doug72

Now experimented with various gears and the new Z60 turntable. See Photo. Z60 Turntable-gears by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr 1:- 12T meshes OK on centre line (c/l) at 1.5 L spacing from 60T turntable gear ring- by using a thin technic plate, giving a 5:1 reduction. 2:- 20t gear meshes OK on centre line at 3L spacing giving a 3:1reduction 3:- 12T gear meshes by being offset by 3L from turn table c/l. giving a 5:1 reduction. 4:- 20T gear meshes OK by being offset by 4L from turn table c/l giving a 3:1 reduction 5:- 36T gear meshes on centre line by 4L giving a 1.66:1 reduction. So far have not found a way to mesh 8T / 16T / 24T plain gears.

I've just obtained some 1mm diam black braided cord from a craft shop - used for stringing beads - only 5p per metre. Works great on a hoist drum and self coiling.

The new Z60 turntable (TT) is slightly bigger in diamenter, more stable for rotating loads and has less friction than the old Z56 BUT is harder to mesh tecnic gears to it when axles are parallel. Its OK for double bevel 12T gear as when used in the 42042 crawler crane with axles at 90 degs BUT not when axles are parallel unless a 1/2 plate spacer is ised to mesh the gear correctly giving a 5:1 reduction. A 20T double gear will mesh OK to give a 3:1 reduction. A 24T gear also will not mesh. The old Z56 turntable with a 8T gear gave a 7:1 reduction ideal for rorating heavy superstructure etc. 60 / 8 would give 7.5:1 Suggest Lego make a10T gear to mesh with this new turntable to give 6:1 ratio.

Milan, Thanks for the quick response & clarification. There is a large Liebherr Crane Factory near me on the River Wear in Sunderland NE England which I cycle past - some very interesting cranes can be seen being erected and tested prior to delivery.

Milan, As my TC8 Static Tower Crane was already posted before the two week rule (post 119) was advised , I assume that as long as I do not post in updates before two weeks it can remain. Do we need to start a new post when the finished model is completed - with the required information plus a video ?

In 1886 a unique Titan harbour crane was built in Batoum - a port on the Black Sea to construct a new harbour. This crane is true to Lego functions in that it had one power source (a reversing steam engine) which drove all the various functions via long shafts with sliding gears and clutches. Functions:- 1/ .Travel of whole crane along tracks. 2/. Travel of crab unit along crane arm. 3/. Lateral travel on crab unit for hoisting chains. 4/. Hoisting using chains not wire ropes with a unique self acting chain storage reels. The rear section below the boiler was full of water to act as a counteweight. batoum-crane-1886 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr See this website for more information: BatoumTitan1886.ppt.pdf A model of this has been built in Meccano and special parts had to be made, but would be a very challenging build in Lego.

Can the moderator add the TC8 tag into the title line for my posting of "Static Tower Crane" or do I have to start a new post ? Thanks if you can. Doug72

I would like to submit my Giant Block Setting Crane based on the real crane that sat on the Tyne South Pier but not sure if I can as its been shown on this forum before. Doug

No - I started building it several days ago and just noted the crane contest today. Doug

Following the build of the 42042 B model crawler tower crane with powered hoist trolley traversing, I decided to build a static free standing tower crane. Progress to date:- Base unit with 3 PF motors complete and drives to turntable unit completed. M motor (1) for slewing the turntable and jib arm / M motor (2) for hoisting / L motor (3) for hoist trolley travel. Turn table unit: transfer gearbox for two drives (2) & (3) to hoist drum and trolley traverse drums completed Only one tower unit at present as easier to work on the top sections - when completed more sections will be added to desired height. During construction the motors are controlled using PF switches to test the drive trains but once completed I will be using the Electric Technic Control unit 2840c02 which can be programmed to operate automatically. IMG_2510 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr IMG_2509 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr IMG_2508 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr IMG_2512 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr IMG_2511 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr

Interesting - I have just started to build a static tower crane.

To adjust the rope tension when used for crane hoist trolley drives I use this device - see image. Uses only 3 componants; 2L pin with Cross axle, 2L axle, 3L half stud plate with axle holes. Rope is placed into the narrow slot in the 2L pin w/axle and wound to the desired tension using the 3L half stud plate and then locked with a 2L axle. IMG_2501 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr

A small LED torch to look for parts that fallen on the carpet below my work table / computer desk !!

Thanks Cumulonimbus, I have modified the trolley haulage drum to single wide drum without centre divider as found ropes were winding on & off OK as ropes run up each side of the boom to the trolley. The haul in rope is connected via a tension spring at the trolley. The haul out rope is secured by a black pin with the rope in the small slot - by turning this pin you can adjust the tension in the system and when OK secure the end to another pin on the trolley. Due to the Lego design the trolley sometimes sticks due to friction or catches on the centre beams. For my Giant block Setting Crane I used a different method of moving the hoist trolley.: http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=91929 The trolley runs on small wheels along a double rail track along the top of the boom. The drive to the rope cord is via 32mm diam pulley with rope in contact for 270 degs. When trolley reaches its end stops the rope just slips on the pulley but is also protected by a 16T clutch gear Tension in the rope is adjusted at the hoist trolley by a rotating pin w/cross axle which then locked by means of a thin 3L plate w/axle hole. Click image to see video. MVI_0748 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr I have also used braided rubber cord and a friction pulley to traverse a hoist trolley on a container crane I built for my lego rail layout with success - rubber cord can be obtained from craft shops or on line.

Thanks for the advice wondered why no comments. I thought I had by including the Flika link - have now used the shared option to load photos one by one. Assume it is possible to do the same with an album on Flicka. Doug IMG_2494 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr IMG_2493 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr IMG_2496 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr IMG_2495 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr IMG_2497 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr IMG_2498 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr IMG_2499 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr IMG_2492 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr

My version of the 42042 B model Lego Tower Crawler Crane built from parts I had available. Had to use an old type turntable (so only manual rotation at present) - waiting for a new Z60 turntable (on order) to allow power rotation. Have modified it to have power traverse for the hoist trolley along the beam. The drive unit is located at base of the tower and driven by same drive as the hoist drum. It was a tight squeeze to fit the gears and change over clutch- hence gears outside the frame work. the drive shaft to the traversing drum runs up the side of the tower. It took a lot of experimenting to get the hoist trolley to move smoothly. Eventually found that if ropes wound on more than one layer then ropes either went slack or too tight. The traversing ropes use a double drum with two ropes coming off the top and bottom. i.e. as one rope winds in the other pays out. For the drums I use 2 x 2 round plates - 2 & 3 deep with large wedge wheels as end and center plates. This meant ropes were only one layer deep when trolley reached either end stops. The rope for pulling trolley towards the rope drums has a tension spring to keep the ropes tight and also allows for over winding when hits the end of its travel. Drum drive also protected by a 16T clutch gear, see photos on post # 4 & 5 https://www.flickr.c...157655615704354

There were several of this type of massive cranes in use when they built the 2nd Tyne Road Tunnel, near where I live. The diaphragm wall trencher device also had a large hose connected to it to supply Benonite to stop the exacvated trench from collapsing. In some sections the trench was 30m deep by 2m wide. 1st Tunnel built by boring under the river - 2nd tunnel by cut and cover and submerged tunnel sections in the river bed. I have one narrow bucket and once get another will attempt to make a diaphragm wall trencher. Or use the clam shell buckets from the 42043 model.

Having built the crawler carne as per Lego instructions, set out to make all six functions independently PF controlled using five M motors and one L motor. One feature I didn't like was both crawler tracks moving together making turns impossible. First step was to strip out the drive selector gear box and L motor and the original drive to the crawler tracks. Stage 1: modify crawler tracks Crawler tracks: driven by two M motors via 18:1 reduction with PF Rx and seperate battery box. (had tried to put two drives through the turntable but not successfull due lack of space.) Stage 2: modify hoisting, luffing, slewing motions. Hoisting: M motor via 20/12 step up gears to give faster hoisting speed. Boom Luffing: M motor via 12/20 reduction gears. Slewing: M motor installed where L motor previously located - then via a gear chain with 9:1 reduction to give more realistic rotation. Had problem with gears rubbing on the other two M motors but by turning M motors on there side and using a spacer plus a support plate this eliminated the problem. Stage 3: modify grab to remote operation. Operating Grab / grapple: operated by an L motor directly coupled to the small linear actuator with power feed to the L motor using a lead extension back through the boom back to the PF Rx. Two PF Rx installed in the now open space where drive selector gear box was and open spaces filled in. Battery box installed upside down to hide switch from view. Fixed end of hoist rope moved closer to the boom head. See photos on my Flicka page: https://www.flickr.c...157657223548309

Yes its that simple to disassemble !!!!!

The red connector pin is hollow so find a piece of rod that fits through the hole and push out the 4L axle with stop out..

There is an excellent owners workshop manual on Churchill tanks published by Haynes. http://www.haynes.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10001&productId=57561&langID=-1 This shows all the varients of which there were some very weird adaptations called the "Funnies" including bridge layers, mine flails, petard launchers etc.

Stunning - very similar concept to the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland for lifting canal boats between two canals without the use of multiple locks. see:- http://www.thefalkirkwheel.co.uk I have always wanted to make a lego model of this but now I can use your ideas to try and build it at last. Thanks Doug

Having made a horendously complicated two axle turntable transmission to drive a subtractor unit which didn't work, I consulted Sariels"s excellent Technic Builder’s Guide book and built a two axle drive unit as shown on pages 96 to 100 but I was not happy that using thin single bevel 12T gears would be strong enough to drive a Mark 2 version of my tracked Dump Truck which is to have all motors in the upper rotating structure. I modified it to eliminate the fragile single bevel 12T gear - replacing them with double bevel 12T gears which are more robust. This also avoids the need to use the 4 right angle drive housing p/n 4558692 and has a very rigid structure. See photos on my Flicka page: https://www.flickr.c...57651087905165/ I have built a sample unit using various coloured parts which hopefully will show how it was constructed. The upper and lower parts are exactly the same. The input and output axles can be arranged to suit. Last three photos show the unit built into the chassis with the three motors located on the upper rotating structure. 1/. M motor for turntable rotation. 2/. L motor to drive both tracks. 3/. M motor to steer tracks via subtracter unit You could use two L motors with each track individually driven. I have yet to decide to build a Mark 2 version of a tracked dump truck or wait until the new crawler crane is available and use the two axle transmission and subtracter units in that model. Can the moderator correct the spelling error in the title box - thanks. Doug72

Now built a more compact subtractor drive which eventually have all motors driven through a turntable. So far have chassis with subtractor unit built - see Flika album: https://www.flickr.c...57650656511358/ Photos show motors in the chassis for testing the subtractor unit. It took some time to get the gear ratios correct. Both motors drive at a 1:1 ratio through the differential units. An L motor drives both tracks as shown by Red line. The M motor provides the steering either by slowing one track down if L motor running or with L motor stopped by turning tracks in opposite directions for turns on the spot as shown by green line. Final drive to the tracks is by two 24:1 worm drive gear boxes. The L motor provides ample power for both tracks but could be substituted by an XL motor. Now working on moving both motors into the upper rotating body by using a dual drive through the turntable. Using Sariels double-axle turntable transmission as a starting point (as on shown on pages 96 to 100 in his excellent book) I modified it to elimiate the fragile single bevel 12T gear - replacing them with double bevel 12T gears which more robust. This also avoids the need to use the 4 right angle drive housing p/n 4558692 and has a very rigid structure.

Just mended some grey 1L by 4L right angle lift beams which had a cracked axle X holes. Using the method I described before I used "Pro-Weld" made by Ambroid Cal. USA which is suitable for ABS. Obtainable from Model railroad shops for use with PlasticStruct etc.. Just need to open the crack slightly and let cappillary action take to liquid glue into the joint - then squeeze crack togeather, hold and its fixed. Quick and easy to use, dries and cures very fast in 10 secs. with hardly any visible sign the part has been repaired. No use for bushes as contact area is too small.