[REVIEW] 42055 Bucket Wheel Excavator

[mattthewise]

Ah, thank you everyone. Those reasons make sense, and I can't believe I didn't think of them myself.

[hjxbf]

On ‎17‎.‎10‎.‎2016 at 4:45 PM, quilkin said:

A third in parallel (if there was room somehow) would extend the idea and make it safer than the fixed gear some people are trying.

I did a quick mod that allows for 3 parallel clutches a few months back. To my recollection it was a matter of using longer axles for the clutches and follower gears, and omitting a structural bracing (3L liftarm) which the motor axle runs through. Works like a charm, with few unwanted stalls. See pic below and compare to BI Step 508.

[Gabi_BC]

I just replaced them altogether and don't regret nothing.

 

[Th3_Br1ck_Kid]

Hi, I just got this set, and when I finished building, I realized the bucket wheel at the front wasn't turning properly. I checked to make sure I hadn't built anything wrong, and I hadn't, so do you have any recommendations on what the problem may be or how to fix it?

 

[jono rocky]

Same here, Just got it and it constantly jerks and has next to no torque at all. I think mines a lemon set cause when I got it it came with two battery boxes and no motor so Lego said I could pay $50.00 au  for the box to keep it or send it back to get the missing motor.Built the B model and the constant jam ups and I think they needed to make a conveyor belt underneath it to get all the pieces that keep building up under there. 

Time for some re engineering. Prefer the B model more. 

[Blakbird]

3 hours ago, Th3_Br1ck_Kid said:

Hi, I just got this set, and when I finished building, I realized the bucket wheel at the front wasn't turning properly. I checked to make sure I hadn't built anything wrong, and I hadn't, so do you have any recommendations on what the problem may be or how to fix it?

If it is not turning properly it is because there is too much friction in your build.  Go back through all your axles and make sure they turn freely.  If you want the brute force approach, you can just remove the white 24 tooth clutch gears and replace them with regular gears.  This will eliminate the slippage, but if you have a lot of friction your motor will be working very hard.

[jono rocky]

When I built it and rebuilt it I tried to make sure that nothing was tight and each time I allways end up with 10 extra black pins and two 16 tooth with clutch gears but according to bricklink I have these ontop of what the extras are. 

[Chrisr89]

Hello. 

I'm building this set right now. However I believe I found mistake in instruction.

 in my instruction in step 205 I'm supposed to assembly 27 small (2 units) black pins and one blue (3 unit) pin.

However on the picture in highlighted positions I see 26 small pins installed and the blue one. Remaining one is absent.

i have checked carefully the not highlighted part of the models and imo everything is correct

any help or confirmation is much appreciated 

[Ngoc Nguyen]

3 hours ago, Chrisr89 said:

Hello. 

I'm building this set right now. However I believe I found mistake in instruction.

 in my instruction in step 205 I'm supposed to assembly 27 small (2 units) black pins and one blue (3 unit) pin.

However on the picture in highlighted positions I see 26 small pins installed and the blue one. Remaining one is absent.

i have checked carefully the not highlighted part of the models and imo everything is correct

any help or confirmation is much appreciated 

 

The pin not visible is probably the one in the lowest hole in the front line, on the farther side. It's hidden behind the Linear Actuator. 

In another words, the front line of one side has 8 pins, while the front side of another side only appears to have 7 pins, but actually has 8 pins. It's just a pin is not visible.

Edited March 4, 2017 by nguyengiangoc

[Chrisr89]

Thanks a lot Nguyengiangoc. That was it. 

[Jim]

So, I have finally built this beast. Great thing about numbered bags is that you can do a co-op build. I have built it with a mate in two nights. Some of the build is repetitive, but building together is great fun.

As for the end result; all the functions operate rather slowly, but that doesn't take away the fact that it's a pretty impressive set. 

And another great thing is that the base of this sets, has given me inspiration for my robot project. I even ordered a second copy, because it has a lot of parts I can use.

All in all I like this set. Functions not that great, but great parts pack and an impressive model. 

[Ngoc Nguyen]

@Jim Can you check out if my MOD here works for your model? Many thanks!

 

[Aventador2004]

Very good review, I see why got used a xl motor. I don't understand all the down gearing

[Ngoc Nguyen]

1 hour ago, Aventador2004 said:

Very good review, I see why got used a xl motor. I don't understand all the down gearing

To increase torque

[Aventador2004]

9 hours ago, nguyengiangoc said:

To increase torque

I know that but I meant for the conveier belt to speed up for faster working

[Ad_Astra]

Just bought this "used" NIB for 100€ so I guess it was a good deal. Will get it on monday \o/

Edited July 1, 2017 by Ad_Astra

[Ad_Astra]

Just finished this one. Was a fun build and my daughter loves to play with it. Even her mother did :D

Something ain't working for it won't rotate much but it's ok. Haven't still had time to diagnose it.

 

[Telehubis]

I am currently building this set (so far finished 5th step). I have to admin that it is a lot of fun, but at the same time I'm dissapointed.

When buidling the first conveyer belt (the one without buckets) I found out that the axle (yellow 11) to run the belt itself was actually too tight and this caused a lot of friction.

Had to use sandpaper on it! Now it seems to be ok but now I understand why people have problems with their BWE running sticky.

Do you also use sandpaper on your elements (in other sets)?

[allanp]

Only used sandpaper once because of a crank piece in an engine being a tad too long causing it to not run freely. Axles should have lots of room though, but I do look for bent axles, these will slow down complex gear trains easily. I still think the main thing causing jerkyness with the bwe is the fact that the teeth on the quarter gear rack pieces don't seem to align properly where they join, they look to be too far apart making it hard for the little 12t bevel gear to mesh properly. That and also the design putting a lot of torque through very long plastic axles. The gearing down should have been done closer to the bucket wheel itself.

Edited January 23, 2018 by allanp

[BrickbyBrickTechnic]

I geared up the superstructure rotation on mine so it is now 16.67x faster  but for some reason the rotation gear skips every now and then but only when rotating one way. Anyone have a similar issue when gearing up rotation?

[Frantechnic]

Lowest price ever in amazon.uk for 119 I have just ordered mine

[Jurss]

Very good price.

I'm building it now from parts I have. I'm still very excited, enjoying the build very much. 

[Frantechnic]

25 minutes ago, Jurss said:

I'm building it now from parts I have. I'm still very excited, enjoying the build very much. 

And what happen with unique pieces of this set, bricklink? :-)

With the parts of 42055 and others I hope build Volvo wheel loader 42030 when a and b will be finished.

Edited June 7, 2018 by Frantechnic