JLiu15 Posted October 3, 2020 (edited) Model of a German dump truck. Controlled using Control+, it features all-wheel drive, articulated steering with a working steering wheel, an oscillating central joint and sprung front axle, and an elevating and rotating cargo hold. Functions/features: All-wheel drive Articulated steering Working steering wheel Oscillating central joint Sprung front axle Dumping Cargo hold rotation After getting the 42099 set I wanted to build something with Control+ using only the electronic elements found in that set. I originally decided on the Bergmann 4010 HK (a tracked dumper), as I could simply use 2 motors for drive and one for dumping. However, while looking at their products I came across the Bergmann 3012/C815s (they're the same model; the name was changed in 2020) and thought it was so much cooler than the 4010. I also wanted to build the swivel tip version, even if it meant an extra C+ motor, so I ordered another C+ L motor off Bricklink. Ironically, the model I wanted to build due to a limitation of electronics led me to get more electronics. There is very limited space for electronics and mechanisms, especially with the live axle suspension I wanted to include in the front (the real-life counterpart has a sprung front axle). The front half of the chassis was essentially in the shape of an upside-down 'U', with the drive and steering motors (C+ XL and L, respectively) forming a "bridge" above the front axle. Thanks to their abundance of pin holes, it was easy to make it very reinforced. The C+ hub sits in front of the front axle, quite low in the chassis so its on button could be accessed easily and it's easy to remove for battery replacement (although I never had to replace its batteries). Drive is transferred from the drive motor to the longitudinal driveshaft through a row of 16T gears, with the intermediate ones being the one with clutch so the steering function could pass through. Drive is transferred to the wheels via planetary hubs from the 42099, and steering is done by 2 mini LAs. In the rear half of the chassis, space was even more limited. The dumping and rotation motors (C+ XL and L, respectively) sit side by side, and the space above the rear axle is literally packed with gears and mechanisms. I originally made the dumb decision to use pneumatics for the dumping, thinking it would make it less mechanically complex, but they're simply no match for the heavy cargo hold especially with one 6L compressor. I ended up rebuilding the rear and changed the dumping mechanism to use LAs, and the result was way better. Even though drive from the dumping motor needs to be directed through the turntable now, there still was sufficient space for that mechanism to fit. The lack of space came at the cost of having the cargo hold rotate way too fast, as there was little space for significant gear reduction, so I made the motor for that function run at a lower speed in the BuWizz app, which I used to control the model. As for the performance, the model was able to drive across rough terrain with no issues. It could use a little more torque for climbing obstacles, but I didn't want it to be painfully slow either. The dumping is also quite slow, but the benefit is that it has plenty of torque to dump even some heavier loads. Aesthetics wise, this model used quite a bit of System pieces, with the entire grille section being made with System pieces and considerable amounts in the rear of the front section and in the front bumper. The angles of the dump bed also came together well - it was quite robust thanks to taking advantage of Pythagorean triangles. Overall, I consider this model a success. It's one of my most detailed models, the functions worked well, and I had plenty of fun building it. Video: Photos: Edited October 3, 2020 by JLiu15 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Maaboo the Witch Posted October 3, 2020 Incredible! Looks so realistic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pisces no Aphrodite Posted October 3, 2020 Fantastic build! It looks pretty realistic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pattspatt Posted October 3, 2020 (edited) Wow, very impressive! The model looks great and performs well. I bet a schematic of the internal mechanisms would be a lot of fun to see, with everything so densely packed! Edited October 3, 2020 by Pattspatt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JLiu15 Posted October 3, 2020 5 minutes ago, Pattspatt said: Wow, very impressive! The model looks great and performs well. I bet a schematic of the internal mechanisms would be a lot of fun to see, with everything so densely packed! Thanks! As for the internal schematic, I kinda get what you mean (like it shows the motors and gears and stuff) but I’m not sure how to make one. Do you know a software I could use to make that? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pattspatt Posted October 3, 2020 20 minutes ago, JLiu15 said: Do you know a software I could use to make that? In the past I’ve used Ldraw, which has a (almost) complete library of parts. There are a few different applications that use this library; for Mac I used Bricksmith. (Other applications are listed at ldraw.org). It does take some getting used to (tip: mostly use the three small axis viewing windows for part positioning rather than the main window) but once you get the hang of it, it moves pretty fast. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JLiu15 Posted October 3, 2020 (edited) 9 minutes ago, Pattspatt said: In the past I’ve used Ldraw, which has a (almost) complete library of parts. There are a few different applications that use this library; for Mac I used Bricksmith. (Other applications are listed at ldraw.org). It does take some getting used to (tip: mostly use the three small axis viewing windows for part positioning rather than the main window) but once you get the hang of it, it moves pretty fast. Thanks! I’ll look into them. I use Mac so would you say Bricksmith would work better than LDraw? I’ve never heard of Bricksmith but always knew of LDraw; it seems to be very popular. Edited October 3, 2020 by JLiu15 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pattspatt Posted October 3, 2020 1 hour ago, JLiu15 said: I use Mac so would you say Bricksmith would work better than LDraw? If you go to Ldraw.org, it’ll explain better than I have. From what I understand, LDraw is the library itself, and Bricksmith is the mac application that uses it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
suffocation Posted October 3, 2020 Five stars all across the board Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1gor Posted October 3, 2020 24 minutes ago, suffocation said: Five stars all across the board Yes, @JLiu15's models are not often build (or presented here), but when they are there turned out astonishing Great work again Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jorgeopesi Posted October 3, 2020 Very realistic MOC. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JLiu15 Posted October 3, 2020 @suffocation @I_Igor @jorgeopesi thanks guys! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
