General Part Discussion

[1gor]

@allanp tow ball socket part with such axle orientation will fall apart; it would be better (IMHO) that this part instead of pinhole has tow ball socket. 

 

 

[Johnny1360]

That would indeed be a very useful part, one I would actually like to see produced.

[1gor]

6 minutes ago, Johnny1360 said:

That would indeed be a very useful part, one I would actually like to see produced.

I was thinking about it since introduction of reduction hub on 42099 set

[allanp]

2 hours ago, 1gor said:

@allanp tow ball socket part with such axle orientation will fall apart; it would be better (IMHO) that this part instead of pinhole has tow ball socket. 

 

 

The notches at the ends of the axles would prevent them from sliding out though, no?

[1gor]

28 minutes ago, allanp said:

The notches at the ends of the axles would prevent them from sliding out though, no?

I'm afraid with time they could get lose (at least that happens to all my perpendicular axle joiners after few use...)

[howitzer]

4 hours ago, allanp said:

Sounds like what barman rendered on brickshelf:

 

It's highly worth looking through his brickshelf gallery, one of my favourites is this idea:

 

If they put he notches at the ends of every axle length you could have links like this any length and orientation you want. Although it would look pretty terrible with the current colour coding of axles.

That ball-socket idea sounds cool at first look, but I'm pretty sure the kind of complexity in the latch would make them far too fragile to pass TLG's quality requirements. Also there would be at least 6 or 7 new moulds involved, which could also be used to making one-piece links in new lengths (and orientations). Just a couple of more lengths for links would in itself make our life so much easier.

[TechnicRCRacer]

They have done a similar latch system in the past with the old flex cables, and while fragile when opened, they hold very tight and secure when closed.

 

EDIT: I just realized we already practically have customizable links when combining flex cable, rigid hose that is 2L shorter than cable, and 2 ball socket flex cable ends. 

Edited July 10, 2022 by TechnicRCRacer

[1gor]

3 minutes ago, TechnicRCRacer said:

They have done a similar latch system in the past with the old flex cables, and while fragile when opened, they hold very tight and secure when closed.

 

EDIT: I just realized we already practically have customizable links when combining flex cable, rigid hose that is 2L shorter than cable, and 2 ball socket flex cable ends. 

But do we have sturdy solution that is shorter than 5L?

...for ball socket?

[TechnicRCRacer]

Fair point, I guess you cannot get shorter than 6L without modifying the cable. You can make longer links though.

[allanp]

12 hours ago, TechnicRCRacer said:

Fair point, I guess you cannot get shorter than 6L without modifying the cable. You can make longer links though.

Those are good in tension but not that good in compression. They are good enough for steering links on a small car but not for a heavy 1:8 car, or for the links holding a live axle in place for example.

But I think you're right about a similar latch system being sturdy enough for the suggested new part, maybe some slight tweeking could make it stronger.

Edited July 11, 2022 by allanp

[Void_S]

Has anyone noticed such a "part" by TLG?

<img src="https://static1.nordic.pictures/17602635-thickbox_default/lego-eraser-2-pack.jpg">

lego-eraser-2-pack.jpg (800×800) (nordic.pictures)

(sorry, for some reason the JPG URL won't appear here as an image)

It looks like a well-known "dish" but with studs and an axle hole. I wonder how good or bad its traction is for possible use as a wheel.

Edited July 11, 2022 by Void_S

[astyanax]

1 hour ago, Void_S said:

It looks like a well-known "dish" but with studs and an axle hole. I wonder how good or bad its traction is for possible use as a wheel.

I'm afraid it will leave a lot of skid marks...

 

Okay I'll show myself out... 

[Jack_Moore]

I wonder why there isn't a technic box like the one with a bunch of lego bricks in it

[johnnym]

1 hour ago, Jack_Moore said:

I wonder why there isn't a technic box like the one with a bunch of lego bricks in it

I'd really like such a box, but those times are long gone I'm afraid. I once got 8020 which comes close to that I think.

[SNIPE]

7 hours ago, Void_S said:

Has anyone noticed such a "part" by TLG?

<img src="https://static1.nordic.pictures/17602635-thickbox_default/lego-eraser-2-pack.jpg">

lego-eraser-2-pack.jpg (800×800) (nordic.pictures)

(sorry, for some reason the JPG URL won't appear here as an image)

It looks like a well-known "dish" but with studs and an axle hole. I wonder how good or bad its traction is for possible use as a wheel.

Would be good as a rubber foot

Edited July 11, 2022 by SNIPE

[Carsten Svendsen]

On 7/10/2022 at 11:31 PM, allanp said:

This makes me wonder why the 2L axles have a notch in the first place ??

[Maaboo the Witch]

37 minutes ago, Carsten Svendsen said:

This makes me wonder why the 2L axles have a notch in the first place ??

Blakbird covered this. It makes them easier to remove.

[Lira_Bricks]

I have a few 2L axles without the notches and they are difficult to remove yes, really glad they added that notch. Strange though they did not do it for the other lengths. These axles are not really used as decoration, so it is not like those notches would make a build less good-looking

Edited July 12, 2022 by Lira_Bricks
Added "without the notches" to the first mention of 2L axles

[howitzer]

12 hours ago, Lira_Bricks said:

I have a few 2L axles without the notches and they are difficult to remove yes, really glad they added that notch. Strange though they did not do it for the other lengths. These axles are not really used as decoration, so it is not like those notches would make a build less good-looking

Notches make for a more complex (=expensive) mould, hence they won't add the notches where they are not necessary. Old 2L axles without the notches were really painful to remove, while the longer ones are easy to remove most of the time.

[gyenesvi]

On 7/10/2022 at 1:31 PM, allanp said:

It's highly worth looking through his brickshelf gallery, one of my favourites is this idea:

If they put he notches at the ends of every axle length you could have links like this any length and orientation you want. Although it would look pretty terrible with the current colour coding of axles.

I'd love to see such a system work, it would immensely help in building live axle links (and would also be useful elsewhere). I am actually building something now that could really use these, where I need long links like 13-14L. I wonder if they could be made without the need for the latch, just with the axle end clicking into ball socket part in a way that it would not be possible to pull out only with a lot of force or a bit of help to release it (like it would need a tool to lift a little tooth or something). And yes, the axles should be the same color.. which is unlikely to happen..

On 7/10/2022 at 1:54 PM, 1gor said:

tow ball socket part with such axle orientation will fall apart; it would be better (IMHO) that this part instead of pinhole has tow ball socket.

On 7/10/2022 at 4:07 PM, 1gor said:

I was thinking about it since introduction of reduction hub on 42099 set

That's exactly what I have come up with too! Or alternately, this part would also be useful with a towball socket instead of the pinhole for the same purpose.

[1gor]

32 minutes ago, gyenesvi said:

 

That's exactly what I have come up with too! Or alternately, this part would also be useful with a towball socket instead of the pinhole for the same purpose.

Actually that would be the best solution

[allanp]

@gyenesvi It might be possible without a latch type thing.

I guess you could leave the top open so the axle can be pushed in from the top but still in the same orientation, with the axles still having the notches to prevent them pulling out, kind of like how the first generation of flex axles worked but much sturdier.

Or maybe make it so you insert the axle into the end then give it a 45 degree twist to lock it in place. 

Or some solution that locks the connector onto the axle by inserting the towball......somehow!

Whatever the solution I think it should be only 1x1 axially. It can be 2 studs long but only 1x1 when looking at it from the front, so 1 wide x 1 tall x 2 long in total. 

[MP LEGO Technic creations]

Is there anyone with an idea how to make connection between a wheel racing medium  and a planetary hub  even stronger (not considering use of glue)?

 

The thing is, as I'm building quite a heavy machine, the wheels tend to disconnect when cornering. Approx. weight of fully-loaded model is 9 kg divided (not equally) onto 3 axles.

Any suggestion is highly appreciated.

Edited July 14, 2022 by MP LEGO Technic creations

[Carsten Svendsen]

20 minutes ago, MP LEGO Technic creations said:

Is there anyone with an idea how to make connection between a wheel racing medium  and a planetary hub  even stronger (not considering use of glue)?

 

The thing is, as I'm building quite a heavy machine, the wheels tend to disconnect when cornering. Approx. weight of fully-loaded model is 9 kg divided (not equally) onto 3 axles.

Any suggestion is highly appreciated.

You could put a few discs in between. As they are half width they would grip better on to the hub. Plus you'd have 6 points of connection to the rim

[allanp]

18 minutes ago, MP LEGO Technic creations said:

Is there anyone with an idea how to make connection between a wheel racing medium  and a planetary hub  even stronger (not considering use of glue)?

 

The thing is, as I'm building quite a heavy machine, the wheels tend to disconnect when cornering. Approx. weight of fully-loaded model is 9 kg divided (not equally) onto 3 axles.

Any suggestion is highly appreciated.

How would you feel about a using 3 small self tapping wood screws in the grey pins, basically holding each wheel in place with 3 wood screws. They would have to be quite small of course, with probably about a 2.5mm thread only 7 or 8 mm long at a guess.