knotian

nicjasno That sounds like a typical triple expansion marine engine. They were beautiful things and are still available for the small boat and modeller audience. That would be a sweet model. Ed

No - This would be a traveling crane bogey with winches for lifting and ability to go side to side and forward/back on rails that are mounted on the structure itself above the floor level. Real example below. https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwji5OfL39nVAhXkz4MKHayoABcQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emhcranes.com%2Ffree-standing-bridge-crane-system%2F&psig=AFQjCNE3EZ5F_D6B9vCOfHHI_7aoQ6aUzA&ust=1502903867583623

I thought I'd book marked a moc but cannot find it. There was a moc of a industrial type building with an overhead crane that had it's tracks close to the top of the building. NOT like the travelling gantry type where the tracks are at the ground level. If you know where it's at or have a link to a similar crane please let me know. Thanks, Ed

Is there any source of plastic individual lengths of track, not including ties, that can be bent to custom curves and fastened, with clips or holes, to bricks? I want to use rail in an industrial setting with special tugs and cars. Lego rail system is too large as far as radius is concerned. I am thinking of a extruded product if possible. The three rail switches are available. Thanks, Ed

Good points A siding with the charging coil should work and cheaper than wiring all the track.

This is just a strange idea I had from reading the posts on power pickup in the forum. There are some lights that are wireless, picking up their power from the base of the structure. ( i-Brix ) This, I imagine, is like the wireless charging available for cell phones, inthat an induced current is picked up from the antenna and applied to the battery. For you technical people - what would be the possibilities on using that concept for trains? I realize that the power drain is too large for direct drive of a motor. But what about a battery with a charging coil permanently attached and an antenna wire in the track base? Just food for thought from an easily distracted mind

WUNNERFULLLLLLLL Just got mine. Quality looks good. Much better than some printed products I've tried. Good packing. Well Done and looking forward to ordering some more. Ed

This may not suit your needs but over the years I have arranged my parts based on the old warehouse rule that 20% of the items get used 80% of the time. I basically only use one color for external (showing) parts and 1-2 other as internal parts. Therefor I keep the three colors, most used 20%, at my desk and the remainder in wall bins. There is an additional type,slopes, that I very seldom use and they are stored, bagged by color in a closet.

Owen- Thanks for the info. The sideways insertion of a thread into a technic hole opened up an 'outback' full of options. Ed

I am trying to "downscale" some machinery to more like Minifig scale. The small Technic Link Tread (3873) would be nice for conveyor belts. HOWEVER there are times I need to attach things to said conveyor, like scoops, containers, etc., so they can go around the gears driving the conveyor belt. Does anyone have any idea of ways to fasten objects to this tread. The only thing I've found is that a 1 x 4 plate or tile will snap on to the tread, but not really with much strength. Also doing that requires a extra link between each plate which would leave gaps in the conveyor belt. Any help??????

mocbuild101 Thanks for the info. That would handle the instructions, but still leaves the parts list question. The only way I can think of is to distribute the drawing file as well as the instructions, so they can select the method they want and then delete the other from the drawing and re do the parts list. knotian

I wonder if it's because 1.1 + 1 does not equal any of the choices.

I am planning on developing instructions for some MOC's I'm working on. As I was building I found, in several instances,that different parts could be used with the same visual result. I picked the method that best utilized my inventory. This was an instance of a great many identical sub-assemblies. Since each method would result in very different parts list, I was wondering how others handled this type of situation.

Yep - it takes a bit of both.

deraven has a good method. I have the same problem as to stability of large projects. What I have found is that 'trial and error' works well. Be prepared to fail and start over. Be prepared to change your drawings time and time again. I do one starting drawing that I KNOW WILL BE DELETED. Then I start building and revising it. I use stud.io and make EXTENSIVE use of SubModels. When some of your model works, draw it and save as a submodel. Then continue building and drawing. I just finished a circular tower made up of 5 sections each 15 bricks high. Drawing was no trouble (HA!) but when I went to build I had to revise my plans several times to get the internal bracing correct. Treating each section as a submodel sped things up and my final drawing just had the 5 submodels. I'd respectfully disagree with building from the outside in. Drawing yes, since that establishes the look of what you want to accomplish and drawings do not require that a physical structure be able to support itself. Having the outside drawing available when building from the inside out works (IMHO) much better. In the example above, adding the bracing required many dis-assemblies of the outside to accommodate the bracing. Ed

I have been using stud.io for several months and cannot say enough good about it. Yes it's 'beta' but it, IMHO, blows away the others. It uses the ldraw library so parts are not a problem. It's backed by the BrickLink group. Whether it will cost something when complete has not been announced. Parts positioning and manipulation are excellent. Variable snapping is available as are different degrees of positioning. Try it!

I'd like to post some of my work but am not sure where. I use a mix of technic beams, technic bricks, technic other parts,normal bricks, EV3 and some third party EV3 related hardware/software. (Hodgepodge) My mocs are industrial in nature. Currently working on a blast furnace complex. Where is the best place to show wip's. I'm thinking "Lego Technic, Mindstorms & Model Team" would be the best fit, but want to check before incurring the wrath of the site Thanx, Ed

Drawing cylinders in Stud.io seems to be easier than in other software due to the ease of using their hinge tool and how it interacts with connected pieces. The attached folder has some basic instructions and a straight wall ready to turn into a cylinder, a completed example and one of my modified cylinders. Included is a pdf with a table of angles necessary to use in the hinge settings to get a perfect circle of varying diameters. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fqxsw8vfzmrymwy/AAA__P_LbXweHJredEq4q81va?dl=0

David, Thank you a lot! I'll give it a try. Ed

I have built a model of a blast furnace. No problems in either stud.io or LPub3D. How-sum-ever-- The instructions are very repetitive since I am using the 1x2 brick plus 1 round brick method for making the circular structure. So I end up with several thousand parts. If I set up a step for each level in the circle ( 48 bricks) then the step has to repeat for 15 layers. Then the next segment, with 4 less bricks, 15 layers, etc, etc. There is a total of 52 layers, in 5 segments. The instructions will be fine --- but I feel sorry for anyone that has to follow them. Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can make the instructions more usable?

Finally, after lurking for months, had something to post. I'm just emerging from the 'Dark Ages' and this is my first sharable effort. Needed a hot metal car for my Blast Furnace. The first link is a picture of the actual car ( with the camera tilted), the second is a rendering from Stud.io and the third is the stud.io file itself. The car does dump as you can see if you look at it's construction. Ed https://www.dropbox.com/s/qyumjskt5bk24zv/100_0634.JPG? https://www.dropbox.com/s/f3fgbhha6l82n8l/Complete Ladle Car %232.jpg https://www.dropbox.com/s/8rdp2lkofn91v1q/Complete Ladle Car Submodels.io?dl=0

rodiziorobs I ended up doing cylinders of 24,22,20,18 and 16 units ( 1 unit is a 1x2 and a 1 round). I discarded the use of the odd numbered cylinders as the bracing was to shaky. Not as smooth, but it will do. I may try again to make a better show version with single unit reductions. The bottom is 12 bricks high and the others are 10. I built them all 12 but it was too high for the scale of the rest of the display. The result was that I could brace the cylinder with side by side technic bricks and they would replace one of the 1x2's in the wall and therefore invisible. I used 2x2's in the middle between the braces to make it rigid. The bracing on the 22 and 18 cylinders required 2x2 plates and turntables to get them aligned in the center.You suggestion of the tiles was a great idea. I substituted 2 x 2 plates for the tiles where I wanted to join the sections. There is a little 'squishing' of each of the cylinders, maybe 1/3 stud or so, to allow the fit. It is not visible from display distance. The photo attached is vertical, the photographer is tipsy ( I meant tipped) knotian https://www.dropbox.com/s/qyumjskt5bk24zv/100_0634.JPG?dl=0

AlmightyArien, That is a fantastic use of the computers. I have been trying to automate trains using the PF AlmightyArien, That is a fantastic use of the computers. I've been playing with automating train functions using the EV3 with the newer PF trains. I used a ir link by hitechnic and it worked but the ir is line of sight and very short range. I basically dropped the effort. I'm waiting for this summer. S-Brick has said that they will have language support this summer as well as interface with the EV3 motors and sensors. Bluetooth control from a pc using sensors and train control could lead to some fun things.

Shameless Plug If anyone is looking for a good tool for designing projects, you need to try out Stud.io. This is being developed by BrickLink and is tied to their catalog rather than LDraw. Still in beta but, aside from great tools and interface, it has the easiest way of curving walls that I have found. It's rotational tool works only on bricks that are 'connected in the direction of rotation so you can take a straight wall and bend it to any diameter you need. I made a spreadsheet of all the rotation angles for walls, and it makes it a snap job. Ed

rodiziorobs Thank you very much. The reduction with multiple levels is great. As far as reinforcing, I am using technic beams on edge anchored to a central shaft. The round end of the beam replaces one of the round bricks and preserves the design. Tiling the top level of each section is a good idea and really helps the look. Ed