Re: Automatic Pellet Dispenser

["Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx>]

"B Fuhrmann" <b-fuhrmann-usenet@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:12tv18ds104o2c7@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > If the pellets are all lined up vertically nice-like, all you need is a
> > hole
> > (slightly larger than the diameter of one pellet) drilled  through a
> > traveler
> > slightly thicker than one pellet and to cause the traveler to  slide
from
> > side to side. A solenoid can be used to pull the traveler forward  so
that
> > a
>
> The pellets don't need to be nicely aligned, that is almost the method
used
> by gum ball machines.
>
> Gumballs are an ideal situation but it can work for other bulk material.
>
> Items that make it work easier.
>   Lack of sharp corners or parts sticking out.
>   Hard material
>   Rounded or ramped edges on the shuttle
>   Slower speeds
>
> If you use a disk as the shuttle (like the gumball machine) you can ramp
the
> trailing edge so that the top piece scrapes the excess objects off without
> breaking it up.

I thought of using a disk like a revolver's cylinder.  The top of the unit
feeds pellets into slots as they pass under the feed hopper's tube.   As the
cylinder rotates, it eventually passes over a hole to which tube extended
into the crate is connected and drops down.

> A shaded pole gear motor can be small, cheap, and quiet.  The constant
speed
> would let you use a one shot timer to advance the disk.

Any motor noise is going to be an issue.  So will solenoid clacking, at
least from what I've read of people who've tried this.  Some even say after
a while, they respond to the solenoid click or motor whir and not the food!
We'll see.  I'm going to look for toys that might be modifiable on my next
trip to Wal-mart.

> Another method is to use a screw feeder.  You have a very coarse screw
> inside a tube.  One end is at the bottom of your hopper and the other is
the
> delivery of the material.
> Similar use of a timer and a slow motor.
> The method is used to move many types of items.
> www.mcs.drexel.edu/~crorres/Archimedes/Screw/conveyor/conveyor.html

That's what I was originally considering with an old auger bit inside of a
plastic or metal pipe.  Friction holds the material in the auger and just
the stuff at the very bottom drops out.  Very appealing because it's low
maintenance, and if I use the old electric screwdrivers I have, about as low
a motor noise as I can hope for.  Maybe an old 110VAC clock motor with
enough torque would be able to drive a disk or an auger.  The pellet doesn't
have to drop instantly.  It could take as much as a minute and I think the
results would be the same.

--
Bobby G.