How to make a model roller coaster with no moving parts

Roller coasters are not only great fun to ride, they are also fascinating pieces of engineering. Building your own life-size coaster is unfortunately beyond most people's means, so the average enthusiast will have to settle for simulating or modeling their own designs. [Jon Mendenhall] is one of those who specializes in building model roller coasters and simulating their motion in great detail. His latest project is a scale model of VelociCoaster, a Jurassic Park themed ride in Universal's Islands of Adventure, which simulates the ride of the coaster without using any moving parts.

[Jon] achieves this by recreating the movement of trains using LED strips. A total of 3000 LEDs are spread over more than nine meters of track and make for a mesmerizing light show of multiple trains whizzing along the track, speeding up and slowing down just like the real thing.

In his video, [Jon] explains the process of generating an accurate 3D model of the track from scratch more than an aerial view of the park as well as photos taken from different angles. The surrounding terrain and buildings are also included in its 3D model, as are the 128 supports that hold the track in place. The terrain and building were made from plywood and foam using a CNC machine, while the track and supports were 3D printed.

A Teensy microcontroller runs the whole show, with the LED strips split into five separate sections to allow for a high enough frame rate for smooth animations. An infrared remote control is used to start and stop the ride, as well as to adjust the speed; the model supports running trains at a physically accurate speed, but since that sounds rather boring, the normal setting is about three times faster.

Looking for other roller coaster models? [Jon] has already made an equally impressive model with a motorized train, and we have already seen several models rolling along their tracks.