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crane-----more like a tower

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So build it, what do you want blueprints?

What's your budget? Materials available to you? Buy and old Mechanno kit on ebay lots of plans in there.

What's your skill level? Have you ever built anything with motors / pulleys before?
 
the rail track is what i want for the postioning of the crane ,similarly i wish to build a same track on the upper side to positon the container and the last to pull-up or pull-down the container...............do you have any simple design for it .the design of mecanno is good bu is complicated is there an eay design for this ..you may be knowing?
 
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Do your own college work!

This isn't getyourcollegeworkdone4u.com you know.
 
well thanks sir for what information you have provided uptill now but i just want to ask one thing thats troubling me whther this project is possible and atlast can be controlled by microcontroller?pls reply for this then i'll get a direction to think whther this is possible o not and if possible how i must make it possible.
 
Right, do you actually read the replies? What materials do you have available, if the Meccano is too complicated and it's an adult toy maybe try this design.
**broken link removed**
 
**broken link removed**
 
Posability is limited by your own abilities and interests. Since cranes have been around for a very long time, it most definately can be done. Children build them all the time with toy construction sets (Lego, Erector, and several others readily availiable). If you are experienced with microcontrollers, this should be a very simple program. You can really design the electrical, until you define the mechanical. You can't select or progrm the microcontroller until you get the electrical requirements worked out.

If you want to build this think, you will. If you want help from other people, you need to do more then repeat the origonal post, and start contributing detail, direction, and what progress you are making. Nobody likes being told, 'no that's not what I want'. Get specific, find some pictures on the internet of what you want to build, only has to be functionally similar. It's you project, your vision, show us what you've got so far.

Building cranes isn't a common project, most of us have no more experience with this, then you do. Most of work mainly with circuit boards, sometimes with motors. A mechanical structure is a little outside the electronics field. This is more of a robotics project, and there several people here that are pretty good with some aspects of robotics, but not sure if they have done cranes or even limbs. Some have even posted in your thread.
 
blueroomelectronics said:
Ahh just noticed school project, good luck you'll need it.

Like I said earlier, this was a common school project in the UK (for 14 year olds) back in the 70's/80's - usually using 6502 single board computers with assembler.
 
extremeads1,
Sorry about my last two posts (I wasn't in a very good mood), but you need to realise that you need to help yourself before we can help you. Do you havge any ideas? Perhaps you can share them with us so we can help you improve them.
 
For a model crane with 3 axes (actually, I would consider 4 axes -- see later), I would consider using servos as are used in model airplanes, cars, etc. By using a servo, you largely avoid the need for position sensors, as that function is built in through the feedback from the servo potentiometer.

Get old, cheap servos rather than the more modern, highly integrated ones. You will need to hack the servos, and it is easier to do that with older ones that have discrete components.

Most servos will have limited travel (such as +/- 30 degrees). That is limited by the feedback potentiometer in the case and by a physical stop. You can remove the physical stop (in many, but not all) and pull the leads for the potentiometer out of the case. Now, you have a sensor (your external pot) and a motor that will turn to a controlled position depending on the pulse width of the signal you send to it and the postion of the pot shaft. For example, if you need 360 degree rotation, you can use a 360-degree or multi-turn pot connected to the item that is turning and rotate to any position in that range.

For linear motion, such as up/down, used a loop with dial cord and have the servo drive the loop and the pot driven by the loop (i.e., a capstan arrangement).

The microcontroller can produce the pulse width you need for each servo.

Now, for the 4th axis. As has been sugggested, full size cranes often ride on RR tracks. The crane can rotate, lift, and go back and forth on the track (3 axises). However, the up and down mechanism can also go back and forth on the lifting boom (i.e., closer to and further away from the center of rotation). In other words, like a construction crane. That in-and-out motion is the 4th axis to which I referred.

There are no doubt lots of resources on the internet to help you with the mechanical design. Check out robotics, RC model ship building, RC model trains, and RC model tanks. John
 
The sad part is this is his degree thesis, I built a motorized crane when I was a kit with my old Meccano #6 and a M5 motor.

Even sadder is the apparent lack of any previous knowledge / skills about said project. Following his previous threads he gave up on other projects that were for whatever reason too complex.

By the final year of your schooling you should have a grasp of the basics and a general idea of how to proceed.

Lastly google is your friend.
 
Here is a site, with actual complete plans for several models of cranes. The link is just one set I looked at, there a bunch of others, likely more crane models. This set has three crane models, with enough detail to build the models if you have the set. You can use this to copy the mechanics to suit your resources and needs. Focus on the function not the form, unless you want it to look realistic and spend the time and money doing so.

**broken link removed**

Explore the site, maybe you will find something simpler, or more to your likiing. But you will at least learn more about motors, placements, gears, pulleys, the how's and why's.

Edit: Found more detailed instructions, modern, more pictures...
**broken link removed**
 

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The 14 year olds that I mentioned usually used various Meccano components (motors, gears etc.), in particular Mecanno make a metal circular disk with a flange on it, with holes around the disk. They used these fastened to all the output shafts, with a slotted opto-coupler slipped over the edge of the disk, counting the holes as it rotated.

So to make it completely clear:

Motor with worm gear attached.

Worm drives a gear feeding a shaft.

Shaft has a holed disk attached, with an opto-coupler to count the holes moving through it.

Shaft can either drive motion wheels, for movement, or a drum carrying the winch cable.

But for a thesis project I would be VERY unimpressed to see something as simple as a model crane - like I've said, it was a kids project 25-30 years ago!.
 
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