Note: The links on the left side of this page and the other Model CT-3 pages will take you to detailed information about the new coffee table's design and construction.

Lift Mechanism & Equipment Box Mock-up

The lift mechanism is now complete and operational; however, before it was built, a full-size mock-up was assembled out of the finest quality scrap cardboard. The mock-up included the “equipment box” that houses the lift mechanism and the layout's electronics. (The equipment box will be located in the base of the finished coffee table.) The mock-up along with detailed dimensional drawings provided the cabinetmaker with enough information to produce the finished product.

Sitting on top of the lift mechanism mock-up (above) is a small layout mock-up that includes one house and one piece of track. The layout mock-up indicates the elevation of the first track level in the finished layout.

Note that the top of the linear actuator (tall gray cylinder) protrudes through the layout. This is not desirable, but it is necessary. The shortest available linear actuator is about 1.5 inches too tall for the layout. A house, water tank, or some other appropriate structure, will be placed over the top of the linear actuator to hide it.

Also note that the mock-up of the equipment box includes two long white foam-core boards with circuit board images on them. This is where the actual electronics modules will mount in the finished table.

Finished Lift Mechanism & Equipment Box

Illustrated below is the finished lift mechanism and equipment box assembly—along with the small layout mock-up. The lift is in the down position. In this position, the layout will be inside the coffee table, below the wooden top and/or glass. The layout can be operated in this position, with or without a glass top.

The 3D computer model (below) illustrates the layout operating in the lowered position under glass.

With the wooden top and glass removed, the layout can be raised 6.5 inches, so that it appears to be sitting on top of the coffee table. In the illustration below, the actual lift mechanism is shown in its raised position.

The 3D computer model (below) illustrates the layout operating in the raised position.

The final illustration (below) shows the actual layout, which is in the early stages of construction, resting on the lift mechanism in the raised position. The electronics modules, also under construction, can be seen in the equipment box. Power supplies, not visible in the illustration, are located under the electronics.

Eventually, the finished layout and the equipment box containing the lift mechanism, electronics, and power supplies will be housed inside the coffee table.

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