Hi Martin! After seeing your video yesterday, I didn't have any ideas. But this morning between sleep and waking I suddenly had a couple of ideas so I'm writing them down here. Here's the rundown:
- Feedback on the ideas in your video
- Ideas for removing pins from the programming section
- Ideas for switching the programming sections on the machine on stage
- Ideas for colours/detailing of the programming sections
All of this is inspired by the perspective of being a technician on stage during the world tour and somehow managing to be fast and accurate at the same time.
Section: The section looks great. I like that you added handles to put it on and how snug it fits (as long as that doesn't mean it's hard to put it in place at all!). But if you go for the neomydium pins, have a strategy to get out a broken pin!
Triplets/block magnets: The triplets ideas is super awesome. The block magnets seem superior to the strangely shaped pins. Looks like you already did it in the video: the thin edge should hit the registrator, if you hit with the wide edge the pin it'll break much easier.
Paper overlay: The paper overlay with holes is a nice nod to the Speelklok instruments with their paper rolls and to the music boxes you program, but there's two issues: Durability, and fit. By fit I mean putting the paper on the section and keeping it there. Sure you can put in some of the outer pins, but it'll still be unwieldy and annoying I think. But maybe I'm being pessimistic here.
Magnets: Perhaps using a fairly large magnet will make it easy enough to get the pins out. Problem: the pins can have either magnetic pole sticking up. Solution: Move over the section twice, or swap the materials of the plate in the section and the pins (use a magnetised sheet and metal pins). Needs testing
Mechanical helper: What if you can put the section into an "unloading" machine that uses a magnet. The machine can be cranked so that the section will rotate over the magnet and rotate the magnet itself. The magnet rotates by a bar take pushes off the attacted pins. You may be able to add some demagnitisation to the pins here as well.
N.B.: See the image file in this gist for how this machine might look.
Handles and locking on: Your twisting handles gave me an idea. What if twisting the handles rotates levers on the section. That way you can remove and add sections in one go, without have to operate levers on the side of the machine on the wheels. So the levers are sticking out of the section, you put in the handles, twist to make the handles take hold of the section and with that twist the levers go into the section. Now you put the section on the machine, twist the handles again to take them out of the section, and with the same motion the levers in the section take hold of the machine. I think it would be really elegant and foolproof, but it downside is that it makes the sections a bit more complicated.
Taking the sections on stage: Have you ever seen this spring based plate or tray dispensers in cafeterias? You put a plate or tray on it and it sinks down because of the weight. And the other way if you take something off of it. What if you had something like that for the sections? Two little carts, one to put the sections on that come off the machine, one to take the sections off to put on the machine. Two people working in lockstep, one takes a section off and puts in on the cart, meanwhile the other puts a section in its place and rotates to the next section on the wheel.
Coloured sets of sections: To easily differentiate the sets of sections for different songs, make them in a few different colours. Problem: this might be defeated by the coloured stage lighting.
Detailing: You can do some nice detailing, artwork or hints about channels for live improv, just for the people handling the sections. If you make it small it's not visible to the audience, or you could explicitly go for something larger that looks cool to see spinning by on the wheel. Problem: Sections need to be a specific order for larger artwork to look right. If the sections are accidentally programmed in the wrong order, this is most likely discovered when putting the sections on the machine next to each other, and by then it's too late.
Oh! I know, You should replace the pins with magnets!