alainneke Posted February 2, 2013 What happens if you mix LEGO, black Delrin and some 0-gauge railroading stuff? Well, with the right tools you can make custom power pickups (no LEGO modification necessary). Here's how: Custom power pickup (parts) by alainneke, on Flickr From top left to right bottom: steel 0-gauge wheel, custom made insulated flanged bushing (which fits the steel wheel to a standard 2mm LEGO train axle), ball contact (rubs against backside of the wheel), spring (pushes the ball contact against the wheel), custom made flanged bushing (holds both the ball contact and spring and fits in a Technic hole), Technic brick, miniature connector. The steel wheel is manufactured by NWSL, the ball contacts come from a German website specialised in 0-gauge stuff and the connector is a standard Marklin connector cutted in half. The bushings are machined from an 8mm rod of Delrin on a mini-lathe (for the curious, a picture is in my photostream) and made to be a friction-fit to the wheel and Technic brick. Custom power pickup (partial assembled) by alainneke, on Flickr Putting these parts together, you get a train axle with steel wheels (both insulated from the axle) and a spring-loaded ball contact. Custom power pickup assembly by alainneke, on Flickr Combining these two, add a wheel holder and voila: a custom power pickup. Custom power pickup bogie by alainneke, on Flickr After soldering on some wires, I've fitted the pickups to one of the bogies of my Emerald Night tender. Emerald Night tender with steel weels by alainneke, on Flickr The diameter of the 0-gauge wheels is the same as the standard LEGO train wheels, but the flange is a lot smaller. This gives a nice clickety-clack on the turnouts, but can also lead to derailments. It turns out that the manufacturer of the steel wheels also makes 'pizza cutter' style wheels, and these have already been ordered... Emerald Night tender with steel wheels by alainneke, on Flickr The wires can be connected to the LiPo battery, a DCC chip, a PF motor, lights, ... The pickups actually work better than the ones on the original 9V motor: the wheels make contact with the railhead using the tread instead of just a little part of the flange. Please comment! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paddy Posted February 2, 2013 This looks great I drive my trains with DCC and this is an great solution to build power pickups for trains with an PF motor. Did you have an shop where we can buy this stuff? Kind regards Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zephyr1934 Posted February 3, 2013 Wow, very nicely done. Those look like they could come in quite handy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JopieK Posted February 3, 2013 good idea, but... it looks a bit vulnerable though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alainneke Posted February 3, 2013 Thanks for the comments! @Paddy: I also run with DCC, that's why I created these... When I've tested the new high-flange wheels, I plan on putting sets of these in my BrickLink shop @JopieK: they are not as fragile as they look. The assembly of the ball contact, spring and connector is very rigid. The wiring is highly flexible decoder wire, which is actually pretty strong Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alainneke Posted February 3, 2013 Today, I managed to tidy up the wiring (again, no LEGO modification necessary): Custom power pickup bogie by alainneke, on Flickr The wiring fits through the hole in the wheel holder, the Technic plate and the bogie plate Custom power pickup bogie (underside) by alainneke, on Flickr Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andromeda Posted February 3, 2013 Nice idea Alianneke! I do like to look of the old steel tracked 9V rails, I'm still stuck in the 12V era! I see that you are putting your lathe to good use... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spitfire2865 Posted February 3, 2013 You Sir, are a genius. This idea is perfect, except for the flanges which Im sure you can fix with the new wheels. I have multiple times thought of ideas on pickups for Lego wheels, yet I never tried myself. Id love to see an idea for pickups on BBB drivers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted February 3, 2013 This stunning solution could be start a new era! Amazing neat work! :thumbup: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hrw-Amen Posted February 3, 2013 Looks like a nice and tidy idea especially not having to modify any bricks or other parts i can see that this will appeal to many who feel that would be wrong, but in this they do not have to! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
UrbanErwin Posted February 3, 2013 This looks really usefull. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
locoworks Posted February 3, 2013 You Sir, are a genius. This idea is perfect, except for the flanges which Im sure you can fix with the new wheels. I have multiple times thought of ideas on pickups for Lego wheels, yet I never tried myself. Id love to see an idea for pickups on BBB drivers. i suggest a simple ( ish ) solution would be to get some nickel silver 'tyres' made for the BBB drivers and then use some springy phopher bronze wipers on the top of the tyres/wheel treads. many OO/HO wheels have plastic centres, but the tyre and flange are metal not just the tyre. maybe use the flangeless wheels and fit a one piece tyre and flange around the wheel and then the wipers could run on the flange edge instead of the tread. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spitfire2865 Posted February 3, 2013 i suggest a simple ( ish ) solution would be to get some nickel silver 'tyres' made for the BBB drivers and then use some springy phopher bronze wipers on the top of the tyres/wheel treads. many OO/HO wheels have plastic centres, but the tyre and flange are metal not just the tyre. maybe use the flangeless wheels and fit a one piece tyre and flange around the wheel and then the wipers could run on the flange edge instead of the tread. I didnt follow that entirely. One of my ideas was maybe aluminum tape covering the outer surface area of the wheel and a ring of it on the inside connected to the metal on the rim which could connect to a spring-pickup. I havent attempted this as I dont have much use for it at the current moment. It could be useful for 9V modelers. Especially on tank-engines which wouldnt contain normal RC type wheels. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alainneke Posted February 3, 2013 Thanks for the nice comments :) The metal rims were discussed in RailBricks 6 (page 39). Here are some more examples: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=1964 The problem with conductive rims is that they generally fail to provide proper traction. That's why LEGO choose a relatively complex solution for the original 9V motors: spring-loaded conductive flanges and rubber tyres. I took the simple approach and separated traction wheels from pickup wheels. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bricks n bolts Posted February 3, 2013 Love the work! Looking forward to the confirmation of the 'pizza cutter' wheels fitting well and the Bricklink shop. I wonder if you will consider selling / constructing custom 12v pickups too? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cnd Posted February 4, 2013 Brilliant! I've been toying with the idea of custom pickups, however it never occured to me to separate them from the traction. When do you think these should be available in your store? Do you know how much you'll be charging? Now if there was a relatively cheap way to get 9v track since ME Models stopped selling... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alainneke Posted February 4, 2013 @bricks n bolts: I've been thinking about doing 12V pickups, too. This can take a while, though... @Cnd: the new high flange wheels should arrive in about two weeks and I plan on putting the items on BrickLink shortly after receiving those. I don't think I'm allowed to discuss pricing here Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kieran Posted February 4, 2013 This is amazing, just what I wanted, I don't have a min lathe so will definitely be ordering some sets from you, nice post and great work on this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cnd Posted February 14, 2013 Hey, how are things going with the new pickups? Are you allowed to post your bricklink address here? I'll be on vacation during the next 10 days and hope there will still be some left by the time I'm back ;) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alainneke Posted February 14, 2013 (edited) Hey, how are things going with the new pickups? Are you allowed to post your bricklink address here? I'll be on vacation during the next 10 days and hope there will still be some left by the time I'm back ;) I'm still waiting for the high flange wheels, which should be arriving tomorrow. No worries, availability should not be an issue! The address of my Bricklink store is http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=alainofiets . It's currently closed, because I haven't added any inventory yet... Edited February 14, 2013 by alainneke Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kieran Posted February 22, 2013 Hi, little nudge, any news on this? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alainneke Posted February 22, 2013 Hi, little nudge, any news on this? Actually I'm still waiting for the wheels to arrive. I've asked the company who makes them, but they haven't replied yet... I'll update this thread as soon as I have some news! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kieran Posted February 23, 2013 If I wanted a single set of the ones you have now is that possible? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alainneke Posted February 23, 2013 If I wanted a single set of the ones you have now is that possible? Sorry, but the ones I have now are all in use on my Emerald Night... Sorry for the waiting! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kieran Posted February 24, 2013 Sorry, but the ones I have now are all in use on my Emerald Night... Sorry for the waiting! Thanks for the info Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
