[MOC] RC Bulldozer with Power Functions

[Pentomind]

I love tracked vehicles. They fascinate me and I love building simple RC tracked mocs. The problem is that as soon as the tracks are functional and connected to the motors I stop building and start playing, so I have a hard time finishing a moc...

Last week-end after viewing a YT video about construction equipments I decided to build my old 8275 that is stored in a plastic box along most of my collection but at the last minute I went "hey, you have unused motors, track links and some DBG parts left, why not build your own ?"

3 sleepless nights later, voilà !

The model is not build after a particular model but the general proportions are those of a Komatsu D155A, which is the model that inspired me the most.

I wanted something simple strong and playable, with simple functions. It uses 2 L-motors fort driving and 1 for raising the blade, and a standard AA battery box as well as a V2 IR receiver for propulsion and a standard one for auxiliary function(s).

 Unlike 8275, I wanted the raising function to use actual linear actuators instead of levers and fake cylinders. The challenge I faced was the actuators mounting point that needed to be as close to the top of the hood as possible, but still allow room for the axle gears.

The solution I came up with was to use the groove on, the back side of technic panels to accommodate the 16 teeth gears. With this configuration the motor is sitting in the upper section of the hood so the space bellow is mostly empty. I considered using it for the battery box but due to the weight of the blade the model weight was better distributed with the battery box in the back.

The blade is strong enough to lift the model off the ground but due to the length of the actuators it cannot raise very high (around 3 cm above the ground), thus limiting the off-road capacities.

I find the finished model quite bulky, and the colors don't help with that but they were the only ones I had enough of. It is still a WIP though, I wanted to add a ripper at the back but I didn't find a satisfying  build yet. I will probably add details and optimize the construction, like I did with my truck. For instance, I'm not very satisfied with the cabin doors, so I will probably rebuild it.

I will keep you up to date, in the meantime any comment or suggestion is welcome in order to improve the model ! :)

 

 

The underneath :

 

The (rather ugly) back :

 

 

[JintaiZ]

Looks fantastic! Any videos?

[shimon]

Nice! reminds me of 8275. 

Doesn't it drive too fast with 1:1 gearing from motors?  

[Pentomind]

11 hours ago, JintaiZ said:

Looks fantastic! Any videos?

Thanks, no video yet, maybe I will make one when the dozer is complete with a ripper.

7 hours ago, shimon said:

Nice! reminds me of 8275. 

Doesn't it drive too fast with 1:1 gearing from motors?  

It depends on what you're looking for. If you look for accuracy to the scale then yes, it's a little too fast. If you want a fun thing to drive around then it's perfect ! :-)
I could simply swap the bevel gears on the sprocket axle for a larger one but I don't have any.