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SITE MAP |
Model Railway hanging from the ceiling
Being able to hoist the Modelrailway up and down proved to be unexpectedly difficult.
Ceiling tables were a tough design problem!
My first ceiling table was made of a 20x45mm pine frame and had 12mm chipboard table top. It was bad, because it was impossible to pull up due to its enormous weight (about 60kg). It also didn't take long before there was a slope down from each joint.
The 2nd table was at least pull-up!
My second table was built on the same framework, but had a table top made of carefully double-sided varnished 4mm plywood. The table was pull-up, but after a short time it unfortunately looked like a roller coaster. Now the pine beams also started to look flabby.
3rd time a winner!
Parts of the framework were replaced with 15x25mm O-profile aluminum that I sawed into the I-beams I built from pine strips. This way, the transverse aluminum beams were undivided from table edge to table edge. All joints were reinforced with pieces of L-profile aluminum, which were screwed with self-tapping screws (see picture). Furthermore, I screwed a pine strip on top of the aluminum profile. Why, you may ask?!
Table top made of Foamboard
The table top was also replaced with a thick light, stiff ground insulation board munfatured by Platon. The board is available at all hardware stores as ground insulation for basement floors. It is purple in color and about 16mm thick. The boards are also edge cutted, so that they are easy to glue together to make a table top in the desired size. I glued it with regular wood glue and it worked well.
Ceiling suspension intact
My idea with block rollers in expander bolts and a pulley to make it easier to lift the table has worked well. When the table is empty, it is easy to pull up. With a complete train system mounted, a little more force is required. It is still possible without a winch or other aids.
Motorization also problematic
The first motorization was powered by 6pcs 24VDC worm-geared motors. They were able to lift the system, but unfortunately at different speeds, which caused the carts to start rolling. Furthermore, they were unable to keep the table up on the ceiling even though I short-circuited the motors in the end position. I then changed to a single large down-geared motor that pulled all the steel cables at the same time. Unfortunately, this was not good enough either, so I decided to scrap the idea.
EXAMPLES OF THE FINAL RESULT:
 The table seen from below in elevated position |
 The rope arrangements with pulley and blocks |
 The layout seen from above in lowered position |