Tipping Talk Two

 Over the past few weeks I have been giving thought to how the skips should be emptied. Should I do it manually, or should I attempt some kind of automagical system using an actuation rail to tip the buckets? 

I made a little “pusher” that would hide away at the base of the shelter. But it was something that would have to be moved out of the way whenever I needed to empty the sand bin underneath the tipper. 

The unremarkable, yet quite functional “pusher”

Besides, it was easy to make. Too easy. Considering that I have been challenging myself every step of the way in this project, I began to think that I should at least try to build an automatic system. I had watched Giles Favell’s automation videos on YouTube many times and studied his tipper videos in great depth working out how made his work and how I could translate that to my model . 

I could find no technical details out there on optimum ramp lengths and angle of the rail for tipping. So I winged it. I guess many people might be doing the same, as there were almost as many different systems as there was modellers producing them. I set about doing some thinking and measuring. It was clear that there were two important dimensions for the actuation rail.

The position the rail starts to tip the skip (A on this sketch), and the position when the skip is fully tipped (B). The tipping rail also had to be angled over the track to enable the skip bucket to tip fully. 

I found some code 83 rail and started bending. There’s no other way to describe it other than trial and error. I didn’t need a steep angle on the rail as that would have resulted in a quick “tip” I wanted something a bit slower. I think I was pretty lucky in getting something that I was happy with relatively easily. Perhaps I would not have persevered with it had I struggled. 

These pictures show how the rail worked during tests.

As I worked on the rail I decided it needed some bracing to hold it at the correct angle over the track, as it is not particularly stable. The overhang of the rail over the track makes it want to lean over. If I added a brace hooking over the deck that would add some rigidity. 

It’s an odd looking spidery thing

In location

After a little adjustment of the rail, the skip tipped directly into the centre of the bin, with no overspill

For a while there I was feeling really pleased with myself and then…
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