hrontos

This looks as a very nice and compact solution. The only thing I am not sure about is the bracing of the 8 and 16 tooth gears. Will two half bushes and weight of the vehicle be enough to prevent gear skipping?

Could you, please, show us the content of the messages tab?

There are many articles that mention some sort of vinyl dye. Like this one. If it really works, it is better than airbrush, since the result will be more homogenous and will not peel off. And does not require any special model airbrush equipment. I would try it with some inexpensive parts first.

21. Ladybird Ladybird Part Count: 200 Features: 1WD differential pullback motor unfoldable wings will not fall of the table (hopefully never) Promo Image: Parts: Model topic: http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=96797 LXF file: LXF

You are welcome, I am glad it works.

That crunching sound can be also the clutch integrated into LA. You may be need to change a starting angle a bit by changing the linkage or LA position.

LDD2POV main screen and file system driver seems to be ok, but your paths are wrong. Saving includes into a program files directory or subdirectory requires admin rights which are not used by the LDD2POV and db.lif is probably also wrong. So, please, try to follow these steps: 1. Open My Computer (Windows Explorer window will be opened - not the IE). You can also use Run command from the Start menu. 2. Type %appdata% into address bar (including the percent signs). It will open for you a folder - if you click in the address bar, you will see a real path - something like: C:\Users\Martin\AppData\Roaming. 3. Go to "LEGO Company" folder. 4. Go to "LEGO Digital Designer" folder. 5. You will see there a db.lif file. 6. Copy the full folder path from the address bar to the LDD2POV as a path for the db.lif file - in my case it is: C:\Users\Martin\AppData\Roaming\LEGO Company\LEGO Digital Designer 7. Create a new folder in the C:\Users\Martin\AppData\Roaming\LEGO Company\LEGO Digital Designer named LDDInc. 8. Go to the newly created LDDInc. 9. Copy the full folder path from the address bar to the LDD2POV as a path for the includes - in my case it is: C:\Users\Martin\AppData\Roaming\LEGO Company\LEGO Digital Designer\LDDInc.

Ok, please, post a picture of the error and a LDD2POV main screen and your LDD2POV settings. Thank you.

This sentence seems to be important. You cannot run LDD2POV and LDD at the same time, since LDD locks the brickset data and they are needed by the LDD2POV. Checkbox "don't generate includes" is there for cases, when you have successfully converted a model to POV-Ray and POV-Ray is able to render it, but you would like to change a camera view or do some other minor change (recolor a brick, move a brick etc.). In these cases is it not necessary to use a brickset data, since you are not adding any new bricks. It is annoying to open/close LDD all the time, so at least for these cases there is that checkbox. Yes, that is also good solution. But more advanced than a simple delete, so I did not suggested it, since it is hard to judge what is considered too complicated for a user. This XML contains list of all includes, that were already generated.

Delete the content of the LDDIncludes directory. It is possible that the include for this part is there and the LDD2POV is trying to generate a new version of it.

If it is true, that you have some model, with a part that is not available in your current LDD installation, open the model in the LDD. The mentioned part will removed from the LXF file and LDD2POV will not complain. Could you, please, be more specific? Where did the standard instructions failed? Is it possible, that LDD2POV is no longer running after the restart on the render?

These linkages are ok just find the poper lengths of those yellow beams. Do it in closed position and try to see if the open version gives good angle for tipping. It is mainly about lengths and pivot points. They have influence on the max. angle and force. You can also reduce gear ratio. Tipping will be slow, but stronger. If you reach limit of one LA, add another one. Two of the do not have more energy, but can provide more force before their clutch will be activated. More force you can get only by changing gear ratio or by adding another motor.

The structure and building style of this model is really impressive. I can't imagine, how long took the design with such huge density. Adding any forgotten part during design phase seems to be impossible without rebuilding significant portions. Only after seeing inside of the model a man has a feeling how much effort went into this model. And 2200+ pages of instructions in LDD is another huge effort.

I wonder, if there is any official TLG guide/rule or somebody has done some experiments with proper placement of 24T clutch gear in a drive train for each PF motor. For example, for PF XL motor, geared up 1:2. Will it have enough torque to activate the clutch in the 24T gear without stalling or putting too much load on the motor? I would like to know this optimal gear ratio for each PF motor. To avoid confusion I would like to know the gear ratio between axle of motor and axle of the 24T Clutch gear. I know it may depend also on friction of the drive train between these two axles, but let assume there is none. May be others will find it also useful just like the other parameters of the motors. Is TLG calculating the placement of the 24T clutch gear in a drive train or they are just long term testing the model?

That's a good point. This means, that even with a clutch gear, when geared down too much after the clutch gear, the drive train after the clutch gear can suffer similar high forces like unprotected drive train?

When I was thinking, if the drive train after the clutch gear is important, I took it this way: when it is necessary to get maximum of the motor, the structure of the drive train after the clutch seems to be not important. I assumed, it is needed to get max out of the motor. This means a car that is able to climb any reasonably sized obstacle with maximum speed (that is possible with given motor and weight of the vehicle). Hitting a wall is like too big obstacle and that's exactly case, when the clutch is needed. But how to find a maximum gear ratio for the clutch gear? Trial/error approach works as long, as the drive train is simple. But for the complex one, the rebuild is tricky and it would be better to place the clutch properly from the beginning. It is not important, if the goal is to move car quickly or lift a heavy weight. They both need a certain speed or torque. And clutch gear is able to transfer only constant maximum torque. After the clutch gear, the torque can be increased or decreased, but starting point are those 2.5-5Ncm. That's the maximum torque, that will get through clutch gear, so it will look like torque limiter. But speed is not limited. So to get more, motor has to be geared up to have extra speed at the clutch gear, that can be after the clutch gear changed to torque. For example: if PF XL has really 25Ncm, 1:1 attachment of the clutch gear means, that after the clutch gear, we have only those 2.5-5Ncm supported by the clutch gear. Speed is 1:1 so rest of the motor power is lost. But if PF XL is geared up 1:10 before the clutch, we have extra speed. We get only 2.5-5Ncm after the clutch gear, but 10times higher speed. So after gearing it down 1:10 after the clutch, we get again 25Ncm as on the motor (virtually full motor power), but the motor and whole drive train is protected. If it is a car, it will climb also big obstacles, but nothing will be damaged when it hits a wall. The only question is, if it should be 1:10, 1:6, 1:20 or which value, to get maximum of the motor and have it protected, just like TLG does.

For me the Mindstorms takes it to a completely different level, so from that moment it is a Mindstorms model, no matter how nice MT style looking shape it will have.

So from the motor point of view, it is not important and will not cause any harm to the motor, as long as it is not completely stalled? I mean, when a maximum gear ratio is found, it is not important how much load it puts on the motor, how much it will struggle to activate the clutch, as long as it is not stalled? PF XL produces something like 25Ncm, so even geared up 1:5 should be able to active the older clutch gear without problems. May be even 1:10. Correct placement of the clutch gear is not important when load is not high and there is only an "end of travel" risk - like with LA. But when load is high, correct placement of the clutch gear is important, because it protects the motor from stalling due to heavy load and also determines maximum load motor will handle. When it is "too late" in the drive train, max. power of the motor is not fully used, because clutch activates, when "too early", motor may have not enough power to activate the clutch and will get stalled. I though TLG has some kind of rule for this.

Yes, this is true. When you hold a Creator model, it feels like a toy. When you hold a model team model, it feels more like a model than a toy. Creator fall more in a toy range and Model Team more in model hobby range. I admit, that some older Model Team models are more studded than some of recent creator models, but studs themselves do not give them the toy like feeling. May be the selected color schemas for Creator is making it look more like a toy.

This set looks like also somebody in TLG is also missing Model Team line. It not enough technic to be Technic. It is too big and too complex for some standard City line models. So they put it into Creator range. Sometimes Creator looks like "what do not fit anywhere, will end up as a Creator, since the designer was too creative and did not stayed within any theme boundaries".

With this definition somehow also LEGO Architecture or Modular Buildings etc. models fall into Model Team category. And with this definition of LEGO Technic, concept models of advanced mechanics that explain how things are working but are not packed in such a good design will be no longer LEGO Technic.

Nice examples of models, that could be Model Team, but are may be a bit too simple or have less functionality than a Model Team version would have. Anyway, these are nice models and it would be good to have a forum where they could be discussed/reviewed, since they do not have any dedicated one.

This definition is pretty good. I would add that Model Team is more about machines than any other LEGO models. There are many detailed and well scaled models of buildings or other structures, but I do not count them as Model Team models, since they are not models of machines. In Model Team the form and look have higher priority than functions. Concerning the Creator series: I am not sure which Creator models would fall on a Technic side. If by functions, there are only very few that reach level of technic models. There are also some City sets that have some Technic inside. And some even larger Creator machines have less technic functionality than some city sets. For me the most technic Creator model was the Monster Dino 4398. I would like to see more such Creator/Technic models.

You are welcome, I am glad it works for you.

LDDIncludes subfolder cannot be in Program files. Writing into PF folder requires admin rights and LDD2POV is not running in admin context. Create this folder somewhere else (I personaly have the LDDInc subfolder in the same folder as db.lif file).