[MOC] Mechatech Snow Cat

[Auroralampinen]

Well, as the old saying goes, when you need him the most. He returns with a new moc:). 

 

This time I will show my first attempt at creating this type of machine and since the official technic model is long overdue(Last big one was released in 2009. But there was a tiny version made recently:).). I decided to challenge myself and this has my most functions in a model. Plus this model probably has my most complex mechanical solutions:). 

 

Let's get the drum’s playing:). 

 

Well, here is the Mechatech Snow Cat. My first snow groomer build and my most functions rich model. With 8 functions in total:). 

 

Functions:). 

Front Blade Tilt. 

Front Blade’s Sides Tilt. 

Front Blade Lift. Rear Plow Lift. 

Rear Plow Sides Raising And Lowering. 

Superstructure Rotation. 

Boom Lift. 

Winch. 

R3 Engine Connected To The Tracks. 

 

Pieces 1464.

 

And since you guys roasted the Mechatech Mechadozer for using too small tracks. Well, this model uses the much bigger tracks. So no shrinkflation to be seen here;). 

 

Functions video:). 

 

Looks:). 

 

The Current Mechatech Lineup:).

 

Functions in picture format:). 

 

Free instructions:). 

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-269984/Auroralampinen/mechatech-snow-cat/#details
 

If you made this far have a nice end of july and august:). 

 

Edited July 16 by Auroralampinen

[Auroralampinen]

Ok, apparently this model is cursed. This was the first modern/Mechatech(i think) model which i had forgotten a piece from the instructions. In step 78 there should been also 1x 11L beam which is placed to the connectors bellow the wheel hubs to secure the chassis. 

Edited July 16 by Auroralampinen

[Auroralampinen]

Here is some behind the scenes stuff:). 

When i started this build. I started first creating the rear plow with it's functions. It was pretty straight forward to design. The rear plow has just 2 functions passing thru. The linear actuator which raises and lowers the rear plow. Plus 2 driveshafts for the 2 linear actuators which raises and lowers the side extensions. The front blade’s design was much complicated. Because the front blade needed 3 functions to pass thru. Luckily i had a vision how to make that happen. But creating that to the real life was complicated. But i managed to do it. My original vision had 2x thin 9L links for tilting the front blade and the heavy duty CV joint with the extendable end piece. To allow the driveshaft for the blade’s side section linear actuators to little bit extend when raising or lowering the front blade. Well, it needed a ton of tinkering to get working. But the end result is identical to my vision. Plus the front blade tilting function had a little bit of backlash so i had to put rubber pieces so that it will be returning to centre always and while you can roast the tilting function backlash. It is kind of necessary to have. Because if the system was completely free from backlash then there would be risk for some stuff to break. But with this little bit of backlash. It works as a little bullet proof safety feature if you hit the blade from the side. It has a little bit of give to it. So that nothing breaks:).

 

With these words i wish you to have a massive fun and pleasant time building and playing with the Mechatech Snow Cat and as always feel free to leave a feedback or comment if you find something that needs addressing in future stuff or in this model:).

 

[Auroralampinen]

Desing secrets 2. 

Originally my idea/vison was that this model would not have a working fake piston engine and this model was all about the functions. This model has 7 Small Linear Actuators same as on the Mechatech Mechadozer. But when i was almost finished the model i thought this needed piston engine. While i was a little bit hesitant at first. But at the end i managed to squeeze an R3 engine for the Mechatech Snow Cat:). While it's not probably the most realistic thing for machine this big. I do like to pack my model to the brim with working functions and features and the working fake piston engine does add a lot to the model's playability and play value. Plus all of my model's had an working piston engine(except the mini "8043"). Probably the most unrealistic engine was on the Miniature Combine Harvester. That model had R1 engine. But hey it did give nice additional feature and since my motto is The First Cames The Functions Then The Looks. It was at the end no brainer to not include working fake piston engine on the Mechatech Snow Cat:). 

[2GodBDGlory]

Hey, very nice work! That really does have a lot of functions crammed into a small space, and the front plow is pretty complex!

[Auroralampinen]

After i launched the Mechatech Snow Cat. I just for fun browsed rebrickable's facebook page and i noticed that @Timorzelorzworz had also released a couple days ago a Snow Groomer. So if you are curious how they compare here they are:). 

(Please note i try to be really unbiased towards the Snow Groomer. But since im designer of Mechatech Snow Cat i cant be fully unbiased when comparing these models. But i try my best that my biasism doesn't show thru:).). 

The cons of the Snow Groomer. 

1, the blade is pretty loose and flimsy. 

2, i don't know why the roof uses 2x 4L axles with stop. Because it makes the roof construction pretty unstable. So i had to swap the 4L axles with stop to 5L axle with stop and that did made a huge difference and improvement. 

3, the tracks dont work on hard surfaces(Mechatech Snow Cat uses pair of hidden wheels so the tracks does work on all surfaces:).). 

The pros of the Snow Groomer. 

Looks. 

Functions. 

Building experience. 

Free Instructions. 

Other than those little cons this model is really great and i would highly recommend to try it:). 

 

The cons for the Mechatech Snow Cat. 

I had later noticed that the crane boom is maybe slightly too short in the highest position. I will maybe release in the future instructions for a much longer boom for the Mechatech Snow Cat:). 

 

So which one is the better option. 

Well, it highly depends. If you want a engineering challenge or functional masterpiece go with the Mechatech Snow Cat. But if you are an casual builder who haven't build a ton of technic. Then the Snow Groomer is much better opinion since it's pretty simple and functions works really good. Even with those little short comings. 

Snow Groomer by @Timorzelorzworzgets from me 8.6 stars. It's great little build and good beginner build for new comers to the technic world. Eventhought it has a few flaws. It's still really good moc and really good looking model. Plus the good quality free instructions are a cherry on top of a cake. So i do highly recommend you to try the Snow Groomer:). 

The obligatory links. 

The Snow Groomer. 

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-265877/timtimgo/snow-groomer-technic-free-to-build/#details

Mechatech Snow Cat. 

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-269984/Auroralampinen/mechatech-snow-cat/#details

Have a fun time trying both of these. But do remember/keep in mind. I don't have a prefered model since both are catered toward completely different builders/demographic. The Mechatech Snow Cat is for more experienced builders and those who like engineering challenges and functional builds. The Snow Groomer is for those who aren't that in to technic and want to try it. The functions and building experience is really great for beginner builders and casual builders and the model isin't too difficult to construct:). 

 

Pieces:). 

Snow Groomer. 

525.

Mechatech Snow Cat. 

1464.

Functions for the Snow Groomer. 

Rolling Tracks. 

Rear Plow Raising And Lowering. 

Front Blade Lift. 

Front Blade Tilt. 

Opening Doors. 

 

Functions for the Mechatech Snow Cat. 

Front Blade Tilt. 

Front Blade’s Sides Tilt. 

Front Blade Lift. 

Rear Plow Lift. 

Rear Plow Sides Raising And Lowering. 

Superstructure Rotation. 

Boom Lift. 

Winch. 

R3 Engine Connected To The Tracks.

 

Edited July 17 by Auroralampinen

[Timorzelorzworz]

Cool, thanks for building in own colors and for sharing. The small Groomer is from 2020, when parts originally intended to be lime-green could be utilized following the release of the 42215 Sián. Nowadays, it could simply be replaced with newer parts and Styles.