Networks: Paths and switches

Today Ben is in class, back from his trip to the UK. So now that we have our director back we can run through our idea and make sure that he's ok with it too. He's supportive of our stirling engine idea, so that's good.

We drew up a basic diagram of our network. We'll be doing it with four points to show how it works.



Basically, at each point you have one stirling engine. Which brings up the packages in its containers. As it rotates, the package is dropped on to a track which branches out into three tracks going to the three other points.

At each point you have three tracks sending packages out, and an additional three tracks receiving packages from the three other points.

To get two different directions at one point there are two options to do this:




One is to attach two additional gears on the other side of the main gear so that the directions can be opposite to each other. Option two is to simply stack an additional stirling on top of the first one, but facing a different direction.

Personally I think there's a better way to do that, but will be thinking a bit more with the group tomorrow. At the moment the visualisation of outgoing and ingoing packages as lines is a bit fuzzy and spaghetti like. So tomorrow we'll be marking out these lines and points with chopsticks and string to see where our tracks are all gonna go. It would also make it clearer for us too.

About the branching out of tracks, there's a way to do it.



The idea that we have for it at the moment is that we have these cylindrical capsules that have a notch on the left, right, or no notch at all. The notches will activate a pivot switch, redirecting the capsule's track to a different one that leads to its destination. The one without a switch remains on the original track towards its destination.

It's still just an idea though, because we're not entirely sure the specifics of how we're going to get these pivots to work yet.


Here are the things we need to keep in mind:

-The pivots/switches have to be sensitive to work properly

-Need to work out how to integrate the switches on the track

-Must have something before the branching of tracks to slow down the flow of packages. This is to avoid jamming the path with too many packages.

-Track has to be designed to keep capsules in place so that the triggers for the switches would work

-Capsules must have sufficient weight to gain enough momentum, since the tracks will be sloping, letting gravity help the capsules move.


After talking with the group we went separate ways to find more information on how we could do this.

For me, I think our tracks should all be straight slopes going down to the destination. It's the switches that I want to find out more about to get the branching out to work properly.

Yesterday I blogged about this marble machine video I found. In it, they've got this weight-sensitive flip flop mechanism that I think would go well with our switching. I have a fair idea on how it works already, so I went to find something that would slow down the flow of packages.

This is what I found (Denha, 2010):



I thought this was pretty cool. I like how it directs the marbles on to different paths and then stores the marbles until there's another to set them all down to a different route. I'm not sure how much it can slow down the flow of marbles, but it's definitely interesting. I might be worth testing out, especially because it's not that difficult to make.



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Reference List


Denha. (2010, December 22). RS-FF + AND logic [Video file]. Retrieved April 30, 2012, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Huspz20MTDE&feature=related

Networks: Ways to move

Found some things that we could take inspiration from in getting the packages to move with the stirling. It could work kind of like a water wheel. Instead of the fly wheel being a gear, you could attach containers on it like on a water wheel where you could put your packages. As it rotates, the packages move up the wheel and are dropped on to some kind of chute. Gravity will do the rest of the work in moving it.

From videos of marble machines there were some things I think that we could maybe use. In the video below particular features I want to experiment with are the levers, which control how many marbles can drop down on to a different chute at any one time, and the flower pot vortex.


(RonaldWalters47, 2010)


The lever is sensitive to weight, it has a counterweight on one end to reset it, and on the other end it gathers marbles until the right number of marbles giving the required weight tips it over setting the marbles free to go down a different chute. This would be a good way to stagger the number of packages going down a particular chute at any one time to prevent jams in a particular direction.

The vortex funnel is amazing in my opinion. I don't know if we could use it, but it definitely slows down the marbles, giving them time to get to where they need to go so that they don't crowd up a path way.



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Reference List


RonaldWalters47. (2010, December 18). Marble Machine - Ring Gear Lift - Figure 8 Transfer - Vortex Funnel [Video file]. Retrieved April 26, 2012, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzIG9stFXSI&feature=related

Networks: Stirling Engines and Gears

After looking further at steam engines I found a far better alternative. An option for the steam engine is the stirling engine, also mentioned in the previous post.

The good thing about it is that it works with just heated air as well. As long as you increase the difference in temperature as much as possible, it would work efficiently (ScrapToPower, 2010).
I found two really easy to make ones from the same guy. It was from these I found on Instructables that I found the stirlings could run on air just fine.

I chose these two to be considered by my group because the materials are easily found and easily affordable. Resourcefulness, I think, is a good trait to go for.

The first is a tin can stirling engine (Specallez, 2010, April 22):



The second is also a tin can stirling engine but with slightly different design (Specallez, 2010, July 21):



The difference is that the first one is easier to build than the second one, but because of the second one's improvements it works better than the first.

Had a look at gears with the group as well since we need a way to use the engines to move our packages. A way to do that would be to use gears and pull along something like a conveyor belt to transport a packages. However, I can see things wrong with that. First of all, we want each engine to branch out into multiple pathways. Because of that we'll need to split the conveyor into different branches, but there'll be no way to automate it. Secondly, if it's a conveyor the stirling has to produce enough energy to move the gears, the conveyor belt, and the weight of the packages. In terms of energy, it's not very efficient.

Nonetheless, we found some pretty interesting stuff.

We found out the basics of how gears work in a tutorial about differential gears (Antoniobmartinez, 2011):


It's really clear on explaining how gears work and why they're designed the way they are. It's quite interesting.

We found a collection of amazing gears of different shapes and sizes working in unison as well (Quilty1987, 2010):


I thought it was pretty amazing how they could all work together.

Another I found uses a different sort of gear, it uses a worm gear at the end of the contraption which you can see in the video where the handle turns (5thwelder, 2009):



Next step is to see if there's another way to move things with the stirlings without conveyor belts. I'm sure there's a way.



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Reference List


5thwelder. (2009, July 13). When 17 Things Line Up [Video file]. Retrieved April 26, 2012, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLjI1t40pL4&feature=related

Quilty1987. (2010, July 1). These Gears Really Work? [Video file]. Retrieved April 26, 2012, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYcqJ5HdxA4

Antoniobmartinez. (2011, November 2). How Differential Gear works BEST Tutorial [Video file]. Retrieved April 26, 2012, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxHjKoB2vn4

ScrapToPower. (2010). Make a coke can Stirling engine plans. Retrieved April 26, 2012, from http://sites.google.com/site/reukpower/can-stirling/make-a-coke-can-stirling-engine

ScrapToPower. (2010). Easy to build Stirling engine fan. Retrieved April 26, 2012, from http://sites.google.com/site/reukpower/projects/easy-to-build-a-stirling-engine-fan

Specallez. (2010, April 22). Simple Coke Can Stirling engine [Video file]. Retrieved April 26, 2012, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PsvyO9chvS0

Specallez. (2010, July 21). Easy to build Stirling engine fan [Video file]. Retrieved April 26, 2012, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Heg3xaWUMks

Networks: Steam Engines

Looked up more info on steam engines. Also confirmed that you don't need electrical components to make them run as well. This is looking good so far.

To understand further how it works I looked more into different designs of steam engines and their purposes.

Now, a brief history of steam engines. The idea to use steam to move objects was first made by a Greek called Hero, but at the time there was no application for this idea. Hero's design had a boiler and one piston. Later on, the first applications for steam engines were for pumping water out of mines and wells (Davies, 2007). The most famous of which were the machines by Thomas Savery and Thomas Newcomen's atmospheric steam engines in the 1700s (Lira, 2001).

James Watt converted the straight movements of the pistons into round and round motion in 1776. Before then they only moved in straight lines. Later on George Stephenson made more powerful steam engines that were used in machinery and factories (Davies, 2007).

Also found a pretty good diagram that explains how the straight movement of pistons is changed to a rotational movement. It explains how the Stephenson Steam Engine works in the Youtube video I posted previously.

A type of steam engine machine that we could do is the Stirling machine. It uses the same concept of using pressure to cause movement of pistons, but the difference is that a Stirling doesn't need an exhaust pipe. Instead a certain amount of gas stays inside the Stirling at all times. You could condense the water and use it again. In fact, if you want you don't have to use water and just use plain air that when heated expands, therefore increasing pressure. So that works too. The limitations of a Stirling is that it's impractical for cars andthings since the heat source is external. That won't matterbecause we're not building a car. It also takes time to produce anyuseful energy and it can't change its output of energy quickly (Nice, 2011).

This is an example of a Stirling engine running on just air with the flame heating up one end (Infarc, 2007):

This is another Stirling engine made from readily available materials like tin cans and balloons (Myfordboy, 2008):

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Reference list

Davies, A. (2007). The Steam Engine. George Stephenson. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://www.design-technology.org/steamengine.htm

Infarc. (2007, May 23). Stirling engine example [Video file]. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF15NA4vR2w

Lira, C.T. (2001). Steam Engine History. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://www.egr.msu.edu/~lira/supp/steam/

Myfordboy. (2008, March 8). Stirling Cycle Engine from Tin cans [Video file]. Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hazK8kxd-uA&feature=relmfu

Nice, K. (2011). HowStuffWorks "How Stirling Engines Work". Retrieved April 24, 2012, from http://auto.howstuffworks.com/stirling-engine.htm

Networks: Alternatives to Electrical Energy

Since we're aiming to create an alternative mailing system to the internet that is independent of the power grid, we'll have to look for alternatives to electrical energy. The setting of our project is about having our communications protected from solar flares.

Popular alternatives are solar, hydro, and wind power. But all these need electrical components to convert energy into electric energy. Therefore all these would actually also be affected by solar flares. Generators to create backup energy wouldn't either because unless they're well protected specifically against solar flares they won't work either.

Thus, our options must not have electrical bits in them like cells, resistors, wires, and so on.

Our earliest option was using rocket power fueled by a mixture of corn syrup and potassium nitrate. To be completely honest I'm not quite keen on that. First of all, there are safety concerns to consider. If we go this way we won't be seen much in the studio at all, also, even if we do make it, it would be difficult to stop the rocket at exactly the right place and to guide it around a curve. Also, if the destination for each package differs, how do you make sure the rocket has enough momentum to go all the way to the destination? In addition, it's also a bit excessive to be using potassium nitrate when we're only going to build a small working model of the system.

So in the first week, we'll be researching on more alternatives to increase our possible options.

Edrian found a simpler rocket we could do cheaply and simply if we still would want to build a rocket power mail system.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/q0yfrZkqPxQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
(Foresttrenaman, 2009)

Another alternative I've thought about is using steam to move the network we're building, so I had a look at steam engines to see how they work.

This is an example of a Stephenson Engine on Youtube (PhillForSale, 2010):

Basically, heat is applied to the water and you get steam. The steam increases the pressure, which moves the piston. High pressure, high temperature steam leaves the exhaust pipe. Process repeats (Brain, 2011). It's all in the pressure that comes from the water expanding to form steam.

We could put gears and cogs on a steam engine that creates a round and round motion to move something like a conveyor belt to move our system. I'll look into this further throughout the week and keep an eye out for more alternatives.

And below is our schedule for this term. We absolutely have to follow this or do things with more focus and efficiency or else I have doubts that we'll reach the deadline. I have confidence that we can do this and make it work. I made the first week all about research and planning, since director Ben is away. That gives time to get a really solid idea to exactly how we're going to approach in making the network for when he gets back and we fill him in. Then we can jump right into experimenting and testing.

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Reference list


Brain, M. (2011). HowStuffWorks "How Steam Engines Work". Retrieved April 23, 2012, from http://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/engines-equipment/steam.htm

Foresttrenaman. (2009, May 7). How To make A Match Rocket [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0yfrZkqPxQ&feature=relmfu

PhillForSale. (2010, November 24). Working Model of Stephenson's STEAM ENGINE made of GLASS ! Rare! [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73txXT21aZU

Networks: Last day

FINISHED. The final result is completed. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out after Tim took care of the audio and exporting.



Now, improving my group. Even though our planning is pretty good compared to other groups, that's not the point. When you do something you do NOT compare yourself to other people. If you do that there will never be any true improvement in my point of view. When you want to become more than you are now, the only thing you should compare yourself to is the ideal of what you want to become. Look at your ideal, now look at you, now back again. If there's a difference and it's not up to standard, change it.

Now back to group improvement. I want more efficiency as the planning and time management wasn't as good as I wanted it to. I want more concentration and focus to aid in that efficiency I'm striving for. And finally, I want clarity of vision. Don't keep on switching ideas aimlessly, stick to the clearest one and develop it until the aim is obvious.

I want my group to have a nice head start for next term.

Networks: After Effects

Fixed up the transitions now Tim can fully start his work in AfterEffects. He'll have to do it on my lap top though since his is practically dead.

At the end of the day I had a look through the AfterEffects stuff, but there's an annoying screen that pops up saying the media required is missing and it turns out it hasn't been rendered yet. So I'll let that render at home, and see if that screen goes away.

I'll also need to look for some free music to put into the film as well.


We're so close to finishing, I just hope we can get everything done on time. I feel positive that we can.

Networks: Editing

Finished editing today.

Did most of the editing over the weekend and showed it to the group today to build up a final edit.

We're nearly there and it's actually looking better than I thought it would be. Just need to put in the transitions to smooth out some cuts and I can let Tim work on it with AfterEffects to make the shots look better, fix up the colours, add titles, and so on.