WIP: Dive coaster with three loopings using the LEGO coaster track

[Legopold]

Hey,

I was working on a roller coaster last year and finished most of the ride. Since I somehow lost interest in it, I decided to show you the progress so far before I dismantle everything.  

I'd like to point out that I cut some coaster track pieces for this MOC, see here! Poor LEGO pieces, I hope you can enjoy the coaster nevertheless.

 

The whole coaster is built on two 48x48 baseplates. The coaster is 76 bricks high. To cramp everything onto two baseplates, I used a very steep ramp using customised pieces.

 

Click for a VIDEO

 

For the dive, I used two curved pieces as proposed by others.

 

The big looping consists of unmodified lower ramp pieces, while the steep curve was built of modified ramp pieces (see above):

The white platform was decorated with some shiny pieces by my 5-year-old daughter. ^^

 

For the two smaller loops, I used standard curves, a technique similar to the dive section depicted previously.

 

The chains used for the ramp had to be diverted to work. Still, the chains do not run as smoothly as desirable but most of the time they are doing their job.

 

For the upper part of the ramp, I again used modified parts. Obviously, I did not achieve optimum results but it works.

 

Also, I'd like to share a 100% legal version of the double looping which was not depicted in the previous pictures. It reminds me of the large hadron collider:

You can find more photos in the flickr album.

 

I hope you enjoyed it.

[peedeejay]

Those must be some serious G‘s on the minifigs! :D Crazy build!

[Merlict]

Pity you can't embed the video in the post, almost missed it! 

Surprised the chain drive works so well on such a crazy steep hill

[AntiZombie]

Very impressive roller coaster!  Can't believe that the track works so well. Great :)

[zagdima]

Poor Lego, As for me i start printing tracks and start making bend rails. But meet some difficulties such as 90 degree bend can't handle Lego car because it has 2 axis. So i came to this design Like in real roller coasters ).

I printed only 1 car and later will test with 2 cars. I cannot upload picture of track later i will upload if somebody interested.

[Legopold]

14 hours ago, zagdima said:

Poor Lego, As for me i start printing tracks and start making bend rails. But meet some difficulties such as 90 degree bend can't handle Lego car because it has 2 axis. So i came to this design Like in real roller coasters ).

I printed only 1 car and later will test with 2 cars. I cannot upload picture of track later i will upload if somebody interested.

The car looks interesting. I suppose it is not easy to print a smooth surface suitable to take up the axle and wheels, so I wonder if you have any issues with increased friction. Do you also print the axle and wheels or do you use the ones from Lego?

And do you bend straight track or (also) other track pieces? I'd like to see the bent track.

[zagdima]

19 minutes ago, Legopold said:

The car looks interesting. I suppose it is not easy to print a smooth surface suitable to take up the axle and wheels, so I wonder if you have any issues with increased friction. Do you also print the axle and wheels or do you use the ones from Lego?

And do you bend straight track or (also) other track pieces? I'd like to see the bent track.

Thanks for the interest. I printed the car and wheels. The friction is obviously worse then lego cause I printed track in PLA. And for now, maybe I need to create a less bent track. I Used short straight piece, But I'm thinking bend longer piece it will be more smooth. And I don't know to what degree bend track if I only know which angles could stock lego cars handle. I printed 2 cars the work on short track but I need to reprint track cause they are too layered so the cars stuck sometimes or make less degree. I cannot post more than a 1 picture in the post. In picture 45 degrees angle it worked fine for stock lego cars. The problem with my cars is connection it works fine but in the connection place between cars they are sag (loose) so it looks not very cool but the conection worked. Shorting the ball i dont think will help cause we will loose up and down degree of moving. Sorry for My English.

Edited January 15, 2019 by zagdima

[Legopold]

Thanks for your reply, zagdima.

So you are printing the bent track? There are also people out there who bend LEGO railway tracks using a heat gun.

[zeronthegreat]

This is great!

[Fuppylodders]

Those smaller loops are rather genius! 

I am totally impressed by that!! I feel I will now modify my set to include one of those as I feel it is the only thing missing in the roller-coaster set and that achieves it in a nice size too. 

Excellent! Shame you dismantled it :(

[Man with a hat]

Clever work. And it works great as well. Impressive!

[zagdima]

On 1/16/2019 at 12:04 PM, Legopold said:

Thanks for your reply, zagdima.

So you are printing the bent track? There are also people out there who bend LEGO railway tracks using a heat gun.

As for me they are expensive, to heatgun them). Nowadays normal 3d printers coast not too much, normally you can get for 170$ + filament around 20$ for 1kg (300m). For example quater of a loop needs 3 meter of plastic, the short 45 degree track needs 2meter of plastic and you can count how many pieces you can print with one spool. 

1/4 loop

straight loop can be used with bend straigh (didnt test with loop printing...)

bend 45 degree short straight

shown previous

 

curved 16.5 degree 1/4 loop 

 

Its very hard to stick together curved pieces on a PC, cause in reality they can fit or not)

one more picture 1/4 loop but i found that the bars between rails can be a problem for stock car the coupling system can hit bars so i lowered it. As i mention i now printing 1/4 loop without bar changes.

[zagdima]

small update loop tracks with standart bars not working with stock car... so i'm printing one with lowered bars...

[Legopold]

Hi zagdima,

these part designs are very interesting, especially the loops. Thanks for sharing.

To be able to put four of the 90-degree pieces in a row, it will be beneficial to insert a small twist into each section. Just enough, so that the beginning and the end of the loop will be parallel. Without that twist, you will need to put some serious stress onto the pieces which is difficult to achieve with clutch power alone.

Also, if the standard lego cars cannot handle the 90-degree-pieces, I suggest to increase the radius of the loop. Lowering the bars will probably not be sufficient because most likely you will also need to lower the 1x2 studs at the beginning and the end of each section (which will carry a 2x2 tile!).

And it is not clear to me, what exactly you plan to do with the twisted short straight piece (the second pic in your last post). Do you have something special in mind, e.g. to use several of those in a row? The latter would only be of limited use because the cars do not work too well when driving sideways or upside down.

I am looking forward to see some photos of your first working loop. :)

 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2019 by Legopold

[zagdima]

Hello.

About loop i already insert twist. But if we have straigh loop we ccan add short 45 degree curve and the loop will lean to left or to the right. Lowereng bars helped and using just tile is ok check picture.

About 90 degree. They cant handle it but 45 degree is ok(45 on picture short piece light blue color on botton after straight and on top after curve.). The reason for this piece you can bend or rotate a part of a track see picture. Maybe this pictures answer some of your questions. The quality of part not so great and mostly on curved ones because its hard to print them. And i sude them mostly as a prototypes if i need i will reprint tjem with better quality.

[Legopold]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing, zagdima.

[Roadmonkeytj]

Very interesting work! 

[icemorons]

Very impressive coaster!

 

[DG8000]

Hello, just saw this. Did you finish the looping ? is it possible to get the rails somewhere or the data files to 3d print it myself ?? This would help me a lot , thanks

[1963maniac]

On 1/13/2019 at 4:31 PM, Legopold said:

 

You can find more photos in the flickr album.

 

I'm interested in two things. 1. How do you make the connections on the large loop (the ones using the 4x4 plate with rounded corner)?

And 2. What is the sequence of parts used on the bottom of the small loop? I looked at your flickr album but I'm still trying to figure out how you accomplished this.

BTW, you have inspired me to make a new connection using plates with clips. Those little buggers are handy!

[Legopold]

7 hours ago, 1963maniac said:

 

I'm interested in two things. 1. How do you make the connections on the large loop (the ones using the 4x4 plate with rounded corner)?

And 2. What is the sequence of parts used on the bottom of the small loop? I looked at your flickr album but I'm still trying to figure out how you accomplished this.

BTW, you have inspired me to make a new connection using plates with clips. Those little buggers are handy!

Hi,

thanks for your interest. I am pleased to read that I inspired you.

Here is a picture that shows the connection used for the big loop. Please note that both of the two halves shown below are completely identical (except the 3L axle).

 

I just added several more pictures to my flickr album that should clear up most questions.

Regarding the big loop, it took me a while to figure out the connection between the rails. The solution I came up with is quite sturdy and durable, which is a necessity for prolonged coaster sessions. There may be smaller and more elegant solutions but those tend to be too unstable.

I am looking forward to see pictures of the roller coaster you are working on.

 

[1963maniac]

15 hours ago, Legopold said:

Thank you for that. It is very much appreciated!! I just added several more pictures to my flickr album that should clear up most questions.

Regarding the big loop, it took me a while to figure out the connection between the rails. The solution I came up with is quite sturdy and durable, which is a necessity for prolonged coaster sessions. There may be smaller and more elegant solutions but those tend to be too unstable. Now, I must build your connection. Hopefully, I'll have all the parts.

I am looking forward to see pictures of the roller coaster you are working on.  I will definitely post my coaster when I get it done. 

 

My small loop will be a single one. While I was waiting for your reply, I came up with a little bit different connection from yours. This is the bottom.

This is one of the other connections on the small loop. I plan on making  all these parts red.

 

I was wondering if you had tried the connection like this one below on the big loop and how it compares to yours? Your connection is probably stronger? 

 

[Legopold]

Thanks for sharing your pictures, 1963maniac.

Quote

My small loop will be a single one. While I was waiting for your reply, I came up with a little bit different connection from yours. This is the bottom.

The bottom technic pieces look good. You have probably already noticed that the gray 2x2 corner brick wil be a problem. The upper part of the piece is located too close to the inner rail. The cars will not be able to ride the coaster in this configuration. I suggest to replace the 2x2 corner brick with a 2x2 corner plate or a 2x2 slope.

 

Quote

This is one of the other connections on the small loop. I plan on making  all these parts red.

 

 

 

Againg, the technic bottom looks good. Same problem here with the blue 2x2 brick that is too close to the inner rail. I suggest to use a 2x2 slope instead.

Quote

I was wondering if you had tried the connection like this one below on the big loop and how it compares to yours? Your connection is probably stronger? 



 

Interesting solution. I have not tried that one. You got the geometry right but I assume the joint will be too flexible to withstand the centrifugal force of the coaster cars at full speed.

[1963maniac]

 

17 hours ago, Legopold said:

 

While I was building your design, I came up with this (below). It's very strong. 

[Legopold]

15 minutes ago, 1963maniac said:

 

It certainly is sturdier now but unfortunately it cannot be used. Try to move a car over these rail pieces and you will see why: the second L-shaped piece blocks the cars.

Edit: Try to rotate both of the L-shaped pieces by 90 degrees. Replace the 4L axle in the upper left corner by a 3L axle. It should work and might be sufficiently strong then.

Edited November 17, 2019 by Legopold