Level crossing gates and warning lights and bells for wood railroad Brio or Lillabo.

 

You can remotely control gates powered by N20 DC motors. It is accompanied by warning lights - flashing two red lights or when the gate is open, one white flashing light (used in some countries).



There are  two versions, one track two tracks.
Most parts are 3D printed. Besides that you will need following parts for full two barrier crossing with lights and sound:

  • 2x N20 motor
  • 4x Terminal DG250 2P
  • 4x Microswitch SPDT 12X6X6MM
  • 4x diode 1N4001
  • 4x Red LED 10mm
  • 2x White LED 100mm or Piezo buzzer 12mm
  • 4x STC8G1K08A-36I-SOP8
  • 4x SMD shottky diode
  • 2x PCB for motor
  • 2x PCB for terminals
  • 2x PCB for RED lights
  • 2x PCB for White light or sound
  • some wires
  • The chip STC8G1K08A has to be programmed,  the code is attached. 

3D Printing

These three parts form one unit. Gray or silver filament would be great.

  • barrier_box_front.stl
  • barrier_box_back.stl
  • signals_back.stl

The signal mask is obviously black. Choose one according to the type of signaling:

  • signals_red_red_sound.stl
  • signals_red_red_white.stl

The barrier should be white or red, PETG is preferable.

  • barrier.stl

Electronics

Motor Board

Solder the microswitches to the PCB. The open arm should point toward the edge of the PCB. Bend the diode leads, insert them into the PCB and solder. Pay attention to diode orientation. The cathode is marked with a white stripe on both the package and the PCB. After soldering, cut the excess leads about 1mm above the PCB. Don't throw them away yet, you'll use them for the motor.


 

Determine the motor polarity. In the picture you can see that when viewed from the power supply side, with plus pole on right the motor will rotate counterclockwise.


 

Turn the positive lead to the right. Solder the wires left over from the diodes. Solder the motor into the PCB and cut the excess wires. Solder an 8cm double cable. The wire toward the microswitch (gray) is positive.
Before assembly, it's advisable to test the motor. When voltage is applied, the motor starts rotating toward one of the microswitches. When we press it, the motor stops. When we press the other one, the motor will rotate a bit slower. When polarity is changed, it will work in reverse.

Signals

The main part of the signal lights are two flashing red lights. Their PCB is easily recognized by two circles. The second part can be an audio signal or white flashing light (this is only used in some countries). Both have the same PCB with one circle on the top side. The difference is only whether you solder a white LED or buzzer there. The audio signal should signal together with red lights. The white light, conversely, flashes when the red lights are off. Behavior is controlled by changing power polarity.


 

First connect both PCBs together with short wires. You don't need to thread them through the hole. You can see the correct orientation for the audio module in the picture. For white light, the bottom PCB will be rotated 180 degrees. All SMD parts are soldered on the bottom side of PCB. Solder the preprogrammed microcontroller. (Source code). Pay attention to orientation, pin 1 is marked with a dot on both the PCB and package. Then solder the capacitor and diode. The diode has the cathode marked with a white stripe on both the PCB and package. These SMD components are large enough to be soldered with a regular micro soldering iron. Use flux.
Large diodes and buzzer come from another side. The long lead on LED is positive. There is a plus sign on the bottom side of PCB.
Finally, solder a 12cm two wire cable. The right wire (gray) is positive. Make the small loop, so you can adjust the length. 


 

Test the circuit by connecting 3V power. Try changing polarity.

Connector Board

Solder the connectors to the top side of the board. Solder the motor and signal. Make sure the positive wires are on the same side.

Test the entire circuit. Verify that when red lights are flashing, the motor rotates counterclockwise (when viewed from front).

Assembly

Insert the connector board into the back part of the box and simultaneously insert the signal body. Push it all the way in, the front edge of the signal will be flush with the edge of the back box. Insert the electronics into the signal and route the cables into the signal pole. Cover the signal with the front cover. Insert the motor into the back part and route its cable. Place the small distribution board cover in position. Slowly attach the front part of the box. In the first step, you must press the microswitches, then you need to move the motor to release the PCB, and finally you need to adjust the distribution cover to fit into the front part. Screw the box parts together and attach the barrier.


 

Railway Crossing

There are two versions of railway crossing, single and double track.

3D Printing

Print all parts from the same material. Wood-colored PLA is most suitable.

  • crossing2_top.stl
  • crossing2_bottom.stl or
  • crossing1_top.stl
  • crossing1_bottom.stl
  • ramp_plug.stl
  • ramp_nest.stl

No support required

Assembly

Insert the connecting cable into the bottom part, it should be at least 5cm longer than the diagonal. Cover with the top part and screw together. Connect the barrier and signal to the cable and slide into position. Do the same on the other side. Then attach the ramps to both ends, which fixes the ramp in place. From the bottom side, the cable can be coiled so the ends don't interfere with the barriers.


 

You can buy all electronic components with PCBs or jus PCBs here: https://www.neotinker.sk/crossing/ . If your country is not listed for delivery, send me an email to rasto@neotinker.sk , we will find solution.