1.0 WHY ?

The bartender wanted to show people the number of cocktail sales. He needed something big, kind of a counter working by principles of analog mechanics. We decided to create a bare mechanism, without a shell and with two indicators, one internal and one external.

2.0 DEVELOPMENT OF THE DESIGN

There were different ways of realization modeled. In the imagination and on paper and with the computer software. The lever system, the solenoid drive, the servomotors.

3.1 FRAMEWORK & TRANSMISSION

The framework was welded from profiled tubes 30x30mm. Gears and other transmission parts are made by hand of plywood. At first, the set of parts was done for me by an outsourcer, but his CNC makes oval circles, so I had to make it as an old-school artisan.

3.2 RATCHET WHEEL

I needed surfaces for reference points, so there were cutting and milling of steel.

3.3 RATCHET WHEEL

The next steps were teeth cutting and assembling units

4.1 CONTROL UNIT

Initially, I used the analog control principle. You press a button, and its hidden fork moves the roller of the lever which activates the potentiometer.

4.2 CONTROL UNIT

This idea worked. The system operated with a wide range of efforts, although it had a very delicate balance, too sensitive to the human factor. Ergo, the initial energy must be stable. But people cannot repeat the same effort every time.

4.3 CONTROL UNIT

The adjustment process took a long time, but I finally abandoned the decision.

It desperately needed to reduce the human factor. As a result, many units have been removed from the system. The potentiometer housing, its lever unit and the housing of bearings with the shaft, the sliding button and its rail equipped with the gas spring.

4.4 CONTROL UNIT

Finally, I used a digital controller. I hammered and wheeled a new button.

The limit switch is installed in the inside. It creates a signal

for the controller that runs the command set for the motors.

4.5 CONTROL UNIT

This solution eliminates the direct connection between the engine and the operator.

It optimizes the effort at different stages, so, the system works well accordin to the aim.