Anna and Chris’s Bridge
Built by Dick Watson in October 2009
An interesting and original design for a bridge enabling people to cross the Manchester Ship Canal near the Lowry Centre was required for Anna and Chris’s final year university assignment. This is a working model of their design.
The model can be controlled by a computer, if one is available. It uses a Velleman K8055D interface and Velleman Relay Boards to control three motors, traffic lights and barriers.
A rotating electrical contact sends information to the computer to enable it to display the bridge in approximately the right position as it rises and falls. Other contacts tell the computer where to stop the motors.
The computer program is written in BBC BASIC for Windows and uses drivers supplied with the interface.
The model can operate either automatically or via instructions selected by mouse. It can also be operated using the traditional Meccano auto-reverse mechanism.