New Monorail System (MOC)

[Brickthus]

This monorail http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/mbellis/...r_coaster_2.jpg is built with tracks from Snowmobile 8272 and the forthcoming Bullozer 8275. The Power Functions system http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=226241 allows IR remote control of the train.

I found it runs smoother with these yellow wheels than with the smaller black ones from the Snowmobile, but smaller size might be an advantage for town and space enthusiasts. Variation of vehicles is possible and designs can depend on the application. I'll try using a PP3 battery box to reduce weight, though this will require some work on the electrical interface unless I wait for the parts that will make the Power Functions system compatible with the 9V system.

The curves I've built http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/mbellis/...r_coaster_3.jpg are as sharp as those of the old monorail, but they can be widened if space permits. To widen them I suggest adding multiples of 6L to each beam in the corners, since the tracks have a pitch between centres of 1.5L. The centres of supports for raised track on baseplates will then move by 12L in each orthogonal direction.

Points are possible with this system, using sliding track sections. The train is OK with a track link missing, to permit the sections to slide, as long as a bar or equivalent piece is used on the end of the last track, so that the wheels have something to grip. I'll add pictures of this once it's running.

I've tested a hill as a concept, but this is waiting for a proper build. Again, pictures to follow. The vehicle is easily capable of climbing vertically, so I intend to extend the hill concept to work for a full loop for roller-coaster applications - pushing the limits a bit beyond the old monorail!

I shall add pictures of a 360 degree barrel-rolling track soon. This concept works but needs to improve on reliability of the gravity-defying part of the roll. The IR system is particularly useful for this function as it removes the need for wires that would wrap around the track!

The best thing about this monorail concept is that its availability is up and coming, not in the obsolescence market! A snowmobile has 28 track links and a bulldozer will have 84, so better save up for those bulldozers!

Gallery when moderated: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=237939

PLMKWYT

Mark

[simonwillems]

Wow, you sure put in some time and effort to create this monorail, it looks like it runs smoothly along the track. *y*

This kind of system may come in handy when you're making some kind of ghosthouse with carts inside.

Keep experimenting!

:-)

[Hinckley]

I just saw this on lugnet and replied to it there, but will here to since Eurobricks seems to spawn more discussion.

First of all, thanks for sharing this with us. It's quite ingenious and innovative. Imagine the possibilities, not only as a monorail, but for a roller coaster!

I'm glad there are smart people out there to figure these sorts of innovations out and that they're nice enough to share them with everyone!

[Brickthus]

First of all, thanks for sharing this with us. It's quite ingenious and innovative. Imagine the possibilities, not only as a monorail, but for a roller coaster!

I'm glad there are smart people out there to figure these sorts of innovations out and that they're nice enough to share them with everyone!

Thanks. Roller-coaster pics to follow - I've done the 360 roll already :-)

Mark

[Hinckley]

Thanks. Roller-coaster pics to follow - I've done the 360 roll already :-)

Mark

Yay! I can't wait...

[Brickthus]

Yay! I can't wait...

Here they are...

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/mbellis/...60_seq6_qtr.jpg

Poor minifigures... :-X

This is the whole rolling track:

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/mbellis/...0_top_whole.jpg

Gallery when moderated: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=237940

BTW if the whole gallery isn't available for a while, try replacing

"seq6_qtr.jpg" with "seqX_top.jpg" where X is a number from 1 to 8 to see a few

more shots of the roll sequence.

I might make the roll a little less severe (it's currently as tight as the

tracks will allow) and also modify the vehicle, to improve gravity-defying

performance. It might also be good to combine a roll with a curve.

Mark

[Asuka]

Cool design. Very useful and innovative. *y*

Monorail. Monorail!

(Make sure to have a big doughnut next to you when you run the engine.... :-P )

[Hobbes]

I'm mostly a minifig size T&T guy, but I've always liked Technic ideas and contraptions. I like "functional things", even if they're useless in some cases. It's just the possibility to make it with LEGO.

This one isn't exactly minifig size, either, but I like it nonetheless. Because the idea is actually so simple, but you have to "see" it first.

Ingenious *y*

Thanks for sharing, looking forward to seeing more :-)

[Brickthus]

I'm mostly a minifig size T&T guy, but I've always liked Technic ideas and contraptions. I like "functional things", even if they're useless in some cases. It's just the possibility to make it with LEGO.

This one isn't exactly minifig size, either, but I like it nonetheless. Because the idea is actually so simple, but you have to "see" it first.

Ingenious *y*

Thanks for sharing, looking forward to seeing more :-)

Thanks.

It could be minifig sized in some cases, such as a roller-coaster that is 4 people wide. "Air" at Alton Towers in the UK is one: http://www.coastergrotto.com/photo.jsp?pic=256c01.jpg and Nemesis is another: http://www.coastergrotto.com/photo.jsp?pic=264c14.jpg

Mark

[Asuka]

A roller coaster named Nemesis.... * shivers *. 8-|

[Brickthus]

A roller coaster named Nemesis.... * shivers *. 8-|

Since my FP roller coaster brickshelf folder seems to be having problems with completing moderation, you can see the other pictures of the flat track and vehicle here:

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/mbellis/...r_coaster_1.jpg by replacing the 1 at the end with a number from 2 to 7.

Mark

[Brickthus]

New videos of my PF roller coaster:

Flat circuit:

360 degree roll:

My YouTube channel (with other MOC videos): http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=mbellisbrickmocs

Mark

[Starwars4J]

New videos of my PF roller coaster:

Flat circuit:

360 degree roll:

My YouTube channel (with other MOC videos): http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=mbellisbrickmocs

Mark

Truly ingenious! The 360 roll does indeed go very smoothly! The only tiny thing that bothers me is that on the flat circuit it seems to almost be tipping outwards a bit on the corners. Maybe that was just a trick of the eyes due to camera angle though?

Regardless it's brilliant, thanks for taking the time to video them! It really makes it a much easier time to critique it. I can't wait to see this applied to an actual MOC, rather than a proof-of-concept :-)

[Hinckley]

That's so incredible! The possiblities with this are endless! How cost-effective is this? How much do you think it would cost (assuming your purchasing pieces from Bricklink) to build a full-length coaster?

[Brickthus]

That's so incredible! The possiblities with this are endless! How cost-effective is this? How much do you think it would cost (assuming your purchasing pieces from Bricklink) to build a full-length coaster?

This is updated from an earlier answer I posted on Lugnet:

The track link price range on Bricklink is currently falling, such that >1000 links can be bought at $0.57. I checked out the break-even point, below which the track link price would make a tracked monorail track as cheap as the old monorail (assuming structure parts such as Technic beams are already in one's collection), and was surprised to find that it is above $0.20 for some monorail track pieces (due to their rarity and popularity):

Taking the Bricklink price guide average prices, and assuming that it takes 44 track links to make a 33L straight equivalent to a 32L old monorail straight, the track monorail is cheaper if the links are under $0.266 each.

For short straights it's $0.239 and for a short curve it's $0.304. For the more common 90 degree curves it drops to $0.041 (I wish the tracks were that cheap but it will never happen as they weigh 1.38g), and for ramps it's $0.075. It's more difficult to calculate for points.

I'd like to think the scheme could become more feasible if the track link price drops when the bulldozer is released. I hope it will! My hope is fed by the recent drop from $1.00 to $0.90.

The additional possibilities for roller-coasters also increase the appeal...

Meanwhile you'd need at least 1 Bulldozer to get the motors and RC parts, so the first 84 track links are effectively free (the price of motorised sets tends to be the equivalent of having most of the other parts free if you add up the spares cost of the electrical parts).

The cost depends how long a coaster you'd like to build. With all the track systems I've had, I kept adding more track :-) I'll experiment with hills and a loop, so that all the elements of a full roller coaster are possible. I'd like to combine corners with twist action - that would reduce any tendency to lean out on the corners, which is probably due to the ability of the vehicle to twist each axle against the others, which I added to permit it to do the 360 degree roll.

I need to work on getting the weight nearer to the track, though any motor gearing due to repositioning would increase friction. It's not possible to gear 1 motor per axle because corners have fewer tracks on the inside than on the outside - this is a difficulty with using any kind of tracks rather than rolling wheels. The advantage is that the vehicle should stay on the track even if it leans outwards on the corners. I wish it always did so on the 360, but I think it would improve if I motorised all the wheels. However that would limit affordability at 1 motor per wheel! I have considered using a PP3 battery box with a cut lead >:-) That should reduce the weight.

Mark

[Rayden]

Looks amazing. That 360

[Brickthus]

Looks amazing. That 360

[Hinckley]

This is updated from an earlier answer I posted on Lugnet:

The track link price range on Bricklink is currently falling, such that >1000 links can be bought at $0.57. I checked out the break-even point, below which the track link price would make a tracked monorail track as cheap as the old monorail (assuming structure parts such as Technic beams are already in one's collection), and was surprised

...

I have considered using a PP3 battery box with a cut lead >:-) That should reduce the weight.

Mark

Wow! Thanks for the detailed response!!