How does a mechanical vending machine work?

As mentioned in another post, when speaking of snack and soda vending machines, there are two very different categories that they can fall into: electrical vending machines vs. mechanical vending machines. 

Everyone is very familiar with electrical snack and soda vending machines.  They are the ones that have a dollar bill acceptor built right into the front of the machine along with a keypad where you punch in the letter / number of the selection you desire.  Then, an electonic motor turns to allow the product to dispense. Also, an electronic coin changer inside is dispensing any change that is due.

Mechanical snack and soda machines are usually much smaller, much lighter, less secure, less expensive, and provide lower product capacity than most electrical machines.  They are made for smaller vending locations so that you can get a return on investment in a reasonable amount of time rather than investing too much in machines that are an overkill for a location.

Mechanical vendors / mini combo vending machines work similar to gumball machines. For the best explanation of this, I've created a 9 minute video that will show you:

• What a mechanical vending machine looks like
• How a mechanical machine is filled with product
• How a customer uses a mechanical vending machine
• How a dollar bill can be used with a mechanical vendor
• How a mechanical vending machine differs from an electrical vending machine