MagLev C

[mrsteven]

Has anyone tried the pitsco maglev vehicle kit?

I was kind of thrown into this event last minute and I don't really know what I'm doing...

I'll start that people on here are willing to help, and generate some solutions, but you shouldn't come here expecting people to explain things to do because you were "thrown on last minute," or have no real interst in it, just trying to 'get it over with'. If you have a genuine interest in learning and come with some specific questions or thoughts then we can help.
With that said, I looked at it and decided against it because I wanted to have a more competitive vehicle. If youre just doing the event to get through it, then that might be your best option. I didn't like it due to the small blade and overall I don't want a kit, those won't work nearly as well than if you do some work and find things to use. + The motor in that kit is pretty dinky.

If you want to learn more and be competitive, I'd recommend you look through information on brushed motors and battery packs, as well as rotors and come back around with some specific questions

[scm424]

Has anyone tried the pitsco maglev vehicle kit?

I was kind of thrown into this event last minute and I don't really know what I'm doing...

I'll start that people on here are willing to help, and generate some solutions, but you shouldn't come here expecting people to explain things to do because you were "thrown on last minute," or have no real interst in it, just trying to 'get it over with'. If you have a genuine interest in learning and come with some specific questions or thoughts then we can help.
With that said, I looked at it and decided against it because I wanted to have a more competitive vehicle. If youre just doing the event to get through it, then that might be your best option. I didn't like it due to the small blade and overall I don't want a kit, those won't work nearly as well than if you do some work and find things to use. + The motor in that kit is pretty dinky.

If you want to learn more and be competitive, I'd recommend you look through information on brushed motors and battery packs, as well as rotors and come back around with some specific questions

Okay thanks. Sorry, I didn't mean to sound uninterested (maglev is really cool!), it's just that one of my teammates told me that she couldn't build it (and she was supposed to) and I had to only like 2 days before competition. If she had told me earlier, I would totally be interested, and I would have researched and formed a good plan. I was just wondering if a kit would be okay because I wasn't sure what I could put together on such short notice. Sorry, I hate to halfa$$ things because it makes me feel gross inside, but I don't want to completely let the team down. Thanks for the advice.

[Allinea]

Had my first practice today with the track and set up the magnets for some practice on the bottom of the sled. It seemed to float really well until the last bit of pushing it down the track, when it started and stopped a lot. From this, does anyone recommend continuous strips of magnets on the track or placing them side by side, and why?

[Flavorflav]

Had my first practice today with the track and set up the magnets for some practice on the bottom of the sled. It seemed to float really well until the last bit of pushing it down the track, when it started and stopped a lot. From this, does anyone recommend continuous strips of magnets on the track or placing them side by side, and why?

I'm not sure what you mean by that, but it sounds like your problem is friction with the side rails. It is likely that the rails are not perfectly parallel, and taper slightly towards the far end - possibly just because they lean in. Do you have acrylic rails, or aluminum?

[scm424]

Does anybody have propeller recommendations? I tried a plastic one from a model airplane, but it didn't work very well...

[Balsa Man]

Does anybody have propeller recommendations? I tried a plastic one from a model airplane, but it didn't work very well...

The key is matching the prop to the motor; for every motor, there is a size and pitch combo that will maximize the thrust. Material doesn't matter nearly as much.

[mrsteven]

More over, I think nearly every blade will be made of plastic, its strong and flexible. It would be bad if it were metal and it went out of control of hit you. I see broken fingers in that future...

[scm424]

Haha okay, I'll try finding a better plastic one, I definitely don't want any broken fingers haha. Are there ways I could calculate the best pitch and diameter for my motor? Or is it just trial and error?

[Balsa Man]

Haha okay, I'll try finding a better plastic one, I definitely don't want any broken fingers haha. Are there ways I could calculate the best pitch and diameter for my motor? Or is it just trial and error?

There are apps you can chase down on-line that allow you to calculate, but you have to have full info on the motor, and they're fairly complicated. A quick way - if you have access to a small scale (like 0-200, maybe 500 grams) to get a reasonable handle is tape the motor SECURELY on the end of a stick - so when the stick is horizontal, the axis of the motor is vertical. Let the end of the motor rest on the scale. record that weight #. Hook up the motor (woth polarity so that the prop is pushing down onto the scale)- get that "weight" #- the difference is a measure ot the thrust. Try a different prop- see if it pushes down more or less- play around until you find what gets you the most push...

[Allinea]

Had my first practice today with the track and set up the magnets for some practice on the bottom of the sled. It seemed to float really well until the last bit of pushing it down the track, when it started and stopped a lot. From this, does anyone recommend continuous strips of magnets on the track or placing them side by side, and why?

I'm not sure what you mean by that, but it sounds like your problem is friction with the side rails. It is likely that the rails are not perfectly parallel, and taper slightly towards the far end - possibly just because they lean in. Do you have acrylic rails, or aluminum?

I highly believe they're aluminum. I'd think it was friction too, but after the troublesome portion goes smoothly again. I didn't get a chance to see if there were any other weird spots because some of the magnets were flipped and we had to switch them around, and I didn't get a chance to try the track again that day.