[MOC] Red Wolf - 4WD RC Race Buggy /w Buwizz

[Woodstock89]

No worries, I do understand these concerns, considering how many copycats there are... 

[Woodstock89]

I finally found the time to finish the work on the Red Wolf. I really enjoyed building this awesome model!

Unfortunately, I could not test-drive it, yet, as it turned out that one of my BuWizzs is broken 

 

 

 

 

[Woodstock89]

I believe I do need some help. I was now able to connect and configure the BuWizzs according to the layout. I am able to drive the car but the steering does not work. Triggering servo calibration for BuWizz #1 works and finishes fine, but in Drive mode, when using the horizontal slider, nothing happens.

[Didumos69]

Did the calibration actually turn the front wheels to their max angle? I always calibrate with the wheels off the ground.

How does the car behave when you hold it in the air? Do all wheels rotate? It happened to me that it was riding with one Buwizz disconnected without me noticing.

[Woodstock89]

My bad! I checked the profile once again and figured out that I made a mistake in the configuration. The horizontal control was not linked to the Center Steer module. Now everything seems to work as expected.

[Didumos69]

7 hours ago, Woodstock89 said:

My bad! I checked the profile once again and figured out that I made a mistake in the configuration. The horizontal control was not linked to the Center Steer module. Now everything seems to work as expected.

I'm happy to hear it works now. How does it perform?

[Woodstock89]

Yesterday, I performed the BuWizz setup on the bare chassis. This morning, I finished the model by re-attaching the body and the wheels. I did a very, very careful test in our living room trying to avoid hitting the walls. Looking forward to letting it run outside, soon. The speed is insane, great work!!!

Edited June 2 by Woodstock89

[Woodstock89]

After many rainy days in this region, I finally had the chance to let it run outside. Conclusion - it's a beast! 

Hint: to facilitate charging the BuWizzs, I installed two of these adapters:

 

[Variteck]

Hi everyone, I want to share this project with you: building a brushed motor-driven version of Didumos' Red Wolf. Of course, let me know if you think this is off-topic, okay?

Since the Greyhound days, I've greatly appreciated Didumos's work: I think he's one of the best creators of Lego RC cars. I bought the Red Wolf instructions without having enough Buwizz and Buwizz motors yet, so I decided to start building a 4x4 drive system with what I had: a large brushed motor. I've long been passionate about using RC motors in the LEGO world, finding information online and following the Eurobricks forum "Brushless motors in the LEGO world - general topic." 

Introduction: While I tried to make the drive system as compact as possible, it's clear that miracles can't be achieved with such a large motor. Better performance and easier installation could be achieved with a brushless motor. For now, I had this one at home, and I decided to proceed anyway!

Driving a similar model through an RC system (ESC, transmitter, receiver, 3S 11.1V lipo battery) offers several advantages over the Buwizz + traditional motors system, but this could be the subject of another topic. 

The motor I used is supposed to have a lot of torque (it's recommended for crawlers) and not much speed, but I think it's sufficient for a LEGO model. The transmission system begins with a 12-tooth Mod 1 metal pinion tightly connected to the rotation axis with an Allen key, followed by a 36-tooth gear that transmits the rotation to two 46490c01 planetary wheel hubs positioned in opposite directions. Up to this point, we have a reduction of about 15 times, which after passing through the yellow differential increases to about 23 times.

To support the high rotation speed of the red axis, I squeezed a ball bearing between the arms and joints. It's a very simple and versatile solution, and I can't wait to put it to the test!

Here are examples of other ways you might use this technique:

I'm very pleased that I managed to maintain the 35 stud length from wheel to wheel!

As for the steering, I had some trouble positioning the Geekservo. Due to space constraints, I couldn't insert the steering axle directly into the servomotor hole. Instead, I had to use a system of three gears spaced three studs apart, resulting in some backlash. I couldn't use two because I needed the axle crosspiece positioned vertically both at the start of the servomotor and at the end resting on the rack. I'd never thought of this, but this is impossible with two LEGO gears.

Now the challenge is to fit the Red Wolf body to my modified chassis! 

If you like I will update you on the performances

Thank you Didumos!