Hello!
We will have our kitchen on the 2nd floor, penthouse with a patio on the 3rd floor, and a patio at ground level.
To transport food, plates, cutlery, etc., between the floors, we have an idea for a dumbwaiter.
We don't have space for it indoors, so it will be placed on the exterior facade...
We have an idea to use a garage door opener.
It could be mounted on the facade with a rail that the chain/rubber bands run in.
Usually, 2 remote controls are included, so they are intended to be used for control.
The opener's mount is attached to a "box."
Next to the garage door rail, two additional "guide rails" are mounted on the facade to keep the box on course.
What do you think about the idea??
Or does anyone have a better suggestion?
We will have our kitchen on the 2nd floor, penthouse with a patio on the 3rd floor, and a patio at ground level.
To transport food, plates, cutlery, etc., between the floors, we have an idea for a dumbwaiter.
We don't have space for it indoors, so it will be placed on the exterior facade...
We have an idea to use a garage door opener.
It could be mounted on the facade with a rail that the chain/rubber bands run in.
Usually, 2 remote controls are included, so they are intended to be used for control.
The opener's mount is attached to a "box."
Next to the garage door rail, two additional "guide rails" are mounted on the facade to keep the box on course.
What do you think about the idea??
Or does anyone have a better suggestion?
The garage door openers I've seen haven't been exceptionally strong, so if it's going to lift a basket, it might be reaching its limit. Porcelain and food, etc., are quite heavy. Then there's the fact that it moves between two endpoints, which would mean you'd need an elevator to go down and one to go up, so you'd have to pick between them on the middle floor (unless you modify the whole thing).
So my thought, if I were to do something like that, would be to take four U/I/H profiles and connect them with sheet metal or braces and then either panel it or leave it open to see the truss structure it forms. Then, place two wheels in each corner (for stability in all directions) and set up a winch or make a winch that lifts the basket with rope/wire/chain, and it would help to have a counterweight.
Then I can imagine a few different ways to get it to stop where you want.
The first thought is to have a switch that is pressed when the basket reaches the right spot.
Or you could attach a stepper motor that acts as a position sensor programmed to stop when it knows it has moved the right length.
Or a form of locking that engages at different levels with a sensor that detects when the resistance is too low or too high, stopping it then, though you'll also need a way to easily release the locking. But with this method, the basket will stay where it is since it won't slide anywhere when not in use.
But what I would have done is to take a chain block, attach a motor to it, and either set up a stepper motor with a counter or use a switch with a cam function, having it stay on until it is triggered at the other end by a switch on the rail. But I'm sure there are many more suggestions than mine, so see what else you hear here.
So my thought, if I were to do something like that, would be to take four U/I/H profiles and connect them with sheet metal or braces and then either panel it or leave it open to see the truss structure it forms. Then, place two wheels in each corner (for stability in all directions) and set up a winch or make a winch that lifts the basket with rope/wire/chain, and it would help to have a counterweight.
Then I can imagine a few different ways to get it to stop where you want.
The first thought is to have a switch that is pressed when the basket reaches the right spot.
Or you could attach a stepper motor that acts as a position sensor programmed to stop when it knows it has moved the right length.
Or a form of locking that engages at different levels with a sensor that detects when the resistance is too low or too high, stopping it then, though you'll also need a way to easily release the locking. But with this method, the basket will stay where it is since it won't slide anywhere when not in use.
But what I would have done is to take a chain block, attach a motor to it, and either set up a stepper motor with a counter or use a switch with a cam function, having it stay on until it is triggered at the other end by a switch on the rail. But I'm sure there are many more suggestions than mine, so see what else you hear here.
I went to check out a garage door opener at garageportsexperten in Arninge/Täby. They showed me an opener that would be strong enough for the purpose and that the chain could be made about 6 meters long, which would be needed to reach all floors.
The set included 2 wireless buttons and 1 wireless remote.
Virtually all garage door openers have 3 modes...open/closed door and ventilation mode where the door only opens a few centimeters. This mode could be adjusted to the desired position (read floor 2) on the opener he showed.
You mention some type of guide rails to stabilize the basket...you can tension wires along the facade that the box follows or do as you suggest.
The downside with a winch, as you mention, is higher noise level, often 12V = transformer, and that it usually only comes with a wired control. We want to be able to control the elevator from all 3 floors.
But thank you for your opinions and ideas.
The set included 2 wireless buttons and 1 wireless remote.
Virtually all garage door openers have 3 modes...open/closed door and ventilation mode where the door only opens a few centimeters. This mode could be adjusted to the desired position (read floor 2) on the opener he showed.
You mention some type of guide rails to stabilize the basket...you can tension wires along the facade that the box follows or do as you suggest.
The downside with a winch, as you mention, is higher noise level, often 12V = transformer, and that it usually only comes with a wired control. We want to be able to control the elevator from all 3 floors.
But thank you for your opinions and ideas.
that's partly why I suggested a winch or building one, as it's not a major problem to make a winch yourself using a 220v motor. If you build one, you can choose what kind of motor to use, although a drill might probably work, and then you can change direction with it or use indicators to keep track of its position.
but it's easier to find a solution that you don't need to do much yourself, and with my suggestions, it would involve some work which you might not like, preferring to pay a bit more for something that's simpler.
but it's easier to find a solution that you don't need to do much yourself, and with my suggestions, it would involve some work which you might not like, preferring to pay a bit more for something that's simpler.