Crtlego

Eurobricks Citizen
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About Crtlego

  • Birthday November 14

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  • What is favorite LEGO theme? (we need this info to prevent spam)
    Technic

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  • Website URL
    http://www.kayrus.com/legos/

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    East Coast
  • Interests
    Technic, 3D-printing, Robots, Sci-Fi, EDM, Pizza

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  • Country
    United States

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  1. An interesting idea indeed! I am just recently escaping my Technic Dark Age after completing my senior year of high school (I spent it all applying to college, 3D-printing walking robots, and making my own 3D-printer) and I'm glad something like this is one of the first things I see! I do have to admit though.. There are definitely hurdles to be overcome. Some sort of version control as mentioned would be nice. I also thing we should favor a slightly medium-large model of a smaller one because despite the extra complexity and time involved, it will make developing compatible modules and frames etc. much easier (more wiggle room and flexibility..). Maybe we should make something fictional! 6-8 wheel truck with outriggers, PF drive and steering, and a flat surface on top on which we could attach modules of different sorts (crane, excavator arm etc.). That way, there are several systems involved for people to work on individually. It would definitely require a lot of people or a few extremely dedicated ones. I may have time to pitch in this summer but I'm not sure. I hope to bring my Technic with me to Carnegie Mellon next year, but I'm not sure if I'll have space. Any AFOL's in Pittsburgh?? We could collab in person Also, Blakbird, I have used SR3D before several times (albeit a while ago) and I loved it. I thought it was much nicer than MCLAD. It's more like LDD, but more powerful and full of neat functionality. It definitely benefits from having a decent computer (I do a lotttttt of CAD on mine so running SR3D was fine for me). Not sure if other programs have received updates in ther recent past though so my opinions/experiences could be out of date!
  2. Thanks for sharing the pictures! Its really interesting to see the insides... I just wish I could help you get it back into working condition
  3. Hey Tim! I haven't done any speed tests or direct comparisons (yet), but if my recollection of the XL motor is any good, the servos are roughly on par with it. I think the XL might be faster, but they both seem to have the same torque. ...maybe Philo has done some tests?
  4. Strange. I have an Arduino but have often thought about getting into raspberry pi Do you like it? Prices obviously vary a few dollars depending on the exact model of the components and how you purchase them.. but you'll probably end up with something like the following-its not exactly cheap. Arduino .. $25-30 (and to get a two-way thing going you would need two boards..) Standard Hobby Servo .. $10-20 (x4) XBEE .. $20 or $30 each (and you would need two..) XBEE breakout board .. $2-3 (you would also need two..) Wire.. $2-3 Breadboard.. $3-10 The ability to not suffer after cutting a Lego PF wire.. priceless Optional: XBEE to computer board for configuring beyond factory settings..$25 For my remote control the price of the other electronic components (so everything minus the XBEE and Arduino) is at least $50.. Yeah so to get started you're easily paying the equivalent of a new flagship technic set or more.. ..But you can also think of it this way: its better than paying for the NXT! So maybe I'm not the purest purist, but yes, really. I say that because every other time that I build with Lego...I'm building just with Lego and building it with the proper techniques-no bending, stretching, improper spacing etc. With this build, it was not meant to be a Lego.. it was built as a platform for an electronics-based project. Even so, I still use the proper technique. I could have used anything to power the car.. it didn't have to be Lego and I didn't have to cut the PF wire, but using a PF battery box meant I could mount it on the car with Lego pieces only (if I had used something else I probably would have had to use non-Lego straps or adhesives ) Thanks!! And sorry about that flashiness.. My brother told me the same thing and I agreed, but I had already produced most of the video before he did so I didn't go back and change it (due to the timing with the competition, it was my quickest production to date)
  5. Thanks! and I sure did I know!! Maybe I should put a warning in the video.. Thanks! And don't worry, I get the feeling sometimes too.. Thanks David! Yes, the Technic and Arduino combination has been something I've wanted to do for a long time.. but it was not until recently that had the resources and opportunity to try it out. I must say I do like the two together.. I had seen the MINDS-i System and liked its "heavy-duty" approach and its integration of more "standard" electrical components, but my love for Lego prevented me from even looking into it deeply And you're right about the increased range. Since they are RF and don't work on IR like the PF elements do, they have really great range and perform in conditions you wouldn't even consider trying to use IR in. I haven't done rigorous testing (maybe I should--if I do I'll let you know), but I've heard that the XBEE models with external antennas (the one on my remote has an integrated antenna while the one on the car has an external antenna) can perform so well that they can be used on RC planes and quadcopters! As for cost, the radios are a bit more expensive depending on which model you buy. They only vary by $10 or so and the cheapest model is only a little bit more expensive than a PF IR receiver, but since you would need at least two to get started and a couple of other components if you want to attach them to a breadboard or configure different settings through the serial ports on your computer, it easily becomes 2 or 3 times the cost of a PF remote control and recceiver.. Good thing I have these parts on loan from school
  6. So its not purely Lego.. ..But for my robotics class at my high school (and just out of fun), I put together an RC set that consists of a laser-cut Arduino remote control and a Lego 4-wheeler that has all-wheel drive and all-wheel steering. That's where things start to stray from what most have done with their Lego RC MOC's: it doesn't use Power Functions. Instead, the entire car is driven by four hobby servos--two regular one (180 degree turning) and two continuous (full rotation) ones. And instead of using a Power Functions IR Receiver, I used two XBEE radios. To control everything on both the receiver and the controller end, Arduino Leonardo microcontrollers are used. These are handy little boards that make for a lot cooler projects than anything the NXT can offer.. but don't take my word for it..Here's a video! I also have an article about the construction process of both the controller and receiver on Instructables.com (http://www.instructa...-Control-and-L/) Compared to designing the remote control from scratch and programming everything, the Lego part isn't that hard. The front and rear axles I used (they're identical) had been in development for a while as a part of my effort to develop a more robust and compact drive system (and just happened to be near completion around the time of this project) so the only thing I had to make were the modifications and chassis necessary to house the servos. Despite my use of non-Lego electronics and servos (and the Lego PF wire I had to cut to use the PF battery box), I consider myself a Lego "purist." That being said, it took some tinkering before I got the servos to fit nicely. I was able to do it rather well in the end with the right positioning of the small blue or gray pins, but it does require you to design the chassis around the motors (at least the motors themselves don't take up that much space). The next challenge Lego-wise was attaching the rotating part of the servos to the axle. I did this with the original servo mounting kits and a Lego cog or wheel (as long as you have that hexagonal orientation of holes around an axle-hole any part works). As far as performance goes, I'm glad I experimented with Arduinos and XBEE radios. Its not as convenient a setup as Power Functions, but, besides the great feeling of designing the whole thing myself, it does pay off to be able to customize everything, and to have tons of inputs and outputs (unlike what we are used to).
  7. Nice job Paul with the designs you presented - I really like where this is going I think you and I are thinking the same thing.. using towball pins to connect the new hub to the old steering arm? Would anybody with the new piece like to play around with this? It should certainly be feasible, but I do not know how it will fair stability-wise when compared with the designs Paul has built that use four liftarms.
  8. @Boxerlego: Thanks! Attaching the bottles was probably one of the hardest parts. There was a lot of reinforcing that I had to do to make sure it wouldn't just collapse on the bottles due to its massive weight. And it certainly is a joy to use in the water.. but that feeling comes more from its not sinking than anything else @DLuders: Cuyahoga would certainly be a good place to start -that river's a mess!! ..although I'm not sure it would be messy enough for the RiverCleanser Perhaps it is better suited to the waters of Legoland..
  9. Congratulations!! You deserve it! I think its a really nice and sporty design. Its looks like great in the snow too.. but I don't think Lego will be using that in any promotions
  10. Thanks Alasdair! I too was surprised the first time I set this thing off in my bathtub! In fact, I originally did so with less and smaller bottles.. and to make matters worse, the bracing for the bottles was also not as reinforced at that time as it is in the final version.. You can imagine how traumatizing this must have been to put so many pricey electronic pieces on the line like that. Thankfully, it floats remarkably well, and the positioning of the bottles and their "angling" has made it so that it is extremely difficult to flip over. When its actually on the water though, it is much higher than I would have liked (by an inch or two -any more and the XL motor and M motor for the tray and winch would be submerged or at risk) -the way to get around this would have been to weigh the bottles down with water or sand (or legos!) but I didn't exactly want to sink it or make it any heavier (its already a workout to transport this thing!)
  11. So its been a while.. but here's what I've been up to! ...I present to you.. the RiverCleanser! WARNING TO PURISTS : THIS MOC CONTAINS 8 WATER BOTTLES... As you can see, it is quite different.. to say the least Its purpose is to clean trash from the surface of lakes and rivers (hench the name). This is possible thanks to the eight water bottles mounted underneath (not your standard legos pieces I know..) -they allow the model to float above the water with ease. It moves around via the rotation of two paddle wheels mounted on suspended arms on either side of it. The arm mounted above can rotate and raise, and the claw attached to it can also rotate and grab/release (there really should be a better word for this) - all this allows it to collect water bottles, crunched up paper, and other trash of this sort from bodies of water. After doing so, it can drop the trash off into the unfolding tray in the front - it can then continue to collect more trash before returning to shore... More details are available on my site http://www.kayrus.co...s/rivercleanser .. but feel free to ask any questions ..but in the meantime, I've produced a few videos of it. The first is a short trailer of it themed to the latest James Bond film Skyfall. Specifically, it was made to the likes of the "Skyfall Teaser Trailer" The second is an overview and demonstration of all the RiverCleanser's functions.. The last is a video of it picking up some things indoors (if you didn't notice from the picture, there is a stand I built specifically to hold the robot indoors.. its not built to rest on the bottles except for when nits in the water). Lastly, there are some 250ish additional pictures of it on flickr (soon to be on Brickshelf) Looking forward to any and all comments you guys have
  12. This is an excellent idea and well executed as well! I especially like how they always manage to get back on track after bumping into each other..
  13. A completed project that simply hasn't been published yet.. I couldn't hold it in any longer.
  14. Your profile picture/animation is absolutely amazing all I got is a crappy simpsons couch thing ;)