A very good sign

I'm sure most of you read this on Virtual Midway, but this shows everybody now that CP is working on the ride and it says what was wrong with the ride. Also looks like they're aiming to get higher than #11 in 2004 for the Golden Ticket Awards. :)

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Only thing better than the 2003 season will be the 2004 season! :)
Ride Count - TTD: 2; WT: 11
*** This post was edited by Gomez 12/2/2003 4:38:14 PM ***

I guess they weren't firing the train over when they were "testing" because it says the catchcar is out of the country. I wonder what they were doing then? Besides just moving the train around to test out kicker wheels or something?

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Final 2003 Stats: Trips: 37
Top Thrill Dragster: 17
Magnum XL-200: 85 (last train of the year in 6-1)

Perhaps there is a prototype catchcar in Germany being fitted with heat magnets and the original is still in Sandusky? Of course I have nothing to back that up but it seems kinda foolish to "test" TTD if they have no way to launch the trains...

Could anybody explain to me how a "heat magnet" works, or atleast what it is?

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Last Magnum Train of season:2-3

Indeed, this "heat magnet" is new terminology to me. Sounds nifty though.

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Tommy Penner - YoYoBaybeeMan
11.05 The Matrix: Revolutions
If a tree falls in the matrix, does it make a sound?

I think the heat magnets collect the heat from the launch and avoid it (the heat) from getting to the catchcar, which is what Virtual Midway said was a problem. Perhaps by attaching the heat magnets to the catchcar someway? But im pretty sure it absorbs the heat...like a cooler, how the insulation keeps heat from getting to the inside...the heat magnet would be the insulation.

But i dont understand how the catch car heating affects the braking.

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-Adam Carolla is GOD
-*Perturbed at the world*
-No good deed goes unpunished
-There are 10 types of people in this world that understand binary...those who do, and those who don't.

Sounds like a heat sink to me.

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June 11th, 2001 - Gemini 100
VertiGo Rides - 82

I don't think it was talking about braking of the trains, but rather braking of the catch car itself at the end of the launch. As I understand it, the catch car itself is stopped by magnetic brakes at the end of it's journey down before the hydraulic building.

It's possible that the current magnets on the catch car (at least I'm assuming that's where they are) were getting so hot that they were losing their power. Perhaps they're just fitting it with magnets that will handle the heat better.

-Matt
2001 Magnum Crew
2003 Magnum Crew

Somone should tell Monty that Coastermania will be later in the year and the voting by Amusement Today for their list of the best coasters will be over.

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Dan Haverlock
Magnum: 2440
TTD Rollbacks 4
TTD Complete Laps 73
"get a job man!"

Matt's reply basically sums up what the problem was with the sled. As it nears the end of the launch track, there are magnets on the underside that slide over a set of brake fins. These fins are located between the two sets for the train and the system works just as that for the train. The magnets were generating so much heat, and not having time to cool down, that they began to lose their strength. The sled began to overshoot the braking section as the overall strength of it's magnets was not enough to slow it down in time.

All of this was solved by replacing the magnets, one by one. Whether or not a different type of magnet was used I am unsure of...but I believe so.

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James Draeger

I can understand that part about the overshooting....in fact it make perfect sense......but what happens to the sled when it overshoots??? Does it get jammed, which is what was causing delays, or does it just go crashing into a rubber stopper of some sort?? It obviously can't be good for the sled, so what exactly are the consequences????

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"Welcome back Gemini riders, how was that ride!?!?!" 25 years of excellence!

They're a rubber stopper, but it's not designed to be hit repeatedly.

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MANTIS ROCKS 2002 & 2003

Yeah, there's a rubber stopper that looks like it's got either a pneumatic or hydraulic shock absorber on it. But still, if you hit that thing a few too many times you'll shred your sled.

Ha, that rhymed. "shred your sled."

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- John
I Snap Flyers

They not only changed the magnets, they also liquid cooled the track surface that the tram is running on. They have a constant flow of water running through it... That's why on some days, you can see the mist, when the tram is slowing down, just in front of the train, before it pulls up.

Also, if you watch by the station, it'll spray there too. (not the smoke they blast, but after the train is released)

Also don't forget guys that there are a set of magnets for the sled as it returns to the launch position.

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speed freaks (hats n such) - 2003
ttd 72 rides (2 nonpaid rollbacks, 5 paid rollbacks)

Most permanat magnets including most neodymium iron boron magnets (rare earth magnets) begin to lose their magnetic energy at approximently 170° F. Unless significantly higher or a long duration of exposure to such heat, the mangnet will regain the energy back.

Magnetic brakes rely upon a simple magnetic relationship. A diamagnetic material passes through mangetic flux inducing weak voltages in the form of eddy currents opposed by materal resistance and magnetic reluctance. The eddy currents create magnetic flux opposing the orginal mangnetic flux causing the reluctance to go lower and the currents to rise. Reluctance stores energy while resistance converts some to mostly heat and some to other forms which are unusable in this case so there consitered losses. Higher currents create more losses because of resistance. When the diamagnetic material cuts more flux per time period (ie travels faster) then there is more induced voltages higher currents and more heat. All of the brakes I know of convert mechanical energy to heat.

On a hot summer days there is intense heat from the sun into metal track and catchcar, also frequent launches causing heat from fiction and the braking of the catch car. (not to be confused with 'breaking of the catch car' :) ) +170° F induced into the magnets is possible.

My interpritation of "heat magnet" is Intamin is testing high heat resistant magnets. If their is a larger difference between a surface temperture and ambeint, then more heat is dissipated. If the material can handle much higher temperatures, then it becomes much more difficult to overheat. There are variations of the neodymium iron boron magnets that resist more heat. Samarium cobalt magnets have very high heat resistance but don't have as much energy as neodymium iron boron magnets and they cost much more. In any case, there are trade-offs.

I want to do some testing with copper and rare earth magnets. I might even go as far as controled testing and derive formulas for utilizing eddy current brakes. I could try to use them on a model roller coaster. It would be neat if I can get it to work well.

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Eddy the retard is awesome.

I just found this story, thanks to Virtual Miday, and it pretty much has the basic mechanical description of TTD, but it also talked a bit about the problems. The thing I thought was most interesting was Jasper's comment that the catch car weighs a ton. I'm not sure if he just ment a lot of weight or if he was being literal, but I never realized how much that thing wieghed, and in return how much friction a 1 ton block sliding around at 120 mph must make.

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Last Magnum Train of season:2-3

That was very interesting to read. But very informative.

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MANTIS ROCKS 2002 & 2003

It's more than a ton.

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June 11th, 2001 - Gemini 100
VertiGo Rides - 82