2GodBDGlory

Nice work! Those Vitaras are great cars. I bought a couple a while back to fix up (Mine were badged as a Suzuki Sidekick and a Pontiac Sunrunner), but these rigs just rust out too fast in Canada, so I abandoned them.

I couldn't say. I probably would be with you on sticking to genuine parts--that way, no one can criticize your work by saying "Well, anybody can build stuff like that if they use custom parts!" And then, even if enough people decide that they are willing to use them, 3D printed ones would inevitably be significantly more expensive.

Agreed. Perhaps they will be 4x4s each year, or perhaps not. I suppose we will find out in 2021! That last suggestion sounds wonderful. It could be a successor to the classic Auto Chassis sets, with plenty of technical complexity, with no bodywork driving up costs and hiding the mechanisms. Not that I don't appreciate the 1:8 supercars, though.

The old 14T does have a few more applications than that. I have used doubled ones against a 20T double-bevel gear (It can be (rarely) useful in gearboxes where you need to have a sequence of gears that goes 12-20-14-20, where the 12 and 14 axles need different ratios), and because they are doubled, I would imagine that they are tolerably strong. I imagine they could also work with 36T double-bevel gears easily, and probably other gears with unusual spacing. Ah, the 32 tooth gear. Many are the times when I recline in a leather-backed chair (read: free desk chair that was going to the dump), holding a half-finished gearbox in my hand. Success is near, but yet impossibly far. A single 32-tooth gear, I know, could solve all my problems--worse, it should solve all my problems, but even after a period of forty-four years, this seemingly elementary gear is yet consigned to the the imaginations of Technic builders (and 3D printers). Shaking my head in disgust, I settle down to restart the gearbox, which will now inevitably be far larger and less efficient than it could have been, if only, if only...

You're welcome!

I think that there could be such a part, but it would have the downfall of having to be molded into an axle, since an axle couldn't fit inside of it. Thus, flexibility in attachment would be limited to whatever size axle Lego decided to put it on/in.

As for concerns about strength, I built a copy to test. It could stall a PF L-motor, but not a PF Xl-motor. I modified the original design, as shown here, and now it can stall an XL. The little spacers you can see are cut from the bottom of a 4L ice cream tub, and help keep up tension.

Huh. I have worked on a few servos, with mixed results, but I never tried that. Also, as a side note, it appears that newer servos have some grease on the contacts from the factory, but they are still breaking.

Yeah, it is pretty much useless in practice. I only posted it as a "fun fact" of sorts.

I have observed in the past when fiddling with gears that an axle "meshed" with a 12T gear, in the spot next to it, it is actually possible for the axle to function as a 4-tooth gear with the 12T gear, creating a 1:3 ratio in about the same space as a traditional 8:8 gear setup. Later, when I got my first 28T gears, I found that it can mesh with the axle as well. There may be some spacings in two "dimensions" that work with different gears, but I haven't really looked for them. Of course, most of the time this is impractical, because there is unusually high friction between the axle and the gear, and under torque it will generally skip, but I suppose it might come in handy some day. P.S. I would have put images on here of the concept, but it is a bit of a bother for me, and I suppose you can imagine it yourself.

Okay, that makes sense. I sort of suspected that, but I didn't (and don't) have enough math education yet to understand why.

Wow! That is very clever! I would still expect that traditional 2x4 8-speeds are going to be more practical in MOCs, but I understand that that is not really what you were aiming for, anyway. It is interesting how it adds speeds, rather than multiplying them. I always like seeing interesting gearboxes, so keep up the good work!

A few months ago, I was considering what would happen if you continued a sequence like that to infinity! I figured that, normally, friction would stop the motor immediately, but since torque increases constantly as well, it might be possible for it to run. Is that the basic idea behind this machine?

That was the first thing I tried, but I had trouble. I could get the gear side of the differential nicely reinforced, but the lock side had a relatively long axle before I could brace it, so it could wiggle a bit. I was testing with an XL motor directly attached to the 12T drive gear, and both outputs blocked. Perhaps that is too much torque to expect, but this truck will be very heavy, and I doubt I can do any gearing down after the differential (Planetary hubs won't work, since I am installing disc brakes)

I just got my first couple new 28T differentials. I was quite excited about them, and planned to use one in the rear axle of a truck I am working on. It has a solid rear axle, so width isn't a problem. I had been planning on using the integrated part of the differential with a driving ring for locking, and driving the differential perpendicularly with a 12T gear, but I can't come up with anything that can take high torque without skipping between the 12 and 28T gears. Does anyone have any suggestions? If not, I may just relocate the differential into the frame and run the half-shafts down to the axle, which would allow for easier differential locking. Thanks!

As you said, the biggest issue with the gearbox is the gears being out of order, but if it were to be shifted by a PU L-motor, like in the Volvo articulated hauler, some programming could be used to allow it to shift through the gears in order. It might look like this: Motor starts in first at 0 degrees, rotates 180 degrees clockwise to second, rotates 90 degrees counterclockwise to third, then rotates 180 degrees clockwise to fourth. (This is just a guess--I haven't built the gearbox, so I am not sure what order the gears are in). The same procedure could be used in reverse for downshifts. Apart from this suggestion, the gearbox looks promising, with impressive simplicity. The use of an extra driving ring to transfer the shifting is clever. The concerns about durability may or may not be legitimate in this configuration, but I expect that there is a way to brace the ends strongly. Good work!

I prefer the 70' rear end and 68' front end!

I quite like this model! It is very unconventional, unlike the usual 1:8-independent suspension-piston engine-steering-RC-opening parts-pretty interior-pretty exterior cars we see these days. It has plenty of technical appeal, and uses interesting techniques to model the real car's body. I do prefer the '70 Charger to the '68 though, mostly because of the taillights.

It does seem that way. It seems that the big-selling themes get new minifigure molds en masse, but Technic doesn't get much. This does have pluses though, because too much specialization can stunt creativity. (I do still get excited about our new parts, though. Why can't Lego make a few more clutch gears, and a 32T gear?)

Neat! The size is the biggest turnoff for me, but you did make a small one too (presumably less smooth), so I guess you have all the bases covered! I like to see some innovation in automatic gearboxes--I feel that this is a ripe field for innovation.

Hello, As I have mentioned before, I have made many models in the past, before I started using Eurobricks. I formerly posted my stuff on MocPages, but when that site ceased to function (for me, at least), I started posting on here. Fortunately, before the site went down, I backed up all my posts in a Word document. I am unwilling to put in the massive amount of effort to adapt the format of around 70 posts or so to Eurobricks, but I can easily enough copy and paste my MocPages descriptions onto here, and add images to BrickSafe. So, I will probably gradually start adding my old stuff onto this page. Naturally, a lot of the stuff is unimpressive, since I have learned a lot over the years, and even the technically impressive stuff is probably ugly, but at least I can reference past models of mine intelligently, and there may be some posts of interest to viewers. Technic Dodge Challenger Delete | Edit Add a comment Zoom in My first model to be posted on here is a Dodge Challenger, at about 1:12 scale. It has four motorized functions using Power Functions. About this creation This model has front independent suspension with two hard shocks per wheel and a rear live axle with one hard shock per wheel. A PF M motor steers the front wheels using a worm gear, while an XL motor drives the rear wheels through a six-speed sequential gearbox and a U-joint. A M motor shifts the gearbox (Which is similar in working principle, if not construction, to Sheepo's), using a worm gear and a rack. There is also a speed indicator. A PF L motor drives the rear brakes from atop the rear axle by rotating beams that pull other beams to press rubber axle joiners against the brake disks. It also turns a PF switch to turn off the drive motor and keep it from stalling. The doors can open, but there is sadly no interior, as the gearbox was simply too big. Even though this is my first MOC to be posted on here, I have been building Technic models for over a year, and I will likely post them over time. IMAGES AT https://bricksafe.com/pages/2GodBDGlory/112-dodge-challenger Honda Civic Type R This model, a Technic Honda Civic Type R, which is one of my favorite Japanese cars, has four motorized functions. About this creation This car has full independent suspension (My first well-scaled car with it: the Civic has small wheels in real life, thus meaning a bigger car than my others with the same Lego wheels)with castor and camber angle. It also has motorized steering using a M-motor and a worm gear, Rear-wheel drive (I later learned it should have been Front-wheel drive) using an XL motor, a four-speed sequential gearbox with a speed indicator using an L-motor, and an interesting piston engine. The piston engine can run slowly using just the drive motor, or faster using a PF E-motor through an adder. LEDs also go on in the engine bay when you start the E-motor. Now, back to the gearbox. It is for the most part your standard two-beam controlled four-speed, similar to Sariel and countless others's but with a stepper. However, it also has two beams that are pushed forward and backward at the front for the speed indicator. The hood can open manually. The two doors on each side can be opened using one dampened shock absorber for each side (The front and rear doors on the same side are linked). This model, in my opinion looked and functioned pretty well, but there was no fourth seat because the gearbox's stepper took that space. I should also mention that this model is actually older than my Dodge Challenger, because I am now posting older MOCs. Also, after I finished this model I got more PF, so my later creations are more complex. I hope you enjoy this! P.S. I was unable to post my video because it gave me something about a fatal error and a 30 minute timeout. Maybe my video was too long (about four minutes). IMAGES AT https://bricksafe.com/pages/2GodBDGlory/112-honda-civic-type-r

Instead of using an O-ring, I often use small plastic parts I cut out of the bottom of a 4L ice cream tub. I cut a strip, punch a bunch of holes in it, and cut several segments with holes in the middle.

I have been experimenting with several different designs, which I will list here: 1. 2L worm with 12T gears, 3-speed. This gearbox has very weird spacing, and friction issues 2. 2L worm with 24T gears, 4-speed. This gearbox is way too big 3. 1L worm with 12T gears, 9-speed. Probably too ambitious, the worm skips against the gears sometimes, it requires grease to work well, and it has slightly weird spacing Probably I will go back to the original, simple design, and try to refine it more.

Also, low torque in the drivetrain makes it less likely that your gears are going to skip--most important in complex gearboxes

I just built a little mock-up car, and it revealed some flaws in the gearbox. The tuning was off, so it would only get into third on downhills, but more worryingly, it would often skip, with the worm between the 8T gears. I think I will try to upgrade to 12T gears, which would add strength, and keep the worm firmly seated on a gear more of the time.