by Someone1234 on 1/2/23, 12:06 PM
6 bins is a lot. He does give an explanation in the video: They only get trash pickup monthly, and they have several recycling bins.
He switched to Rack and Pinion to overcome toque/wear/contact issues which seems like it should be reliable. I like his mechanical end-stops, but if he is serious about wanting a commercial version, I wonder if there's a way to count "steps" as the gear moves over the rack (e.g. hall effect gear tooth sensor[0]), and just slow/stop based on a predefined end-point? The same sensor would also likely function as a fault detector (e.g. stop engine burnout if the train gets stuck), and you won't have plants/debris potentially setting off the mechanical end-stops (plus reducing parts and points of failure).
[0] https://sensorso.com/rack-gear-count.html?filter=inventory:2...
by tvb12 on 1/2/23, 10:54 PM
Where can you find supplies for these kinds of projects? Each 6ft. section of rack would cost $81 plus shipping from McMaster-Carr.Never mind the other components, that would add up quickly.
I was trying to find some spur gears for a project, but wow those are expensive. I reworked it to use pulleys, but those weren't as cheap as I'd hoped, either.
by meken on 1/2/23, 11:13 PM
When I take out the trash, I put on a pair of rollerblades and skate it over (I live in an apartment complex and it’s across a parking lot)
It seriously feels like a real life cheat code when I’m doing this
by chronicsonic on 1/2/23, 11:37 AM
This is what happens when you ask an engineer to put the bins out.
by throwawaaarrgh on 1/2/23, 3:58 PM
why didn't he just use a cable to pull it? no need for gears, no traction issues, the motor etc can stay stationary. trains have their own power because you can't stretch a cable across the country, but this is so tiny it'd be trivial.
by rendall on 1/3/23, 4:25 PM
Despite some of the assertions in this page, no, he does not use this daily. He uses it once per month. No, this is not automated. He has no intention of automating it. Yes, he must manually remove the bins from the train to move them out to the curb.
I did like the track idea, but I cannot help but feel that anything more than a manual push is over-engineered for this use-case.
As a creative project, it was neat, though.
by Animats on 1/3/23, 4:56 AM
If TechShop were still alive, I'd be tempted to build that. I have to move
cans about 150 feet. I miss doing building projects, but don't do enough to have a real shop.
The rack and pinion thing was overkill. The steel wheel was never going to have enough traction, but big rubber wheels probably would have. The vertical guide rail, though, is nicely unobtrusive.
All-wheel drive is an option. Put rubber tires under each trash can, with a worm gear and a flexible drive shaft to the next car. Like a Shay narrow-gauge logging locomotive. Maybe integrate the power car with one of the cargo cars and eliminate the "locomotive".
The big problem here would be compatibility with the local Recology robotic garbage trucks.[1] The cans have to be spaced about 2 feet apart so the big gripper can grab them. (Otherwise, the driver has to get out of the truck, and they hate that.) The robot isn't that good at positioning the cans back exactly where it found them, although it does try. So getting them back on the train would be tough.
[1] https://youtu.be/AK3uPcWCNLo?t=150
by twobitshifter on 1/3/23, 4:06 AM
I’d have liked to see him succeed with the steel on steel option. I think he just needed multiple drive wheels to distribute the normal force more, and a bin holder over the locomotive. The route seemed rather flat. He might have also been handicapped by not having it entirely on rail, trains have low rolling resistance because of steel on steel but in some spots, he had worse of both worlds, driving on steel and rolling on pavement.
by nathan_f77 on 1/3/23, 10:43 AM
This is really cool! Like something out of Wallace and Gromit. I love projects like this.
I've been wanting to add a remote controlled motor to our trash and recycling bins so that I can drive them up our driveway (which is up a steep hill.) I think this would be a very expensive project though, the motor and batteries must cost quite a lot.
by moloch-hai on 1/2/23, 11:08 AM
Now, get trash collectors to put bins back on the cars. Maybe it is easier where he is.
Going out to do that yourself is a pretty small chore.
by rurtrack on 1/3/23, 11:57 AM
I have a background building 10x10 feet fabric cutting robots. This was a trip to the past I really enjoyed. I took many of the same steps 20 years ago, robotics is my little forgotten passion.
It's only lacking a little horn so the user can make a small train sound!
by sowbug on 1/3/23, 3:49 AM
My neighborhood has wheeled cans that you tip back and push toward the curb. I have been thinking about converting mine into a self-balancing trash can. Even if it had to move very slowly to avoid falling over, that's OK; it could take hours if it needed to.
by subpixel on 1/2/23, 11:33 PM
I have no trash pickup where I live so I bought a used, homemade utility trailer to haul stuff to the dump. A big plus is that I can fill multiple trash cans (I like the old aluminum ones best, as they are so light) and only need to haul once or twice a month.
However, having a utility trailer has also come in handy in many other ways - from hauling small boats, to moving substantial amounts of dirt, to transporting many bushels of apples that I scrounge from miles around.
I'd love an electric F-150 but for the foreseeable future I'm happy being the guy with a trailer as long as, and wider than, the Subaru hauling it.
by rkagerer on 1/3/23, 9:49 AM
I'm eyeballing a property on a slight slope and thought about cutting a trench alongside the driveway to act as a guide in which to lower a garbage trolley on a cable. One concern is maintenance and debris getting in the track. Anyone seen/done anything like that?
by daveslash on 1/3/23, 3:25 PM
This is a very cool project. But it's so early in the morning for me that I read the title and took it to mean someone was putting their trash bins on the railroad tracks and was horrified. Sorry... brain isn't all the way turned on yet this morning.
by gigel82 on 1/3/23, 2:28 AM
That's a fun little project but it'll never work in the real world. After the collectors empty the bins, they never set them down gently in the original spot (almost always it ends up a few feet away, sometimes knocked over on a side).
Maybe it's different where the author lives.
by solosito on 1/2/23, 11:21 AM
This is super nice. Awesome job
by nielsbot on 1/2/23, 10:08 PM
Easy to criticize, I know. But what about wheeled carts with wheels suitable for uneven terrain and a center rail to guide them?
by JoeAltmaier on 1/2/23, 10:14 PM
Cool!
I'm a two-bin guy and trash monthly. But I do recycling separately (take it to center)
by skowalak on 1/3/23, 7:36 AM
> and we added some thyme
So now the train runs on... thyme? That's an xkcd reference if I have ever seen one.
by fexecve on 1/2/23, 3:31 PM
I don't really like Ruby, but sounds cool.