A&W Root Beer Sign in O-scale Animated and Lighted

This is the animated and lighted O-Scale A&W Root Beer sign on the layout.

This is an overview of how this sign was made from off-the-shelf products for about $20.00 I was gifted the mug by my neighbor and had everything after item #5 below in my craft supplies.

Parts:

1. Mug – Used small plastic beer mug keychain (~$4.00 eBay). Used is better as the resin in the mug tends to darken with age. I found new ones on Ali-Express for $2 but they were yellow.
2. Motor – Micro 300 Gear Motor 29RPM Slow Speed Mini 32 mm Turbo Worm Gearbox Gear Reduction Motor ($2.31 Ali-Express)
3. Connector – 2-Channel 2A Hollow Shaft Slip Ring ($5.72 Ali-Express).
4. Power – LM2596 DC-DC Step Down Buck Power Convert Module ($3.60 Amazon).
5. Sign Pole – 3/16″ brass tube ($4.91 Amazon) Note: This is enough for 4 signs.

Craft Supplies:

1. Pole Connect – 4-40 Helical Coiled Wire Thread Sleeve Insert ($7.39 Amazon)
2. Pole Connect – 1.25″ 4-40 machine bolt and nut ($1.50 Lowe’s/Home Depot) 
3. Lamp – 5mm LED (30pc $6.99 Amazon)
4. Power – 12V Power Supply ($11.99 Amazon)
5. On/Off Switch – Toggle Switch ON Off SPST (8pc. $8.49 Amazon)
6. Logo – Sheets White Inkjet Waterslide Decal Paper (20 sheets Amazon $11.99)
7. Spray Paint – Rust-Oleum Silver Spray Paint ($5.98 Amazon)

Assembly:

1. Connect the Motor to the Slip Ring and Pole
   1. To connect the pole to the motor I tapped the step motor for a 4-40 machine screw (it was a metric thread and I just re-tapped it for my 4-40).
   2. Screw a 1″ or longer 4-40 bolt into a Helical Coiled Wire Thread Sleeve Insert a
   3. Take a 1″ or longer 4-40 bolt, thread three nuts onto the bolt and fix the thread insert on the end of the screw making the 4pc a single unit then screw the threaded insert into the post. Cut the screw leaving 1/4″ exposed. File the rough end, and remove the nuts.
      NOTE: I did not have the Coiled Wire Thread Sleeve Insert so I drove a 1″ long bamboo skewer into the bottom of a 6″ piece of the brass tube. I drilled a pilot hole in the bamboo skewer and threaded the machine screw into the skewer. This resulted in a slightly angled post which is visible when the post is turning, this is why I recommend using a Sleeve Insert.
   4. Cut a 1/2″ piece of plywood approximately 2″x3″ and drill a 3/4″ hole in the middle of the plywood with a forester bit.
   5. Press fit and glue the slip ring into the top of the plywood base.
   6. Insert The brass tube through the slip ring and screw the 4-40 into the stepper motor.
   7. Attach the stepper motor to the bottom of the plywood with a couple of #6 screws.
2. Install the LED
   1. Drill a 1/8 hole in the side of the brass tube just above the slip ring
   2. Cut the Slip Ring leads to 1″ and Solder and shrink wrap two 6″ long 30 gauge (super-fine) wires to the Slip Ring leads.
   3. Feed the 2 wires from the slip ring into and out of the top of the tube.
   4. Cut the LED Leads with a resistor installer to 1-2″. Solder the LED to the 30 gauge wires connected. Pay attention to the polarity. This is a good time to verify your LED is working.
   5. Push the LED back into the tube.
      NOTE: I used the slip ring wires soldered directly to a prewired LED. So to push the LED back into the tube I had to pull ~1″ of wire back out of the small drilled hole at the base. The excess wire was wrapped around the bottom of the brass tube and hidden with a water bottle cap painted silver to match the pole. This is why I recommend using a 30 gauge (superfine) wire so you can push the extra wire back into the tube without pulling the excess out of the bottom.
3. Paint the Pole – Mask the LED and spray paint the pole and base silver. 
4. Mount the Root Beer Mug
   1. Print the waterslide decals and attache to the mug
   2. Drill a 7/32″ hole in the base of the beer mug
   3. Get a rubber washer that will fit into the base of the beer mug. Mine was 3/4″ OD.
   4. Punch a 5/32″ center-diameter hole in the rubber washer. Note: I drilled mine with a 3/16 drill but left the excess rubber that was left after drilling. In other words I did not “clean” the hole. The extra rubber allowed the washer to compress on the brass pole.
   5. Cut a slit in the washer and wrap it around the pole 
   6. Slide the washer up and press fit it into the base of the mug. The goal is to have the washer grip both the pole and the mug so no glue is needed at the top.
5. Connect the Power
   1. Connect the LED to a switched 12V DC power circuit
   2. Connect the 3V DC Step Down Buck power converter to a switched 12V DC power circuit
   3. Connect the stepper motor to the 3V output of the power converter 

For our layout, the slip ring and motor assembly was glued to the 1/4″ masonite base that acts as our A&W parking lot. A 2″x3.5″ hole was cut in the deck of the layout so the A&W parking lot would sit flush on the deck of the layout. Flip the switch and the sign lights up and spins.