Nelevation - an automatic smart fiddle yard

[Zogbert Splod]

Wish I had enough room to justify getting one. 

Just remove the rest of your layout, with an infernal machine like that who would need anything more to play with !
(emoticon for joke flag waving, before I get into any more bovver )

----- cut and discard here ---
I cant help it - I'm having great trouble getting a song we used to sing (as engineering students) out of my head , ,
"An engineer told me before he died...

If the ditty involves a quantity of whipped cream then I don't need to Google it.  I too have been a student, and a rugby player also.
Yes, I remember it well.....

[MalcolmInN]

Great video, explains it all and the updated website is a 1000 times better

+1
I wonder if the ponderings of the NGF collective had anything to do with this transformation ?
Even the demented speed-read banner test has been brought under ( a certain amount of ) control !

and a rugby player also.
Yes, I remember it well.....

I'll take the 5th if you dont mind
(OT)
ah rugby, as an 8st 5ft+not much weakling forced to play rugby for the "Red House" at school, (stupid artificial society differentiations) it fostered in me an appreciation of Newtonian Dynamics and the damage thatt could be done by judicious intervention at little risk to oneself. Love of mathematics, momentum et al followed.

[MalcolmInN]

But of course Malc Allen is lurking in the background.... We will assimilate you

Video has appeared on the website too now!

Yes, thort he might be, why else all these typings ? ?
We will of course donate our assimilation fees to Tank

[JackPearson46]

Hello all

I am the designers son, I believe that what my father has designed is rather  outstanding. I have used the Nelevator a few times and seen it in action many more, it's such a great user friendly and compact product.

At home we have a layout and the fiddle yard is only 8 tracks wide, and we always come across the problem of running out of room for all our stock. The Nelevator is perfect for saving space yet increasing the amount of stock you can use and\or be stored in a dust free environment.

I'm sure Ben will agree with me that this is a fantastic product.

Jack.

[bridgiesimon]

Would this unit also be able to be set up to a second, or more, level? The possibility of having a multilayer layout with this as an alternative to a helix etc to connect the levels would be a mega space saver and another use beyond solely as a storage system. Alternatively another layer below the main boards could be just additional storage to store even more stock... hmmm...

Best wishes
Simon

[Railwaygun]

[smg id=28866 type=av align=center caption="http://youtu be/kAPD5bakW5o"]

[MJKERR]

http://www.ngaugeforum.co.uk/SMFN/index.php?topic=27778.msg304005#msg304005

I posted about this on 16 May 2015 and was one of the main reasons for attending this year

It's good to finally see a prototype in action and the website updated
However, the Techincal Specification still does not provide actual dimensions required (foot print and vertical clearance)
Looks to be about 1.6m x 0.3m, but I don't know how deep or high the unit is

[Dr Al]

Looks an interesting system. Does the track alignment need adjusting though? The bump that the trains experience entering and leaving the track as shown (vertical height of the tray looks too high) is rather alarming - it'll do in the wheels fairly quickly if you're running at any speed for any length of time.

I presume this can be adjusted and alignment toleranced up more tightly?

Cheers,
Alan

[Ben A]

Hi Alan,

Yes - there is an alignment mode in which the track can be jogged up or down in steps of, I think, 0.5mm, and then once set it "remembers" exactly where to go next time round.

cheers

Ben A.

[scruff]

That is good looked a bit violent on the video.. Would've spilt all the coffees in the buffet car!

Any clues on a price tag?

Cheers
Mark

[MJKERR]

probably around the same cost of a fiddle yard of full size proportions less wood/wiring building time etc

The fiddle yard on my first layout had 24 tracks which used 48 points
I estimate that cost me £300

My current fiddle yard has 12 tracks using 12 points
It will be interesting to see how this compares

[railsquid]

I found this on you tube just now maybe makes it a little clearer.


www.youtu.be/kAPD5bakW5o

Looks like it is straight out of Thunderbirds!

Want one!

The link doesn't appear to work anymore.

Copy the link without the www at the front.

[Sprintex]

Correct link:-


http://youtu.be/kAPD5bakW5o


Paul

[StormyOutlook]

Wow, the number of boxes this ticks for me is brilliant, including; no space for a fiddle yard, much of my stock is in boxes and rarely sees the light of day and occasionally wanting to scratch the itch of running GNER 43s/91s on a layout which is very 1930's steam.

I'll watch for developments with great interest.

[Nelevation]

Dear NGF.

My name is Allen (just call me "Scary"). Before I start, please could I say that this is my first time posting on the forum so I apologise now if I disobey or upset protocol. I've only contributed to one forum before, The Hornby 00 live steam forum, I got barred! Twice!

Anyway, as you know, I've been watching the discussion with interest and I have to say, I am completely overwhelmed with the positive feedback and other observations about the product. I started this development with my own requirements in mind and had no idea if anyone else would be interested in the commercialisation of such an idea. Elevators are nothing new but I believe that the combination of ease of use, good length trains and visible storage combined with space saving and economic viability is a good starting point.

The objectives of attending TINGS and the National in Peterborough are to gauge if there is a demand for the product, if so, what should the spec be? length of trains, number of tracks, multiple level, single lane, double lane, acceptable cost etc.......

With this in mind, I am attending the show with an open mind as to what the final spec should be, hence the vague web content.

Having said that, I would like to answer a few questions that have been raised a few times. (based on the existing prototype)

1. The unit sits in a cut out in the baseboard 1500mm x 120mm. No fixing down is required. I've found gravity to be quite reliable on earth. If I get an order from NASA I will gladly supply additional fasteners.

2. The unit stands 500mm above baseboard level and hangs 600mm below

3. The max train length is 1400mm

4. The vertical alignment is very easy (apologies for the video, you guys don't miss much!) calibration has 2 settings 0.05 fine adjustment and 1mm course adjustment)

5. The show layout has 2 running tail chasers, 1 digital, the other analogue.

6. The show layout has a second level, end to end, DCC line. Turntable, Nelevator, terminus.

7. Cost. This is the big one. This sounds like a cop out but it is down to volume. If I had to make another one like the prototype it would cost about £3k but all the components are one off and many of them CNC machined from billet aluminium. Nice probably not what you want. If I'm wrong, I'll be very please to make you one! To give and example: The handset cost me £285 with some investment I can get that down to £3.60. The top folded aluminium covers with the Totems on cost £120 each. if I order 20 this cost comes down to £21 each. Its all down to volume. The electronics aren't viable at all if I cant order a minimum batch size of 50. Having said that, If the spec stays somewhere near the prototype, I am confident that we can hit somewhere around the £600 mark. this would be for: kit build, 20 lanes, single level, No track included, Nelevator.

8. Timescales. That depends on the show. Maybe nobody wants one. If so I've got a lovely elevator and we call it a day. Hopefully that's not the case and we're full steam ahead onto the next level. (sorry).  That been the case, and I need confidence that we can sell a modest 50 units, we will finalise specifications from your feedback and enter the Design for Manufacture stage to drive cost out but create a robust, beautiful product.

Thank you all again for all your comments. I need the feedback to ensure we arrive with the right product.

I'm looking forward to meeting you all at TINGS.

Cheers

Scary. AKA Allen

p.s The show layout is purely a demonstrable unit to show off the Nelevators functionality (its not even finished) so please try to ignore my limited model making skills.