How Would You Build a Battery-Powered Mini-Cable Car?

[GreenIma]

Hey!

A couple of friends and I are building an electrical miniature cable car, kind of like this:

(attached below in case the code doesn't work)

We're mechanical engineering majors and love this kinda thing but we just started out and don't really know much yet, so we're just looking for new ideas as to how to go about doing this.

So how would you do it?

Motor Specs:
Looks kind of like this:

(also attached below)
9V battery powered, small motor.
The only rule is to work with this exact motor.

We were thinking of using gears, but we're not sure how many, etc. so we would love to get your opinion!

Thanks in advance! It will be finished in about a week so we'll be posting pictures here when we're done!

-------
Go Green!

 

[mfb]

If you know exactly which motor you want to use, it would be useful to share its specifications.

In addition, what is the mass of the cable car? Which angle does it have to climb? Did you measure values for friction and so on?

 

[GreenIma]

Thanks for your prompt response, mfb!

We are yet to find out all the specifications, the motor was merely given to us as is. All we know is that it is powered by a 9V battery.

As for the mass, the only requirement is that it has some sort of cabin, as long as it has that then it can be as light or heavy as we make it.

The cable seems to be pretty level, we won't know for sure until the day we test it, as the cable will be provided and set up by our school; But we're looking at fast, horizontal movement as opposed to escalated or inclined movement.

Friction is another thing we were thinking about.. we won't be able to measure anything that has to do with the cable but we were thinking of ways to increase the friction between the pulley and the cable so that it "grips" better. any suggestions?

 

[Algr]

Before I recognized the 9v battery in that pic, I thought your cart was 6 feet tall!