Trash Train!

We all generate a certain amount of trash, which has to be tossed into one or several bins, then taken to the curb on trash day. After collection, bins have to be retrieved and put somewhere out of sight, out of mind, until the cycle starts over again... and again and again. As seen in the video below, Max Maker’s new (and improved over several iterations) trash train takes care of bin movement duties with the push of a button.

For locomotion and guidance, Max installed a railing system in his side yard, with gear teeth attached horizontally to one section. The engine car pushes against these teeth with a motor and gearbox in a rack-and-pinion setup, allowing it to move back and forth in a reliable and well controlled manner. The engine tows/pushes a series of trash cars, one for each bin, to move into pickup position and back again

The trash train uses an Arduino Uno and BTS7690 motor driver for control, along with a series of relays. Onboard potentiometers provide a user interface to change the speed and acceleration. After experimenting with metal proximity sensors, Max settled on mechanical switches triggered by metal protrusions to tell the train when to decelerate and stop. When in position, a series of five spring-loaded connectors take care of battery charging duties.

As for its user interface, the device is controlled by a simple car fob-style RF module. This seems to work well, with an external antenna implemented to avoid problems with the train’s metallic housing. Max also added a pair of lights to the engine car, which not only looks cool, but gives him verification that it did in fact sense the remote signal.

Be sure to check out more build details in the video below!