[MOC] Battery Drill with all the functions

[Carsten Svendsen]

I recently saw that MattL600 had built a battery drill, and I figured that I could do better so I gave it a shot.

Turns out that I couldn't do it better, in a physical resemblance to the real thing, but I got all the functions crammed into it.

 

I still only have the parts from all three sets that I mentioned in my other recent post, which was 42049, 42055, 42064

 

I would like to show the build progress and internals of the drill along with what I've learned throughout this project.

I started by building the battery click function because if I couldn't get that to work I might as well not build it at all.

As I didn't have any springs I had to think of something else, and I quickly discovered that the axles flex quite a bit longways, so that is how the clicky works. (Also see video at 2:10)

 

Next up was the handle for the drill. I quickly discovered that the wire for the motor was not at all long enough to reach into the actual housing of the drill. If I had a PF switch I would have done that and that would also have saved me from a lot of hassle.

I could have put a switch for the trigger if I had one, but I had to use a transmission ring for the trigger instead, as I wouldn't settle for the switch on the battery.

 

After that was done, I started building the drill it self starting from the front end of it. I wanted it to have a clutch as the real thing - though fixed amount, not adjustable. If you watched the video you'll know that the gears inside burn out before the clutch. I reckon 1 clutch gear would've been enough but it didn't seem like it at the time so that's why I put 2 in there.

Sadly, in order to get the selector switch (turntable) working properly, I had to chip away the small taps on the transmission ring for smooth switching. I know that there are 3l joiners made specifically for that so if I had all my LEGO I would just have used one of those instead. Knowing that, it should settle down all of you purists out there.

This is also the part where I decided to put the speed switch as I figured that that's where there would be the most room for it.

(sorry potato quality, but this is a screenshot from a video I made to my dad of progress. I don't have a picture otherwise)

 

Coming up with a solution for the forward/reverse switch was not an easy task. I knew that I wanted levers like in the pictures above but getting the footprint down to just 1x2L was quite difficult.

Also, nothing inside the housing is symmetrical so bracing everything properly became quite a task as well.

I realized that in order to get room for the trigger I had to cut down the forward/reverse bracing as well. 

Up next was the final compartment, which proved to be the most difficult so far since I had to start/stop the drill with a transmission ring instead of a switch. And again, I had no spring so I had to use the tension of LEGO it self. The solution is simple but finding it was the hard part.

In case you're wondering, the red and yellow axles were only there to remember myself as to where I should put my mechanical bracing to the rest of the drill.

 

And that's pretty much it. I had some troubleshooting to do as well as one of the gears kept popping out. Luckily it was one of the "easy" ones to access. I ended up putting a triangle beam on top of it to keep it there.

 

The drill in its full glory... or like, something anyway

It holds its own weight all right, though the it's only held up by the 2 blue pins on the hanger.

I know that it's not the coolest or most outstanding moc ever made, but I think it's a good start anyway. I might just make another drill in the future.

One thing I learned from this project is to think outside of the box when the selection of certain parts is quite limited.

For instance, there's only 2 each of these parts: 

I tend to use the grey one a lot, so it's nice to get out of the comfort zone for a change. 

I also found the new 3L pin/axle combo and the pin on a bushing amazingly useful. I've been needing those parts for so many years and they are finally here.

One other thing I learned was how to make limited spring like action with no springs. I also enhanced my skills in levers acting with each other (thinking of transmissions)

 

That's pretty much it, thanks for watching. I won't take it apart for now as if there's something you would like to know, I can just disassemble it and show you on demand.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Carsten Svendsen

[mocbuild101]

It's the drill that's made of jelly!

But seriously, you did great with making all the functions work, even if it's not the strongest of designs... 

[Carsten Svendsen]

I have disassembled it and I made a 3D model while I was at it. Down below you will see snippets of the inner workings if you find that more interesting

Click for larger versions (it's only two image files)

The input is going in from the bottom, into the trigger, then direction, then speed and lastly, the clutch.

I am mostly proud of the gear switch for the clutch mechanism, I think that's quite ingenious.

Second to that would be the direction chance lever, which also took me quite a few attempts at getting right.

The trigger function was the most difficult one, as I had a lot of space limitations, and finding the right way to switch the transmission wasn't easy, but it works.

 

 

I'll probably make another attempt once I get all of my stuff here. I would use 2 switches and just a few gears, and then the size should be almost identical to the real thing.

If you want the 3D model file, just ask and I'll send it to you immediately. I've made groupings but that feature only works in SR3D Builder

 

Edited August 26, 2017 by Carsten Svendsen

[Bublehead]

Let me say, first, thank you for pointing me to your MOC, and second, I must admit, didn't expect this level of engineering in what at first would seem a very ordinary power tool. Interesting bit of engineering, well done with the parts at hand. Keep up the good work. I still remember the thrill of getting a new set wasn't all  based on building the new model but being able to build all the mocs that the parts would let me build from them.

[BrickbyBrickTechnic]

Wow! This is really nice. I was waiting for someone to do this. I have always been fascinated with the inner working of drills (for some reason) and you did it really well. The wait was worth it!

[Mantarri]

Found this via the mention on the other thread, wow, this looks awesome, very clean, and the colours look pretty nice too. 

[Maaboo the Witch]

This is easily one of the most unusual MOCs I've seen. Great job. I'm reminded of the chainsaw from the ZNAP theme. 

[Carsten Svendsen]

I wasn't trying to put more exposure, I was merely stating the fact that I was a bit disappointed with the community. 

I'm not that proud of the outer aesthetics of the drill, what I really wanted people to be impressed about was the mechanical aspect of it. 

That is why I posted LDD pictures of the inner workings. Sure it looks simple but there was a lot of space restrictions and most functions - especially the battery was quite ingenious if I say so my self.

[Myers Lego Technic]

I like it! Cleanly shaped  Build. 

Edited April 27, 2018 by Myers Lego Technic