How to bring Cogwheels together

[sevi008]

Dear Community,

I just downloaded LDD and wanted to digitalise my Mindstorms robot.

My first problem is: How do I get the caterpillar belts (from LDDExtended) on the rims which should match?

The second problem which made me almost crazy is: How can I control this middle-size cogwheels more accurately so that the cross axle goes through the middle hole? (with the first cogwheel I got it after 10 minutes of trying...)

Finally i wanted to add a second cogwheel which should intertwine with the first but as with the caterpillar belts before LDD mentioned that they don't match.

I'm quite sure that this are primitive questions but I haven't found anything in the user manual...

In the attachment a picture for Problem 3: The loose cogwheel should get on the free cross axle...

Hope someone can help me,

sevi008

PS: If there are some (maybe funny...) mistakes in my school english please forgive...

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EDIT

I got it with the cogwheels, but I'm still interested in the How-to-use of the caterpillar belts

Edited March 4, 2012 by sevi008

[DLuders]

@ sevi008: Welcome to Eurobricks! Is the "Caterpillar belt" part that you mentioned the rubber 680c01 "Tread Large, Technic (34 tread 'links')"?

There is no way of "stretching" anything on Lego Digital Designer; one can only apply, rotate or bend (flexible) items. As a result, many LDD modellers simply place the Technic Treads on the baseplate. People can figure out where they go!

If you are talking about the large Technic Tread "links", you need the "Sprocket Wheel Template" listed at the bottom of this Eurobricks LDD Reference post. Aanchir posted this LXF File and wrote,

"Sprocket wheels are another hassle on LEGO Digital Designer (obviously, because they are based on clip-and-bar-axles). This file intends to help you make this technique more manageable. There are three parts to this: a tool in Spring Yellowish Green for building a chain of treads, a pre-made chain of treads, and two "loops" of treads around the two styles of sprocket wheel.

"To use the tool, simply place a tread piece or a pre-made length of treads on the part of the tool angled horizontally. Add an additional tread piece to the vertical part, then use the "hinge" tool to connect these two sections. You can then copy the length of tread, move the tool to its original position, and continue expanding the chain as long as you need.

"The loops and pre-existing length of chain are meant to help you incorporate these treads into a MOC or set. Although LEGO Digital Designer does not recognize connections between the treads and the sprocket wheels themselves, you can use these loops as a "starting point" for aligning your treads. Just delete portions of the loops and place a chain of treads in their place to create a larger loop between multiple sprocket wheels. Note that this template is not able to compensate for sets or MOCs where the loop will not be "taut"-- this is a problem I may not be able to deal with at this time."

Here is additional information that Aanchir put on his Brickshelf gallery:

"Hi! I'm Aanchir, and I created this template.

"This template is for building models on LDD that require part 57520 (the small sprocket wheel) and part 57518 (the tread).

"To use this template:

1) Download the file

2) Remove one or more of the tread pieces that surround the sprocket wheel so that it's no longer a complete loop.

I recommend removing one of the 60-degree tread pieces so there's a horizontal tread to connect to.

3) Connect as much extra tread as you need.

A chain of horizontally-placed treads is provided for you to use or copy.

WARNING!

Clips on LDD do not like to center correctly!

There will usually be a left or right offset, which can do a lot of harm if all of your clips are offset in the same direction.

The chain of tread pieces may not be lined up at both ends!

To avoid this, use the green alignment tool included in the file.

Place new tread pieces on every other pin, then place tread pieces on the pins in-between.

The alignment tool is entirely in green so you can use the "color select" tool to select all its parts at once.

If you need to use green parts in your actual model, feel free to select the tool and change its color to something a color you will not be using.

4) Once you have the length of tread you need, you will need it to wrap it around the other wheels of your model.

ALWAYS use the hinge tool to ensure the tread is wrapped snugly around each wheel.

It may help to paint the treads TRANSPARENT so you can see how they align in the grooves.

5) Some sets and MOCs will have some "sag room" on their treads, or will have wheels that have to be rotated to align properly.

I am not yet equipped to deal with either problem, but perhaps you will find your own solution.

If the alignment goes smoothly, the last hinge rotation will make your length of tread link back up at the ends.

Congratulations! You're done!

I hope this template proves useful."

[Superkalle]

Dear Community,

I just downloaded LDD and wanted to digitalise my Mindstorms robot.

I say welcome too. I'm particularly fond of Mindstorms, so great to hear you are trying to digitize a Mindstorms robot.

Mindstorms is quite interesting per se, becuase there are two different "formats" to describe a Mindstorms creation; LXF for the geometry, and RBT for the logic - and nowhere do the two meet

Maybe in the future we will see a file-format that will allow both to co-exist in one file?

[sevi008]

thx very much for your tipps!

@DLuders yes, I meant the black rubber caterpillar belts. It is better to know that something isn't working at all than trying for hours^^. (Even if it seems strange to me that there is a "fits-onto-nothing-piece" in LDD...^^)

I afford to post a pic of the robot. It is a rather easy model which was built as preparatory work for my final work of my time in the er... (maybe) secondary school. (Because the school system is different here in Switzerland, it is a bit difficult to find the correct translation...)

With this pic this topic would be closed^^

Image

Edited March 9, 2012 by Calabar
Oversized image converted in text link (maximum size allowed is 800x600).