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non-engineer needs help
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Posted by: liverlipsyyz ®

01/28/2008, 11:07:22

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i am not an engineer but I came to this board a while back and everyone was so helpful and now I have another dilemma. I'm building a plinko board (a la the price is right) out of peg board to be used for a sales contest at work. It's quite simple, just lots of bolts through the holes and then covered with a sheet of clear acrylic to stop the tokens from bouncing out, plus a rubber boarder around the edges. The token I will be using to drop down the board is a Canadian loonie (Composition: Nickel electroplated with bronze.
Weight: 7.00 grams: Diameter: 26.5 mm).

My problem is this; I want to have a trigger or lever somewhere half way down the board that if it gets hit by the falling token it will release another token at the top of the board and thus put two tokens in to play with double the winnings! Any ideas on how to build this trigger or lever configuration?

The trigger needs to be able to set up again by itself because I don't want to have to take the acrylic cover off every time the trigger is hit to reset it. The extra token and lever at the top can be reset by hand because it will be above the start of the acrylic cover. I also want to be able to build the trigger/lever device with cheap parts you can find at any hardware or electronic supply store - my budget is around $20 for this trigger device.

My first thought was to have a lever at the top that the extra token sits on. When the trigger lever half way down the board gets hit by the player's token then it somehow pulls down (with a wire?) the lever the extra token is on and the extra token then falls through the plinko board. Any wires and stuff to control the triggers/levers can be built and connect behind the board so as not to interfere with the playing surface.

I suppose you'd have to take in to consideration the weight of the token and probably some sort of calculation as to the force that the falling token has when it hits the trigger to make sure it has enough power to pull the wire controlling the top lever. Again, I'm no engineer and maybe there is a much more elegant and simple way to do this. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

here's my attempt at a diagram: https://www.flickr.com/photos/9890571@N06/2225405695/







Modified by liverlipsyyz at Mon, Jan 28, 2008, 11:14:48


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Posted by: randykimball ®
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01/28/2008, 14:03:02

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To keep it simple make one of your pins a tube. In this tube put a pin that has a lever on each end, one for the token to hit and one on the back of the board for action. Now add a spring on the back lever to maintain the position lightly where you want it. Then add a wire or string to the top from that end to flip a sprung tab of some sort that releases an additional token. If you work it right you can have a stack of tokens so a person can get several doubles in a row... or not.




The worst suggestion of your lifetime may be the catalyst to the grandest idea of the century, never let suggestions go unsaid nor fail to listen to them.


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Posted by: liverlipsyyz ®

01/28/2008, 14:11:12

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excellent! thanks. what's a sprung tab?







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Posted by: randykimball ®
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01/28/2008, 16:07:27

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Oh, well a sprung tab is a lever like object with a spring connected to it. In your case it would hold the other end's lever (or flipper) up against the other pin until the token hits it and pushes through. Then the spring would return it to the ready position. Also, the same spring may be what holds the next token from dropping. A string or wire from the top (where the spring might really be) could hold the lever (flipper) in the ready position. If this doesn't fit in $20.. I can't imagine what would.




The worst suggestion of your lifetime may be the catalyst to the grandest idea of the century, never let suggestions go unsaid nor fail to listen to them.

Modified by randykimball at Mon, Jan 28, 2008, 16:08:38


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Posted by: liverlipsyyz ®

01/29/2008, 16:47:37

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thanks for all the help. i acutally built a pretty good prototype using simple levers and counterweights, some string and some pins.







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Posted by: randykimball ®
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01/29/2008, 23:16:15

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Kool. .. yes a counter weight is an excellent way.




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Posted by: liverlipsyyz ®

01/28/2008, 17:20:49

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great. can you get them at home depot?







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