Pinball insert (roll over switch)

thingiverse

A Pinball Insert (Table Roll Over Switch) Built Using Affordable SS49E Hall Effect Sensors and Neodymium Magnets. Watch a video about this project here: https://youtu.be/tZuv5gnS2lc All parts were printed in PLA, including the clear lens made from transparent PLA. For testing purposes, a large apron was printed around the sensor to allow the ball to roll across it. In the final design, only the lens will be printed to fit within the sensor case. A single LED is currently used, but it's likely to be replaced with three APA102 LEDs in the future - more information on this decision will be provided later. This method of creating a switch may not be the easiest way to do so, but it won't alter the ball's trajectory and is completely reliable. Whether or not this design feature will be included in the final version remains to be seen. Here are the parts used: - 3 SS49E Hall Effect Sensors - 6 Neodymium Magnets (N35, 5mm x 2mm) The three hall effect sensors were connected in parallel so that any increase in voltage from either of the three sensors would trigger a ball present. In the video, an Arduino (Wemos D1) was used, but in the final design, a simple resistor and transistor pair will be used to provide a signal similar to what's produced by a switch. A quick schematic of how this could be built as a simple switch has been provided. Although it wasn't completed, taking voltage measurements from the hall sensor at minimum sustainable levels and adding a resistor to enable the transistor to switch reliably would have made sense. This is purely speculative, but it would have been one possible approach. In a single sensor configuration, there's no need for a resistor, but in multiple sensor configurations, it serves as a current limiter to protect the hall sensor's output stage.