HoMa

Octrainber 2021 | Vollert Robot DER 100 "Leonhard Weiss"

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My contribution for this years Octrainber "Critters" is Vollert Robot DER 100 "Leonhard Weiss", a tiny little modern shunter engine I saw the other day in real live traveling from Stuttgart to Nürnberg in Germany. A quick google search brought me to www.eisenbahndienstfahrzeuge.de with some pictures and additional information about this a bit strange looking "thing" on rails. The shape looks a bit odd but it might be a challenge for a LEGO model, especially the dark grey triangle next to the front windows. But yes, not another KÖF, but something modern. And Circuitcubes Bluetooth controlled mini motors are waiting here to be used in a train MOC.

The prototype was build by the German company Vollert. Vollert does offer a few shunting robots from very tiny to mid sized locomotives. The Robot DER 100 has a total length of 5,45 m and a total weight of approx. 44 tons. It has a pulling capacity of 2,400 tons. This robot is powered either electric (cable or battery) or diesel-electric. As option it can operate in explosive atmosphere environments, e.g. chemical plants. The version I saw is operated by the German construction and building company Leonhard Weiss which is well known in railway construction.

The LEGO MOC also will be powered by battery electric but I will not pull 2,400 tons of rolling stock ;-) But it will (hopefully) offer enough space for at least 2 Curcuitcube mini motors to power the drive and as special function a decoupling unit. If this works, I will get a remote controlle shunter with a high play value. Attaching a small linear actuator directly to the motor seems to work. Now I need to squeeze in everything in the dark grey/yellow body of the Vollert Robot shunter.

 

A few years ago I already integrated a decoupling unit powered with PF in a 12 Volt MOC engine. So I already have some knowledge to integrate LEGO set 7862 in a locomotive.

Stay tuned for the further development of my LEGO version of the Vollert Robot DER 100 ...

Edited by HoMa

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That is a nice design, as like all your others! I really enjoyed your detailed book. I got it for Christmas last year.

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Very, very interesting, never seen that prototype before but I love that the Circuit Cube make it possible to build such small vehicles, finally. Have you tried out the decoupler already? I imagine it would need quite some torque to work, but if it does, this could be a serious contender for a spot on the podium.

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Another excellent option for a tiny critter. The big question will be which category of traction power you enter it in.

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first of all great idea for a model and great first steps but

what about instead of having something pushing the wagon not just have the magnet retract inwards and create the neccessary distance for the decoupling that way

Edited by XG BC

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10 hours ago, XG BC said:

what about instead of having something pushing the wagon not just have the magnet retract inwards and create the neccessary distance for the decoupling that way

I showed this already here, based on an idea of Thomas Selander.

The problem is that you need a lot of space between loco and waggon, depending on the axles (with steel up to 6-8 studs)

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Hello Holger,

curious device, which there is everything. "Beautiful" isn´t the prototype for me, but fits perfectly with "Critters".

I'm curious about your implementation, the with functions in the size is also a challenge.

Thomas

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4 hours ago, Lok24 said:

I showed this already here, based on an idea of Thomas Selander.

The problem is that you need a lot of space between loco and waggon, depending on the axles (with steel up to 6-8 studs)

aah thought i had seen this before but you are correct space might be an issue

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Work on my "Critter" continued today with testing the functions. Both Curcuitcube motors are placed inbetween a chassis build by 2x 1x10 Technic bricks. One axle is driven, but I hat to cut a 2L axle a bit to make it a 1.5L axle so it fits well in the motor. The second motor drives the linear actuator which moves the magnet in and out. Yes, this idea is not my own development, @Selander did a great job on this technique already.

Even with one buffer as counterpart the wip test shows that this concept works well. I need to add more guidance for the actuator when it moves out and in. The pulling power of the Curcuitcube is phantastic, one diven axle and moreless no balast on the Critter is enough to pull an old heavy 8-wide freight waggon.

For a better clearance between the drive motor and the rails I replaced the original O-rings with larger ones from the sanitary department of the local DIY store. The have an outer diameter of 17.8 mm. The picture below shows the difference:

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Beside the extra clearance those O-rings also have more grip and I've been using them successfully on my BR 10 and other trains.

Stay tuned ...

And a big THANK YOU to @Ts__, @Asper, @Feuer Zug, @Tenderlok, @Paperinik77pk, @XG BC, @Hod Carrier, @zephyr1934 and all the others taking part in this years OcTRAINber challenge. Great to see all your Critters coming to live following your wip stories.

 

Edited by HoMa
typo

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1 minute ago, HoMa said:

Work on my "Critter" continued today with testing the functions. Both Curcuitcube motors are placed inbetween a chassis consting of 2x 1x10 Technic bricks. One axle is driven, but I hat to cut a 2L axle a bit to make it a 1.5L axle so it fits well in the motor. The second motor drives the linear actuator which moves the magnet in and out. Yes, this idea is not my own development, @Selander did a great job on this technique already.

Even with one buffer as counterpart the wip test shows that this concept works well. I need to add more guidance for the actuator when it moves out and in. The pulling power of the Curcuitcube is phantastic, one diven axle and moreless no balast on the Critter is enough to pull an old heavy 8-wide freight waggon.

For a better clearance between the drive motor and the rails I replaced the original O-rings with larger ones from the sanitary department of the local DIY store. The have an outer diameter of 17.8 mm. The picture below shows the difference:

51598106642_d9e72c2b20_c.jpg

Beside the extra clearance those O-rings also have more grip and I've been using them successfully on my BR 10 and other trains.

Stay tuned ...

And a big THANK YOU to @Ts__, @Asper, @Feuer Zug, @Tenderlok, @Paperinik77pk, @XG BC, @Hod Carrier, @zephyr1934 and all the others taking part in this years OcTRAINber challenge. Great to see all your Critters coming to live following your wip stories.

 

Great use of those hydraulic rings!!! :wub:

I used some bigger ones for my trains running on 45mm track, and these work really fine!:pir-love:

The (un)coupling device is very nice,and the little "Critter" you're preparing  is really an original choice.

Ciao!

Davide

 

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32 minutes ago, HoMa said:

Work on my "Critter" continued today with testing the functions. Both Curcuitcube motors are placed inbetween a chassis build by 2x 1x10 Technic bricks. One axle is driven, but I hat to cut a 2L axle a bit to make it a 1.5L axle so it fits well in the motor. The second motor drives the linear actuator which moves the magnet in and out. Yes, this idea is not my own development, @Selander did a great job on this technique already.

Well that didn't take you long at all to go from concept to working prototype. Very nice mechanism and an impressive build! The biggest bit of magic is the fact that you fit it all into such a small package ("it's bigger on the inside")

The only critique (and this is very minor) is that with the prototype being so boxy, the ladder steps become such a prominent feature. On the prototype they are flush with the wall and on the model I think they are door rails that stick out one plate. Is there enough room to pull them back? I think there might be. With all of the motors and electronics hidden inside the small build I could totally see that there might not be room. Obviously it goes without saying that the functionality is more important than whether the ladder rungs are flush or not.

 

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Thanks for your kind recognition, and good luck with your entry :pir-tongue:

Edited by Selander
Spelling mistake

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Nice work. Your motive system is progressing nicely. The change of rings is a cool way to make the clearance. I'd have never thought about raising that.

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Great! That's an interesting prototype and  very compact design with the two motors. I'm looking forward to the finished model.

(I'm using the LEGO "O-Rings" for almost all my driven axles - to increase traction and with my latest MOC to gain height. But I will come back to your solution if this is not sufficient.)

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Great idea, and very useful additional functionality. It looks like a simple shape but it deceives with it's hidden complexity, but if anyone can crack it I'm sure that you can. Looking forward to seeing things as they progress. 

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The work on my Vollert Robot DER 100 Critter continued. After solving the mechanical and motorized functions I concentrated on the design of the body and the wheels' cover. Therefore I started to build a second copy using brick-build dummy motors instead of the Curcuit Cube motors. The biggest challenge were the corner of the body between the hinged front/back and the side walls. But the little gap of the windows on the sides allow a droid arm to hold a dark grey double cheese slope at the top of the corner. Internally the droid arms are put in position using the "bar with 1x1 round plate (32828)" elements which are highly recommended for builds off the grid.

Getting thinner and thinner the way down I decided to use just a 4L bar and a 3/4 Technic pin on the top. Not ideal but the best compromise I could realise at this point.

On 10/17/2021 at 4:26 PM, zephyr1934 said:

The only critique (and this is very minor) is that with the prototype being so boxy, the ladder steps become such a prominent feature. On the prototype they are flush with the wall and on the model I think they are door rails that stick out one plate. Is there enough room to pull them back? I think there might be. With all of the motors and electronics hidden inside the small build I could totally see that there might not be room.

I had the same thoughts like @zephyr1934 on the ladder steps on the sides. First I wanted to use the grille tiles but they stepped out to much. The flush solution came using 2x2 modified plate/tiles with 2 studs (33909). That means I will lose the "grille" effect. But never mind, the real one shows a very clean and flush design covering the wheels.

I also played around with bars for the handrails on the side doors but ended up using inverted brackets to get a thin dark grey stripe on the all yellow side of the Robot. The 6 studs height of the door fits nicely in the 5 brick rows height on the side. I only had to replace a part of the dark grey "baseplate" with some tiles. But stability is still fine.

Next: Squeeze in the Curcuit Cube and make it accessible to turn it on and off easily. And stickers? Stay tuned …

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That is a deceivingly challenging little prototype you chose. You are doing an amazing job capturing all of the minute curves and details.

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Time for an update … my Vollert Robot DER 100 "Critter" is done :-) I was able to squeeze in both the blue Curcuitcubes Bluetooth hub and a 2x6 weight brick for more traction. The "Leonhard Weiss" and further other stickers are just self-made prints on a transparent foil – @Toastie nope, no tin-foil this time – as reference once again I used pictures from eisenbahndienstfahrzeuge.de. That site also shows the Vollert Robot at work moving container wagons around which came by train from Stuttgart to the handling terminal at Michelbach. In Stuttgart a huge train project – called Stuttgart 21 – is ongoing, they are converting the main station to a underground station. Endless kilometres of tunnel are dug and the excavation is transported by track and road to it's final destignation.

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picture by Udo Plischewski, original source eisenbahndienstfahrzeuge.de

While browsing the internet I thought, my "Critter" needs some work to do … so I started to build a yellow container (the original one are from German company Schmitz Cargobull and they seems to be designed especially for the Stuttgart 21 excavation transport). And then I build the next one, and a third and finally a fourth.

But the picture from the terminal shows even more: A Liebherr reachstacker which will pick-up the containers from the train. And then? Where will it bring the containers? YouTube knows the answer:

So I build a yellow/white reachstacker (not with the bowed design of the main arm, but a similar design. And I found an old 6-wide truck ... hmm, to small for the 7-wide container. So I had to convert the truck to 7-wide and add a trailer which allows to carry one of the yellow containers.

The little Critter project now ended up in a whole diorama with a terminal to exchange the Stuttgart 21 excavations from track to road. Here are some videos I shoot at this grey and cold November Saturday:


The uncoupling mechanism was already proven in an early work-in-progress phase. Luckily it also works with all four container wagons:

 

And finally some more sequences showing the unloading/loading process using the Liebherr reachstacker:

 

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7 hours ago, HoMa said:

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Wow Holger,

this is one of the coolest photos of the train yard I've ever seen ...it looks so real, lights and stickers are the icing on the cake! :wub_drool:

The video of this beauty in action is simply amazing ...great work! :excited:

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That's a fantastic presentation and a great demonstration of your model's capabilities. Congratulations on squeezing a quart into a pint pot and getting the detailing right too. 

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2 hours ago, Hod Carrier said:

That's a fantastic presentation and a great demonstration of your model's capabilities. Congratulations on squeezing a quart into a pint pot and getting the detailing right too

I'm echoing this, that little engine must be a TARDIS, I can't believe you fit so much inside (an uincoupler!?) all while getting the outside a perfect match for the prototype. The videos are just over the top. Amazing work.

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1 hour ago, zephyr1934 said:

I'm echoing this, that little engine must be a TARDIS, I can't believe you fit so much inside (an uincoupler!?) all while getting the outside a perfect match for the prototype. The videos are just over the top. Amazing work.

can only second this the amount of stuff you where able to fit in this one is insane!

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