Introduction
---- past activities ----
In 2020, the Roller Coaster activity started at the Koryo Festival held at Oyama Kosen. The next year, however, the Koryo Festival did not give permission for the public to ride the roller coaster, so the public was not allowed.
In 2022, the coaster "Eagle," which was built for the third Koryo Festival, was finally manned and operated for the general public. The results were amazing, and more than 180 people were able to ride the coaster during the two-day operation. The Koryo Festival ended with a great success, receiving much praise not only from the visitors but also from the faculty members of the school.
The scale of the coaster has expanded every year, and while the total budget for 2020 was approximately $660, the budget for 2022 was over $4,600. At the Koryo Festival 2022, the Shimotsuke Shinbun, a local newspaper in Tochigi Prefecture, interviewed us and published our work in the newspaper.
Furthermore, a professor of Oyama Kosen and others suggested that the "Eagle" produced in 2022 could be preserved and that activities after the Koryo Festival could be carried out. As a result, we were able to obtain the cooperation of a kind-hearted person who lent us his private property, which made it possible to preserve the work and smoothly carry out activities after the festival.
In addition, a company run by an alumnus of Oyama Kosen offered to sponsor the event, and we decided to participate in the "Oyama-ichi" event in Oyama City.
2020's Work
This was the first year of the project and we started our activities at the Koryo Festival as a class project. There were many things we did not fully understand, such as the operation of the 3D CAD software used for the design, the schedule, the storage location for the brought-in supplies, the permission and usage of tools, and safety measures.
The image on the left was created using the 3D CAD software SketchUp.
The rails are made of 1 x 4 lumber, and the cart is made of plywood and rollers purchased at a hundred-yen store. As you can see from the above description, there were considerable concerns about the strength of the system, and the safety committee members on the Koryo Festival side only allowed us to ride from the second curve from the dismounting area. In addition to this, the preparation took too much time and only a few hours of operation was feasible. Since then, strength has become one of the most important issues, and the goal of "getting people on board" has been strongly emphasized in order to realize operations with careful preparation.
The image above was created with the 3D CAD software SketchUp.
The rails are made of 1 x 4 lumber, and the cart is made of plywood and rollers purchased at a hundred-yen store. As you can see from the above description, there were considerable concerns about the strength of the system, and the safety committee members on the Koryo Festival side only allowed us to ride from the second curve from the dismounting area. In addition to this, the preparation took too much time and only a few hours of operation was feasible. Since then, strength has become one of the most important issues, and the goal of "getting people on board" has been strongly emphasized in order to realize operations with careful preparation.
2021's Work - Alps
The following year, 2021, we took over last year's activities as a volunteer project. Most of the members had participated in the previous year's project, but students who saw last year's coaster and became interested gradually gathered, resulting in a small team with more practical skills. In addition, the evolution of quality was remarkable. PVC pipes were used for the rails, and the base of the cart was made by arc welding using steel.
However, the use of steel and PVC rails was a new challenge, and the team struggled with many of these issues. In particular, the welding of the cart and the processing of the PVC pipe for the rails often failed, and we spent more time than expected on fabrication. We also had to switch to a new CAD software, which also took time to learn.
We started designing before the summer vacation and were able to start manufacturing during the summer vacation. Although it took a little longer than the vacation, we successfully finished making the platform, rails, and carts, and in October, when the school festival was held, we made the boarding and alighting areas.
During the vacation, only three members made the carts, and other members joined in the October activities. This was not enough to meet the needs of those who wanted to be deeply involved in the production, so we decided to keep the number of members even smaller the following year.
The image on the left is a complete 3D model of the rail and cart that we produced in 2021. The design was done with Autodesk's "Fusion 360," for which we changed CAD software last year and paid.
Since this was the first time to manufacture with PVC rails, we reduced the manufacturing cost by eliminating curves and implementing only two-dimensional bends when manufacturing the rails. Another purpose was to accumulate know-how for next year's production and beyond.
The cart had to be pushed up to the boarding area by hand, and stopping was achieved by attaching a sponge to the PVC pipe and using deceleration by friction.
The image above is a complete 3D model of the rail and cart that we produced in 2021. The design was done with Autodesk's "Fusion 360," for which we changed CAD software last year and paid.
Since this was the first time to manufacture with PVC rails, we reduced the manufacturing cost by eliminating curves and implementing only two-dimensional bends when manufacturing the rails. Another purpose was to accumulate know-how for next year's production and beyond.
The cart had to be pushed up to the boarding area by hand, and stopping was achieved by attaching a sponge to the PVC pipe and using deceleration by friction.
The image on the left shows a complete model of a cart implemented in Alps.
The image above shows a complete model of a cart implemented in Alps.
Below are snapshots of the production and commemorative photos.
2022's Work - Eagle
The 2022 activities are the culmination of three years of work. Last year we had about 20 members, but this year we had a small group of 6. We welcomed as regular members only those who could spend almost all of their summer vacation time and bear the expenses, which amounted to several tens of thousands of yen.
Of course, there were many family members and classmates of the participating members who helped out with the work and with the transportation of supplies. With the help of these kind-hearted people, we were able to make this production a great success. We also received generous support from companies, including bolts and nuts from Kikaku Kogyo, steel from Oyama Kozai, and advice from Oyama Kosen alumni on the structure of the machine and how to assemble it. (URL of the company's website)
The design of the "Eagle" began in May, and from the early stages of design, it was decided that it would be annular in shape and that a winch winch mechanism would be implemented. At this point, the plan was to make a significant evolution from last year and to create something of high difficulty. As we proceeded with the design, we spent a great deal of time examining the structure, including the implementation of canting in curves and devising a cart to accommodate three-dimensional turning.
The summer production was a camp production for more than three times longer than last year. However, due to the scale of the project and the implementation of new plans, we were unable to complete it during the vacation period, and it was not until one week before the Koryo Festival that we were able to confirm that the car was running in its complete state.
After overcoming repeated problems, the train was finally manned in the afternoon on the day of the Koryo Festival. On the second day of the Koryo Festival, there was a problem with the rear wheel, but the train was back in operation in the afternoon, and a total of more than 180 people rode on it over the two days of the festival.
The following images are screenshots of the CAD software, while the other photos are snapshots or souvenirs taken during production.
