Newton’s cradle is well known to many. Many studies have been done about this energy system and a lot can be found about it.
A similar mechanism is the rolling pendulum. Unlike Newton’s cradle, little research has been done on the rolling pendulum. Therefore, this project conducted in-depth research on the operation of the rolling pendulum. The focus of this project was on optimizing and automating this system. Because there is virtually no research about it, it was a challenge to find out about all the factors that play a role in the operation of the rolling pendulum.
The project
The goal of this project was to realize an optimized rolling pendulum with the ability to start itself without human assistance. This had to be realized in a small format, also called ‘showcase product’. In addition, this also had to be realized on a large scale, think 2 meters high, also called the ‘eye catcher’.
This project was roughly divided into two parts. The first half of the project focused entirely on designing an optimized and automated the showcase product. This included research into what factors play a role in energy conservation and how these could be improved, as well as devising a concept that would allow the pendulum to restart itself after being stopped.
The result
In the second half of this project, the “ideal” pendulum as designed in the first half was scaled up. For this, a completely new design was created, and a new winding system needed to be realized. In addition, the results of both the showcase product and the eye catcher were produced in the second half of the project.
Video impression
Project video
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank our sponsors: VDL, AAE, Gemco, Fontys, HN Metaalbewerking, Mevi, and Munsters Metaal Helmond.