This may sound off-topic, but it could have applications for animating things like crossing gates.
Scientists at the University of Texas-Dallas have created artificial muscles made from coiled-up fishing line. It contracts when exposed to heat or electric current. It sounds so ridiculously easy to make, it’s amazing nobody stumbled onto this earlier.
Basically they take a length of fishing line and twist it using an electric drill until it starts to coil up (like how a rubber band will coil when heavily twisted.) When heated, the fishing line contracts. It can also be activated using electricity. I can’t wait to see what people do with this stuff.
Google “Redneck Memory Wire”![swg] Mongo like. It’s always neat when serendipity hits. Novel effects from common materials. Of course we can buy the metallic memory wire, but to be able to make similar stuff out of common materials, non-conductive ones at that, opens up some interesting trains (pun intended) of thought. The clever lads at the Central London Area Group (www.clag.org.uk) have been using the standard metallic wire for brakes on vans (“house” or boxcars). Bet someone will do it with fishing line.
Check the tackle box Billy Bob, ya might be missin a chunk.
Yes, I’m familiar with it. But how many people do you know who are creating memory wire in their basement? This is the first time I’ve heard of anyone doing it with something as simple and inexpensive as fishing line.
Considering the usual lead time between something like this being announced and an actual, usable, affordable product coming to market, I’m not going to expect it in my lifetime.
Muscle wire has been available for close to 20 years and I have yet to see it applied successfully to model railroad use and offered by a major manufacturer such as Atlas or Bachmann.
Yes, I first heard about ‘memory wire’ a year ago and the first thing I thought of doing with it is automate a Kadee coupler to open upon application of an electric current. I still plan to try something like this but it isn’t at the top of my list of things to finish before I move on. Great product to experiment with.