Coin sorter

['lektric dan]

Has anyone ever made a coin sorter? I was thinking of making various styles of coin banks as Christmas presents and thought I might add in a coin sorter to some of the designs. The simplest looks to use a ramp that is tilted to the side slightly. The ramp is "L" or "J" shapped in cross section. As coins roll down the ramp they ride along the vertical part of the L, falling into holes or slots just big enough for the denomination of coin; holes are arrainged smallest to largest down ramp. Have to be very precise to cut slots/holes to sort between pennies and dimes.

[Steve Turner]

Never made a coin sorter, but I think that would be a pretty cool thing to have. If you find a design that works out I'd be interested in it.

[Bill]

IMHO, of course--I think you should take into consideration whether your work on this will be appreciated and cherished as much as if you built a fine box. Personally, I like dropping my change into a bowl all at once. OTOH, my dad enjoyed using the type of utility you describe.

Bill

['lektric dan]

Thanks for the reply. It's as much a design exercise as a serious project. Like all gifts, anything I give away is freely given and the recipient can do whatever they want. What they do/how they act definitely will determine the *next* gift (and if there *is* a next).

[Puckdropper]

"'lektric dan" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Ever thought of adding an electric motor to it to allow the user to simply dump the change in and let the project do all the work? I've been thinking about ways this could be done simply and easily. I think a sweeping arm could be used to orient the coins and then push them in to the sorting slot. Might have some trouble with the coins jamming though...

Puckdropper

[Bill]

I think it's a darn *interesting* design exercise! It seems like a good one for an engineer (which I'm not).

Bill

[SonomaProducts.com]

Really cool idea.

To create accurate slots on such a small scale, it might be easier to laminate the bottom rail with the first layer in short pieces that leave the appropriate sized gaps. Also, I think some study of the physics might show that having the slot be ramped down a bit and actually be at an angle.

I'll try to d a sketch of my idea and post an image.

[SonomaProducts.com]

['lektric dan]

Here are some youtube videos. The first shows the basic concept I have in mind. The last one is the idea like you describe, but with a display to indicate how much total value is collected (a little beyond the scope of this project).

?v=3DXmL8DZXtrqs?v=3DfHksoKGKtPQ all look fairly easy to build.

['lektric dan]

[e-mail]:

Sure, you could do this. I've even seen youtube videos showing a Lego "Mindstorm" robot kit that sorts the coins.

'm looking for something easy/quick to put together. I was also thinking of just going hog wild and building one of those Rube Goldberg style contraptions with belts and pulleys and gears and cogs and LOTS of moving parts. Kinda like one of those "marble machines" with each coin taking a separate path through the machine. That might be for *next* Christmas though...

[Puckdropper]

"'lektric dan" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

That reminds me... my little sister wants one of those marble drop games. I probably ought to whip one up and give it to her for Christmas. Methinks the hardest part will be the mortises in the end.

That could be an interesting coin sorter, too. Just cut slots for each coin at the end and have a cup there to catch them. Hours of entertainment!

Puckdropper