Inspired by CarlW

[tommy4132]

I really liked what he had done with his fully cyclic machine and I decided to do the same thing. I bought a Daiichi with a missing lower ball tray, a broken upper tray and missing and broken parts on the back. So first I made it cyclic. I took the front ball tray and cut off the broken section and used plexi to enclose it. Since I only need a few balls to run this machine I did not need a full tray. I made a small lower catch tray to catch balls if I fire a weak shot. I then rigged up basic lights and I liked the idea of using the electric bell to give it some sound. Finally I got the Gaku ball counter and built a display for it. I installed it where the lower tray use to be. This machine is a little more basic than the one CarlW built (my skill is a little more limited). Anyways here are some pictures of the machine. I had a lot of fun making this machine.

[JACKSJE4]

Very nice modification!!!

Thanks for posting this.

[candyflip]

Nice job

[Card Shark]

Well done!!! Thank you for sharing the pictures.

[Moparformances]

Nice looking.. great use of an otherwise parts machine

[SteveFury]

Most excellent use of an otherwise parts machine! I love it!

Have you thought of adding small solonoids to the tulips and maybe some logic to operate them? That would really be so cool.

[tommy4132]

Most excellent use of an otherwise parts machine! I love it!

Have you thought of adding small solonoids to the tulips and maybe some logic to operate them? That would really be so cool.

That would be cool but my electrical skills are very limited. I would not know even where to start.

[Microbus99]

Wow!! Just...Wow!

[MrGneiss]

Pretty Rad!!

[CarlW]

Most excellent use of an otherwise parts machine! I love it!

Have you thought of adding small solonoids to the tulips and maybe some logic to operate them? That would really be so cool.

I have thought about it and am seeking a source for "modern" powered tulips! Would make the entie process much simpler than a series of solenoids like a power flash.

[SteveFury]

I have thought about it and am seeking a source for "modern" powered tulips! Would make the entie process much simpler than a series of solenoids like a power flash.

One hardware option that I've thought about are those tiny little solonoids used to switch a turnout track for an "N" or "HO" scale set. They're two coils of wire in one solonoid. Power one side and the plunger moves into it. Power the other side and the plunger snaps to the other side. I'm pretty sure the coils are smaller than 11mm in diameter so they'd fit under a winning ball collection cover pretty easily. You can actually take it apart to remove the big black plastic shell and just use the coil and plunger alone if desired.

Here is an Atlas:

[CarlW]

Steve,
I'm more geared towards the arduino environment, thus hobby servos (model airplane / car) or hobby stepper motors.
Your solution is a good one though because there are really only two positions of interest, open or closed. Plus it is linear.

The hobby servos are about $5 to $10 and 5V Arduino power is usually enough with a transistor.