[MOC] Spinning Gimbals

[Blakbird]

I made an animation of this, but since it is 25Mb I didn't put it directly in the post.  Click on it to take a look.  I thought it was too boring to move all 3 rings at the same speed, so the outer ring is 1:1, the middle ring is 2:1, and the center ring is 3:1.  I like it!

[sheo]

20 hours ago, Blakbird said:

I made an animation of this, but since it is 25Mb I didn't put it directly in the post.  Click on it to take a look.  I thought it was too boring to move all 3 rings at the same speed, so the outer ring is 1:1, the middle ring is 2:1, and the center ring is 3:1.  I like it!

Magnificent animation, thank you Blakbird!

As for me, I used BlueRender to make this silly promotional poster: 

[Blakbird]

Last month I threw together some instructions for this model and built myself a copy.  With a collection the size of mine, sometimes building models becomes monotonous.  Another new car, truck, or crane has a lot in common with what I've built before.  It is not often that I find something completely different, but this is certainly one such case.  It is also a lot more technically complex than I initially imagined.  At first glance, driving 3 independent rings with 3 independent motors seems simple.  However, the rings are NOT independent.  Since the drive system for the inner rings passes through the rotation axes for the outer rings, they are actually in series.  If you were to drive only the outer ring while holding the other drive axles fixed, the inner rings would rotate.  To drive ONLY the inner ring, you can just power that directly.  To drive the middle ring, you need to drive the axle for the inner ring in the opposite direction.  The drive the outer ring, you need to power both of the others to cancel out the motion.  Everything is geared at the same speed, so it is all about controlling the direction and this is done with differentials.  The technical solution is exceedingly clever and makes this model one of my favorites.  It also makes a great display piece and conversation starter.

[Slegengr]

@Blakbird Thanks for the description!  I had wondered how the drives could be independent with the ring structure.  It makes sense that the "independence" is achieved by reversing to cancel out motion.

Congratulations to @sheo for engineering this amazing LEGO mechanism!

[itz]

I'm absolutely fascinated by this creation and really want to build it too. By far one of the best eyecatcher for home. Unfortunately I'm pretty bad in guessing how something is made especially when it's about technic.

Is there any possibility that @sheo can contact me? Of course anybody else is welcome too. But because it's his creation I would like to talk/write with him.

Thank you for your answers and keep bricking. :-)

Max

[bonox]

whilst it would be fabulous, you may be completely out of luck while it remains on Lego Ideas

[Blakbird]

On 1/30/2018 at 3:08 AM, itz said:

I'm absolutely fascinated by this creation and really want to build it too. By far one of the best eyecatcher for home. Unfortunately I'm pretty bad in guessing how something is made especially when it's about technic.

Is there any possibility that @sheo can contact me? Of course anybody else is welcome too. But because it's his creation I would like to talk/write with him.

I have temporary instructions that were never released.  Sadly, it looks like Sheo has dropped off the Earth since all his media have been taken down, so I don't know if it is possible to get his permission to share them.

[BucketWheelExcavator]

43 minutes ago, Blakbird said:

I have temporary instructions that were never released.  Sadly, it looks like Sheo has dropped off the Earth since all his media have been taken down, so I don't know if it is possible to get his permission to share them.

That’s a real shame because it’s something i’d absolutely love to put together. 

[itz]

9 hours ago, BucketWheelExcavator said:

That’s a real shame because it’s something i’d absolutely love to put together. 

Me too. I heard about that sheo vanished but hoped I could contact him here.

 

9 hours ago, Blakbird said:

I have temporary instructions that were never released.  Sadly, it looks like Sheo has dropped off the Earth since all his media have been taken down, so I don't know if it is possible to get his permission to share them.

I collected all the pictures I could find. Like this:

But that's not enough for me to figure out how the model works. Maybe you can help me out with the gears left and right?

[fraburg]

Hi Sheo, this project is fantastic, perfect for explaining the apparent motion of the planets!!!! I would like to build it to give demonstrations to my students. Do you make the project available?