I am fresh in arduino world but have slight knowledge it works. I came up with a project but I am having hard time finding correct parts to achieve this. I am hoping to get suggestions on parts itself.
Idea would be ball "dispenser" with a remote. Remote part will be added later on but right now I am struggling to find best parts to achieve this. It would work like this:
There would be a PVC tube with slightly bigger diameter than a ball. You would load for example 3 balls in it. How I am thinking they could be divided by servo. One at the bottom would be responsible for releasing the balls and second would be responsible for blocking balls above.
Another idea for ball dispensing I am thinking to have some kind of plate divider that would go back and forth. Let's say we would have 3 balls loaded in. First ball would be held by servo and second one could be held by some kind plate that would move back and forth depending on action. Also instead of plate there could be a rod that would go back and forth.
As I said I am new to this world so I am having hard time finding needed parts. I would really appreciate the suggestions on the parts.
Look at marble machines for mechanical examples.
An electromagnet could lift steel balls a bit, or a servo with an arm could do it.
Use a smart mechanical approach to keep the needed forces low.
If the pipe is capped at the bottom, with a ball-sized hole in the side of the pipe, balls could be pushed out one at a time using a plunger operated by a linear actuator, or a solenoid, or a servo, or a stepper.
To keep the balls from rolling out during loading: a dimple in the bottom cap, or a lip at the opening, or slope the pipe....
The above would only work if the pipe is vertical or nearly so and won't be waved around by a person or a machine. And, provided you don't need them to come out of the bottom or end of the pipe.... See, you didn't give enough information about your project in your first post. Don't worry, most people never do.
I was thinking of using two servos. The first servo would be holding all the foam balls above so basically the second one and another servo would be responsible for releasing the first ball and it would fall by gravity. I was thinking of using a stepper but that will need more power which I won't really have. I think the servo would fit this the best as I will be using batteries for power.
