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- Toy Train Signal
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Design and Build Process
Design
Iterations
Iterations
The train signal was 3d printed in multiple parts. Designed to attach to our existing wooden train track set. When a button is pressed, the signal lights up, the arm goes down and a speaker plays the sounds a signal crossing
Iterations
Iterations
Iterations
The first iteration used a bolt, cut wood, a servo, and some LED's. The bottom of the bolt fit into a 3d printed base that kept the design upright
Circuitry
Iterations
Circuitry
An Arduino and a 9Volt battery were responsible for lighting the LED's, activating the servo and starting the track on the sound board.
Coding
Integrating Circuits
Circuitry
The Arduino code used cycling state system. The push of a button would cause a variable to cycle from 0 to 1. There were several states that the toy would cycle thru, (a) off in up position, (b) static on in up position, (c) on with arm descending, (d) static on in down position, (e) and on with arm ascending. If the button variable was clicked from 0 to 1 this would case the states to change to a for (b) set amount of time, (c) until a servo angle was achieved, (d) on a loop until the button variable changes or the toy times out. When button variable changes back from 1 to 0, it would actuate states (e) until a servo angle was reached and then (b) for a set time and then (a)
3D Printing
Integrating Circuits
Integrating Circuits
After a successful protype toy was made and enjoyed by the target customer (my then 2 year old son,) I decided to clean up the project. I printed a more realistic pole, signal sign, arm with small LED embeddings and light caps with holes for larger LED's. All the pieces were coated, sanded and painted/
Integrating Circuits
Integrating Circuits
Integrating Circuits
The pole and the arm were designed to house and hide the wiring. Wires from the Signal lights ran down and thru the pole, while wires from the arm lights ran underneath and thru the arm. Wires were soldered to the LED's.
Final Product
Final Product
Final Product
The Arduino board, the speaker and the 9Volt Batter were designed to fit in the base, which the pole clicks into. The boards and the wiring are hidden underneath a 3d printed segment of track that fits into a larger wooden track set up.
What I learned
Skills and Knowledge
This project helped me expand my skills and knowledge base in circuit analysis and construction, Arduino programming, 3D printing, understanding tolerances,
Iterating
Our engineers conduct comprehensive mechanical analyses of all designs to ensure safety and reliability. We use advanced simulation software to test for stress, strain, and fatigue, ensuring your product can withstand heavy use and extreme conditions.
Challenges
One of the first challenges I hit was figuring out how to run a looping code in the Arduino while executing other operations. When activated, the lights should blink in an alternating pattern. After a few seconds the servo activates. In the first iteration of the code, the servo would not activate until after the blinking code had concluded. The solution was to call the LED loop inside the individual functions that moved the servo and started the transistor pin. The next challenge I faced was