Solscud007 Posted July 6, 2015 Posted July 6, 2015 (edited) I modified my Grand Carousel with Starwars themed elements and Micro Fighters as rides for the Carousel. It works at first but the weight over powers the tire that drives the carousel. For those not familiar with the Grand Carousel, Lego uses a wheel with a tire pressed up against the platform of the carousel to rotate the whole assembly. The tire is eating itself apart. So I decided to try and make the carousel driven directly by gears. I put a 2x2 round brick in the middle of the mesh platform so the axle can spin the entire carousel mechanism. Originally the mesh platform would just spin freely around an axle and the axle would be stationary. That entire mechanism sits ontop of the carousel column. You can see the XL motor and the 40 tooth gear. The gear is driven by the XL and a 8 tooth gear. I hooked up the XL motor to an IR receiver so I can use my remote and run the XL motor on the lowest setting. The problem is that the XL motor will surge rather than run smoothly at low speeds. Any ideas how I can fix this? Should I switch to the L motor? Will that run more smoothly at lower speeds? I want lots of torque at low speed. Edited July 6, 2015 by Solscud007 Quote
agrof Posted July 6, 2015 Posted July 6, 2015 (edited) Hi, i would try to chane the gearing to worm gear to small gear to big gear. than the XL can run on full power, with more constant speed. Edited July 6, 2015 by agrof Quote
Solscud007 Posted July 6, 2015 Author Posted July 6, 2015 Hi, i would try to chane the gearing to worm gear to small gear to big gear. than the XL can run on full power, with more constant speed. I am not that knowledgeable on Technic gears. Can you link me to the worm gear? Quote
agrof Posted July 6, 2015 Posted July 6, 2015 Here You are, i can only quote more experienced people: http://sariel.pl/2009/09/gears-tutorial/comment-page-1/ http://www.technicbricks.com/2014/01/lets-talk-about-gears.html Have fun at building! Quote
Solscud007 Posted July 6, 2015 Author Posted July 6, 2015 Ok thanks! I just found Sariel's page as well. Quote
Jim Posted July 6, 2015 Posted July 6, 2015 You can basically use any smaller gear driving a bigger gear to reduce the speed (gearing down). Like Agrof said; the XL motor can run on full power. Here's a very simple solution that might work for your setup. Be aware that the grey (input) and black (output) axles are different axles! Quote
Solscud007 Posted July 6, 2015 Author Posted July 6, 2015 Thanks Jim! That looks much easier than what I tried to do. I could not fit the XL with a worm gear so I tried my L motor. It sort of works. I can run the motor at full speed. But after a short time, the worm gear starts skipping on the 8 tooth gear. I will try your method next, Jim. Quote
oracid Posted July 7, 2015 Posted July 7, 2015 May be this can help you : http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=110051&hl=turntable Quote
Jurss Posted July 7, 2015 Posted July 7, 2015 I hooked up the XL motor to an IR receiver so I can use my remote and run the XL motor on the lowest setting. The problem is that the XL motor will surge rather than run smoothly at low speeds. As i understand, You are running that XL motor at lowest speed. If it turns slow, electrical motor is close to short circuit, nad thats why protection is tripping. So it is OK. As mentioned previosly, use more gear ratio to slow down.To avoid gear skipping, fix axles from bouth sides.XL has 2x more torque, than L motor, L has 2x speed. XL is better for this. Quote
RohanBeckett Posted July 7, 2015 Posted July 7, 2015 I will be attempting a similar mod later this year.. I too have the carousel.. and after displaying it at Brickvention last year, and having it run for nearly 2 days solid.. the tyre is rather... shredded! I got mine 2ndhand, and as a result, I don't have the original baseplate, so I built mine on 9 x 16x16green plates... this will allow me to raise it up, and feed some drive mechanism from underneath (something you can't do on a 48x48baseplate!.. I hope to built it up on a 'box', which will also help to dampen the motor noise too The surging will probably be due to small amounts of friction, or unevenness, that you naturally get, when trying to drive such a large thing from a single axle. Try to keep axles as short as possible, so they have less chance to flex. And go over ALL those support wheels/upper frame... I found mine would get out of whack every few hours or so. Also.. worm gears (all gears, really)... need to be very well braced.. any place that an axle, or a beam/liftarm can flex.. you need to stop it.. reinforce it... It really is a pretty model, but FAR from strong, and structurally sound! ...and is the musical tune burned into your head yet? - I often catch myself humming/whistling it!!! Quote
Solscud007 Posted July 7, 2015 Author Posted July 7, 2015 I will be attempting a similar mod later this year.. I too have the carousel.. and after displaying it at Brickvention last year, and having it run for nearly 2 days solid.. the tyre is rather... shredded! I got mine 2ndhand, and as a result, I don't have the original baseplate, so I built mine on 9 x 16x16green plates... this will allow me to raise it up, and feed some drive mechanism from underneath (something you can't do on a 48x48baseplate!.. I hope to built it up on a 'box', which will also help to dampen the motor noise too The surging will probably be due to small amounts of friction, or unevenness, that you naturally get, when trying to drive such a large thing from a single axle. Try to keep axles as short as possible, so they have less chance to flex. And go over ALL those support wheels/upper frame... I found mine would get out of whack every few hours or so. Also.. worm gears (all gears, really)... need to be very well braced.. any place that an axle, or a beam/liftarm can flex.. you need to stop it.. reinforce it... It really is a pretty model, but FAR from strong, and structurally sound! ...and is the musical tune burned into your head yet? - I often catch myself humming/whistling it!!! Not too bad. I removed it as it does get annoying. Also with the previous upgrades, it was hard to hear it over the noise of the motor. You should get a 48x48 gray baseplate at your local Lego store. I used MILS and beefed up the 48x48 baseplate. As you said, it is not very sturdy. I coverd almost 90% of the baseplate in brick and then used 6x12 light green plates (that I bought at my Lego Store PAB wall) to cover most of the baseplate. I left the center hollow since I did not need that portion covered. It is a LOT more sturdy now. I have the IR receiver inside the column sitting at the bottom on the baseplate. The wire runs out underneath the green plates and out the side. I need to get an extension so I can mount the battery pack to the top of the plates. Right now, the end of the IR receiver cable just runs out past the edge of the baseplate and I can plug it into the battery box. Quote
Solscud007 Posted July 15, 2015 Author Posted July 15, 2015 Good news! The stepped down gears worked! The carousel ran non stop last weekend. 9am - 4pm on Saturday. And about half day on Sunday. Batteries died. No issues of skipping or self destruction. Quote
Alasdair Ryan Posted July 15, 2015 Posted July 15, 2015 (edited) Good news! The stepped down gears worked! The carousel ran non stop last weekend. 9am - 4pm on Saturday. And about half day on Sunday. Batteries died. No issues of skipping or self destruction. Well that is good that it worked for you,I like your bracing of the back motor. Are we going to get a quick video? Edited July 15, 2015 by Alasdair Ryan Quote
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