Hello everyone, I'm new here and have found this to be a great resource to get useful information.

I'm working on a circuit for school that controls a motor's rotation on a conveyor belt.

A brief background on the project: I am responsible for transporting marble like balls back to a dispenser. We have a system in place to sort them into tubes with pressure sensors measuring how many there are. There are a total of four tubes with a color for each one and a pressure sensor to measure each tube. When one of the pressure sensors detects that one of the tubes has reached its capacity, a trap door holding the balls in place will open and the balls will transport down a ramp into a cart that is attached to a conveyor belt.

What I need is to have a time delay so that the balls have enough time to roll down the ramp and into the conveyor belt before the motor begins to rotate. I think a delay of 5-10 seconds before the motor begins to rotate is enough time. I'm not sure if a one shot is the best way to go. I've done a lot of research on the 555's doing the trick, but not fully grasping the concept. I was hoping maybe someone here could give me a guiding direction which way to go.

Thanks all!
Sam

 

You need to define the complete sequence you need, with the time for each step. You didn't mention how long the motor needs to run and what will shut it off. If those things are already taken care of, then a 555 delay circuit would be fine. But if you need multiple timed steps, other options may be needed.

 

I do need multiple timed steps, but right now, I'm just looking to set a timer for the motor to run clockwise. Anytime that I've built a monostable-multivibrator, I am never getting an output signal.

 

You should get some help from this thread.

 

Thanks Alec