New Inventory Chute, Goodbye double-vends.

Over the last few days, I've put together a new inventory chute assembly, to attempt to correct the issues with double vends (~10% of the time) and non-vends (~3% of the time). I hypothesized that the gap on the front of the inventory chute through which condoms are dispensed was too tall, and thus allowed multiple thin condoms to slip through easily.

New (L) vs Old (R). Note the reduced size of the (L) interface plate.

I made some other modifications to the geometry of the interface plate and system, reducing the depth by .500", the width by 2.00", and increasing the usable height to the full 12" height of the chute.

New and Old, side by side. You can see the reduced width, and the elimination of the brown "liner" components. The width and depth of the access slot has also been increased, allowing much easier stocking.

Installed. Note the reduced width, the right cam has been slid left about 2.5"

 I ran about 150 condoms through the device. The current capacity is about 100 condoms, at 50 per chute per 12". The chutes could be extended vertically to an arbitrary height and capacity at this rate.

Although the overall success rate is still right at 97%, I've basically eliminated the double vend issue. I believe that by adjusting the z-position (depth) of the chute vs. the axle, I can improve on this further.

Further bulletins as events warrant! Things are looking nice.