So... for the past 2 months I've decided to work on the escalator model again!... I'm starting to realise why I put it down many months ago! This is a very difficult and tedious project but I can definitely see a big reward at the end which is why I'm continuing to tackle this project.
I can just see in my mind how awesome this will look once it's complete and working.
As you can see it's quite a messy workbench! I can even begin to count how many different variations of 3D printed details that I've printed so far! And what you see on the table is just a fraction of what has been printed.
The small contraption at the bottom of the image is a test mechanism to see if the idea I had would work. I wanted to build a replica escalator with the actual mechanism seen on the full size versions however the mechanics don't scale down all that well, so I've had to compromise. I've created a cassette type mechanism that will have the stairs hanging freely so they can freely swing, the idea is to use gravity to orientate each step so long as I get the center of gravity right.
I got as far as assembling the final iteration of the cassette... or so I thought, even with all the test prints and laser cuts there were still some imperfections when it came time for the final construction. That's the beauty of having a 3D printer though, when something doesn't work or fit it quite easy to tweak the design and print a new one!
Tomorrow is a new day and I'm hoping to finally get the cassette built, then I can move on to creating the steps and get a working example started.
I can already see the scene I have in mind for this working escalator!
