Nazgarot

Yes, I had the same feeling as you. It's a new ballgame, and you need to think through the design before you start building. That's way CAD software is so helpful. And again, you learn from building, specially from advanced sets. For me studless has opened up a complete new world of possibilities that didn't exist with studs. But that said, there is still solutions that require the sturdiness of studded beams. -ED-

Hi, Some pics from LDD are gathered in this Brickshelf folder. As soon as I make any more progress on the frame I'll post pics. -ED-

First out is a set of satellites. They are all based on existing satellites used for earth observation, and the plan is that the ship will have cargo bays containing several of each. SS-1; Wide-band communication satellite: There is two versions of this. One folded for transport i cargo hold, and another unfolded ready for use: SS-1; Ground mapping satellite: SS-1; GOCE (Global Ocean Circulation Explorer): More information about GOCE can be found here and here. SS-1; Several cube satellites for different purposes, mostly communication relays:

Hi, Half a year ago I started planning my first non Technic MOC. It's supposed to be a realistic space ship capable of inter solar system flight. It's my take on a spaceship for a maned expedition to Mars, and maybe even further. I'm trying to keep everything as close to known technologies as possible, and designing a realistic spaceship that could do a several years long flight through our own solar system. I will however, of course, use some artistic freedom to make it look good as well. I'm guessing this will be a several years and several thousand dollars project, but I've started with small easily completed parts, and will start presenting them in this thread. This will also let me build up my skill to a level where i can start handling the larger challenges of the main structure. The ship will be built using a modular design, with an engine module in the back connected to a frame that has all other modules connected to it. The frame will have a triangular structure, with a transport tube in the middle. The front will contain a bridge and a lot of scientific instrument arrays. I'll post pics of the frame later. In between there will be everything form fuel tanks to living quarters. I started writing a work log as I began thinking of this project, but had no place to present it, so I will try to connect that to this thread in some way later on. I'll update this first entry with my progress if that's allowed under the forum regulations, and start new posts for everything I build. more to come... -ED- EDIT: Link to my Bricklink galleries

Hi again, Here's two LDD sketches of the multiple tilt bed I've come up with. You change tilting direction manually by moving the tilt cylinder, and connecting/disconnecting pins locking the tilt. It has 4 latches made of the "6536 Axle and Pin Connector", and by connecting them to a crane you can lift the bed to remove/re-install the cylinder. When tilting you can remove pins locking the side-panels to let them open as the bed tilts. This is possible for all three tilting directions, left, right and rear. The bed is connected to a sub frame with mount for a crane. When I'm done it will also have 4 support legs, but these wil be added after i get hold of a 8110 (I'm planning on buying three... One to keep original, one to modify into a U-1650, and one for parts). The frame assembly is not done, and as it is sketched it does not fit a pneumatic cylinder, but the basic idea is sound. I'll start test building it in a few days to work out some of the kinks in the sub frame assembly, but I believe the bed itself is close to perfect. If anyone has any ideas or comments for the sub frame assembly I would be happy to hear from you. -ED- EDIT: Re-sized the pictures, restored deep links, and uploaded an update to the construction to make pneumatic cylinders fit.

It was a part used for it's look in the 8275 Bulldozer. In this set it had no real function. I believe it was first released as part of a crane, and then for the specific purpose of holding two cylinders together. -ED-

Hi, I've finally gotten around to take a few pics of the work I've done so far on the HIAB crane mod for the 8110. I've uploaded them to my brickshelf gallery, and included some information. I wanted to make a three section telescopic crane that was as compact as possible to resemble the real HIAB cranes used on many mogs. I managed to make the main structure 4 x 4 studs, with some bracing increasing it to 4 x 5 studs. The only thing i don't like is that the pneumatic cylinders look so bulky... We NEED a new longer cylinder that has a smaller diameter! To make the telescopic function extend 14 studs (24 to 38 total length) I used a chain with two belt pieces to lock it to the first and third part of the boom. The second part has a set of gears to run along. I chose this rather than using thread, like in the 8421 Mobile Crane, both because it would be harder to fit, and because it would make it more mechanically satisfying to me. It was also a good trial run for a forklift I'm planning on building. For the extender function it was never an option to use a gear system, as I want to keep it as close to a real HIAB crane as possible. I just wish TLG would come up with a longer more sleek looking pneumatic cylinder. Let's hope pneumatic is back for good and that TLG will make more cylinders and a return to center RC valve. If you look at the pics from LDD in my gallery you will see where i connected the belt parts marked with pink axles. And the original: With wire and hook: More is still to come. -ED- EDIT: I've re-sized the pictures, enabled deep links, and uploaded a couple more to my Brickshelf gallery as well as the .lxf file from LDD. You are all welcome to use it.

Interesting. About time we get some new parts. PF valves, longer pneumatic cylinder, Small and large PF motor etc. EDIT: BUT! 10'000 supporters is a lot!

Not to cause any more heated discussion, but the thread starter obviously says that no one builds studed any more, and I think that is correct, as most people combine studless with studed. His models seems to be mostly studed, and he wanted help to learn to build studless, so lets help him, and not kill him for formulating a sentence badly and not choosing the best name for the thread. I agree that it might help to buy a few sets in the same color to get started, and just remembered one more set that I would recommend; the 8069 Backhoe loader. It's a great sett that includes a lot of smart solution in studless technique, and it also has quite a few helpful parts like the mini linear actuator. There is even a by NXTLiftBoy to make it fully remote, and he has made instructions to =D.Good luck with building studless, and combining like most of us do from time to time!

Hi, This is my first take on the Mining truck "suspension". The cylinder or spring is missing as I don't know what to use before I've tested it. I'm also unsure as to how much weight it can handle do to a bit quirky design around the main drive-shaft in towards the diff. I don't know of any other parts that can do the job, but I'd welcome tips. I've included a "steering drive" that can be geared to use one motor for all wheels on one side. This will however not include a crab function. Maybe this can be solved through a gearboks, switching between to different setts of gearing for the steering? -ED- EDIT: Resized the pictures.

Well... When I got back out of my dark-age (back to Lego) I bought a few advanced set, and built them to learn new techniques. I would recommend these sets: 8275 Bulldozer, 8043 Excavator and 8070 supercar. Those have a lot of advanced studless building techniques in them, and are great for learning. You may even learn a lot from reading building instructions (I've red almost every instruction available on the official Lego pages). It may also help a lot to test build things in a CAD software of some kind. I can recommend LDraw and SR3D, but Legos official CAD program, LDD, isn't to bad either. LDD actually has an extended mode that can be activated in a setup file. You can read a lot more of that in the forum, just search for "LDD Extended". Hope this can help you on your way. PS: I like your models. Not many still building studed, advanced models on that scale. -ED-

More info? I can't read anything except 2011 and the set numbers: TECHNIC 8069 + 8067 + 8065 + 8047 http://manami.pl/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=816&category_id=18&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=75 EDIT: If this is true, considering the parts it'll include, I'll might buy it. -ED-

Hi, I'm almost done designing two mods for the 8110 set in LDD. One is a multiple direction tilting bed with opening sides. It can easily be changed by moving some pins form left to right to rear tilt. It also has a support for mounting a crane. It might need some modification to fit the 8110, but the basic principle is good. The other mod is a crane for the mount. This will be a three section crane with a telescopic top section (pneumatic) that can extend from 24 studs to 38 studs. The design for the telescopic part is 90% done, just need to find a way to run the tubes and the wire for the hook. The rest of the crane will closely resemble the 8258 Crane truck, but modified for pneumatic. Both these mods will in the end be part of a larger rebuild of the 8110 into an U1650 or an U2100. They are often equipped with a HIAB telescopic crane, either rear or middle mounted. I hope to be able to build a support frame, containing a crane, a bed and 4 support legs, that can be mounted either with the crane against the cabin, or hanging in the rear. It should be possible to disconnect it from the Mog when the support legs are extended, and then just drive the Mog out of it. It could then be mounted to an external compressor (typically transported in the bed) to work independently from the Mog (Just like the real thing; the Mog is used to deliver self powered equipment to remote sites). I'll post some pics of the progress thus far as soon as possible. Edit: I've built the telescopic part of the crane to test the design, but still have a few kinks to work out... -Espen D-

Does this work if you change it slower, like with a mini Linear Actuator?

I'm for a hauler as well, but make it a MOXY. It's a unique construction, with an advanced independent front suspension, 6x6 drive and a unique tipping system. It also has a very interesting frame construction, and would be a worthy challenge for TLG. Include some longer pneumatic cylinders, and a remote controlled pneumatic switch, with return to center function, and it's sure to be a hit! -ED-

+1 I'm for it.

I've been looking at a project to really challenge the programming skills of a friend of mine. This might be just the thing. What if it was mad to be indirectly controlled through one or several mindstorm NXT units? Then it would really be possible to control the speed of each wheel independently, correlating to the angle. And there could be several programs as well, for driving on less then 5 axles, for crabbing, and for full load driving. It would of course take a lot of motors, and a lot of NXT units, and this is where I need help to see if it's even possible. How does the IR control for NXT work? can it control several motors, and if so how many channels? And can it vary the speed with any precision? Is there a way to take remote inputs from an IR device to NXT, and translate it to commands? I have several ideas to similarly complicated NXT projects, and these questions are relevant to all of them. This might be a crazy idea, but I need to get it out there... -ED-

Hi, I'm thinking about designing a tractor with 4 wheel drive and pendular front suspension just like yours. I would very much like to see more of how you mounted the front wheels. I can see you are close to my idea, but you seem to have a trick up your sleeve, as I never managed to get the turning point as close to the rim as you did. How is the wheel attached to the drive-shaft, and how is the drive-shaft attached to the 5 long liftarms? And, may i say, a very nice build! Have you got pictures of other MOCs you have made? -ED-

This compressor from Sariel should do the trick...

None of these have a steering even remotely similar. The wheel hubs of this cars have a rotation point from zero to two studs from the rim. This gives them a lot better handling then a vehicle with 5 studs between the rotation point and the rim. Ideally the rotation point would be inside the rim, but this would require a different wheel, with negative offset. As for the turning radius, its larger on the 8110. On the sets mentioned it can even be modified to be tighter. The reason for this is that the 8110 needs a lot of space in the wheel wells because of the 5 stud distant rotation point. This limits the angle the wheel can have, and in addition a large angle on this kind of construction gives bad stability. What we here are trying, is to avoid these problems by transferring the rotation point to the center of the wheel. This should have been possible for TLG to do when they made new parts, but the result is far from pleasing (in my opinion). Lego lacks a good part to give realistic steering to both large and small vehicles. But at the same time, this is what makes Lego such an interesting challenge; How to make something that doesn't exist, with art we have... For smaller models it is possible, as proven in the buss a bit up in the thread. But for larger driven vehicles it's a recurring problem. The parts used for steering in 8070 and 8297 are good for making a realistic steering in non driven models, but lack the strength for use in a driven model. A lot of us are trying to find a way around this problem, and for smaller vehicles this tread is a great start. I'll try to convert some of these ideas to larger scale, but it's a problem to make it sturdy enough... -ED-

The problem with this setup is it can't be steered... I might be modified to be steered, but I can't see how...

Yes, i wonder the sme. I was disapointed when the new technic 8110 U400 unimog was precented. Here they have made new hub parts, but the rotation point is 5! studs away from the hub... I want a part that puts the rotation point inside the rim, and wheels with enough offsett that the rotation point is in the center of the wheel. I'm usually not a fan of modifying lego parts, but now I grow tired of waiting for these kinds of parts, so I might make some by myself...

Hi, I've just mocked up something in LDD. I'm not at home, so I haven't tested this, but i believe it should work do to the tolerances Lego operates with. It's a bit more compact than what you drew, it hasn't really got a good turning radius, and you will have to find a way to fit it to the car, but i gives the desired effect... Hope this helps. If not, I have several more ideas, this was just the most promising. :) -ED-

If there really is two on the front axle it may be a Watts linkage, rather then a Panhard Linkage. The Watts linkage gives better control of sideways movement, and works toward the center of the axle rather then the side. A panhard rod, working towards one side of the Axle, will act differently depending on the angle of the axle, and it will feel less pressie for the driver. It's however not usual to have a Watts Linkage on large off-road vehicles. It's more of a performance mod for high performance trucks like race trucks. I'm quite certain that the real Mercedes Unimog uses a panhard rod, and think i unlikely that it should be different in this set. Especially when looking how close they have made everything else (except the steering) to the original. Edit: Sorry, i didn't see your update before i posted.

They have tought of it. In the following picture of the front it's easy to see how it's solved. Here you can see that the top of the shockabsorber is connected to this piece: This gives the top of the shocks possibility to rotate both in X and Y axis. And in the bottom they have used this part: And only connected one of the pin holes to give the shocks ability to rotate in both Y and X axis. In the rear they have chosen a different solution. As you can see of the pictures below they have the same top mount with both X an Y axis rotation, but in the bottom I'm quite certain that the rotation in one of the axes is linked between both sides. I don't know why, but it may be a way to create a kind of torsion bar contradict lurching while turning, but I really can't say. I don't know how this is don on the real thing either, but maybe someone here knows? In this picture you can clearly see that the dark bluish grey 1x11 lift arm in the back is hanging down at a 90 degree angle. The shocks are connected to it, but hidden behind the left hand. In the next picture it rotated in place, and you can clearly see that both shocks are connected to each other through the lift arm. -ED- Edit: Updated how they solved the rear end.