet, but what I do have is a set of 7 initial "requirements" (probably better termed "desires"):
The device:
If you're still reading this, thanks for actually reading the entire list of desires. Subscribe to get updates. This won't likely be a high-speed high-volume thread, I want to be methodical with this one. My Monoprice dual-extruder 3D Printer arrives in a few days, but I want to focus on DESIGN, probably through the end of this year unless we come up with something so perfect it must be prototyped.
Feel free to contribute additional desires and I'll incorporate them to the main list with attribution. The next post will be continually updated with the current status of the project with pictures (so it's easy to get caught up when it's 6 months from now).
C'MON, let's design something awesome together!
Yeah, you're probably right.
However, that doesn't mean I don't ATTEMPT to. Sharing is caring and I have an idea I think can really pan out given the time and effort and the teamwork we have all come to love here on the FT forums.
I also welcome all links and references to existing products/projects that are like this - I have not been able to find anything EXACTLY like this. One guy using 2 servos with 3 rubber bands to drop parachute guys. And of course the $25 E-Flite servoless bomb drop.
I don't have any drawings yet, but what I do have is a set of 7 initial "requirements" (probably better termed "desires"):
The device:
- operates using a single unmodified 9g servo (the kind you can usually get for about $2 in a pack of 10).
- can use a pushrod or the servo snapped into the device, I don't care as long as it's easy to assemble, install and use.
- is mechanical. No electronics. Levers, gears, springs, washers, screws, pins, magnets, etc. are all fair game. This keeps cost and usually complexity to a minimum.
- can install onto the outside of a craft or be installed internally, flush with an exterior surface.
- Initially I forsee that surface needing to be a horizontal downward facing surface, but maybe we can create a side-facing version that won't get hung up while dropping.
- And... the thought just hit me that you could do Space Shuttle style piggy backing if you top mounted it, then you could release the mechanism and dive leaving the towed craft aloft.
- uses a standard interface to the item being dropped
- As much as it sucks, I think having an interface mount that you secure to the object being dropped will be necessary to standardize the entire mechanism. HOWEVER, I look to you all to prove me wrong.
- can hold an item of a specified weight securely until released by the pilot. I'm thinking I'll set this initially to 250g (for reference, a can of soda (or pop or soda-pop) weighs just under 400g)
- In practice I would expect items being dropped of a "bomb" nature would not exceed 100g. Think about that 100g motor falling on your head!!!
- is modular. Meaning that you can somehow connect or daisy-chain these "drop modules" to have theoretically unlimited dropping potential.
- If not modular then design can focus on creating a 3-item drop mechanism that can be scaled up for 4+ versions to be created using the same basic concept.
- is configurable. Meaning that if you achieve #3, modular form, that you can "flip a switch on the mechanism" to put it from sequential drop mode to single drop mode, which would just drop everything attached to all connected modules on the first activation.
- This one I know is a pipe dream, but doesn't hurt to write down the thought.
If you're still reading this, thanks for actually reading the entire list of desires. Subscribe to get updates. This won't likely be a high-speed high-volume thread, I want to be methodical with this one. My Monoprice dual-extruder 3D Printer arrives in a few days, but I want to focus on DESIGN, probably through the end of this year unless we come up with something so perfect it must be prototyped.
Feel free to contribute additional desires and I'll incorporate them to the main list with attribution. The next post will be continually updated with the current status of the project with pictures (so it's easy to get caught up when it's 6 months from now).
C'MON, let's design something awesome together!