I've built a Lego train terminal with a friend of mine, fully automated by 4 Arduino's. Around it I've built a huge train track. The system controls the switches and makes automatically stop a train to unload and load containers. The heart of the system is an Arduino Mega 2580 which communicates with two other Arduino Uno's (for each station one Arduino). The fourth Arduino controls the NXT motors for precise movement. The robotic arms are partially controlled by pneumatic valves which are activated using Mindsensors servo operated pneumatic valve kits. The NXT motors are controlled by the Mindsensors NXShield which fits on an Arduino Uno. The trains use PWM signals to start and stop. For starting it is actually needed: otherwise the locomotive will disconnect from the wagons and drive away by itself. For the unloading procedure see at 0m00s, for the loading procedure see 1m47s. Unfortunately we ran into some electrical problems which we couldn't fix in time as I was using the living room for the whole layout. Some weird problems with the communication between the Arduino's occurred. I only got one side working after 1,5 days testing and adjusting. I'm currently working on an improved version! Music: "Cognitive Dissonance" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ SFX: downloaded from http://www.freesfx.co.uk

• published: 24 Dec 2013
• views: 54