Lipko

Beautiful work! Too bad you are not allowed to share instructions/3D model, tons of people would definitely built it.

That's beautiful.

Thank you for the comment! I forgot to add that this version is a little different from the LDD version and there may be parts list mistakes due buffer exchanges in MLCad.

The instructions are finished, thank you again, Blakbird! You can download it here, and I will submit it to Rebrickable too.

With the help of Blakbird, it will be finished and published in the next day(s).

All looks good, and your renders are pretty good to, so get whatever is easier to acquire.

I got to the point where I officially give up making the instructions. LPub keeps throwing the positioned callouts randomly. If I reopen the saved file with the corrected positions, some of the steps screw up the already positioned stuff. Positioning callouts and steps mean 5 minutes of positioning, because after dragging the callout or step, the step gets to a totally random position, often off the paper. Editing the source file in LPub means crash. Printing to PDF (in the hope that it speeds up LPub a bit to pre-render everything), I have to press cancel on the generic WinXP "app has crashed, send report?" window 50 times (even Acrobat reader crashed just now with the output file...) And of course I updated to the latest LPub. Rant over. I'm asking for help to finish the instructions on which I have been working since 3 months now. I think for you experienced builders, it shouldn't take long to finalize the instructions (probably I'm either doing something wrong in the MLCad file, or LPub is only buggy on my system). Here is the final stepped file with rotations, arrows and other buffer-exchange parts: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/szecs/2015-supercar/LDD/2015_supercar_001_final.mpd Note, that the the LSynth is not run yet, but the LSynth commands are there. Thanks for the help in advance!

Thanks for the comments, the notepad thing is the best so far. I wish I had more time, I would really love to take a look at the source code of LDraw programs

Hi all! Is there really no sensible mechanism to copy-paste parts from one multi-part file to another? It doesn't even work when MLCad is open in two instances with the two files. I had to copy the parts to a new submodel, export it (by deselecting the other 60 subparts one-by-one) then I could import the model file to the other MPD and copy the parts from it then deleting the export.ldr. Is it a better way transfer data between files?

Thanks for posting the internal render, I noticed a small mistake (axle between the differential and the gearbox was not properly placed).

Instruction making speeds up, I will have a draft but buildable version in a few days.

It drains power even if it doesn't actually do work?

The MLCad file is ready for a while but I finally added the LSyth parts. Unfortunately the model misses some parts (the file I use for making the instructions is correct now) I did a quick render: You can find the mlcad file here: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/szecs/2015-supercar/LDD/2015_supercar_001.mpd The instructions are coming along very slowly.

I have a MsC in engineering too, and I don't fully agree with you, though I agree with principles (like not introducing stress and the others). But I think the slack in Lego is considerable, and even real machines rely on "slack" in a way that Lego can't do: rubber springs and rubber joints all around. Even Lego designers "legalized" this twisting slack-reliant suspension technique in the Mercedes Acors model: the front suspension is something I would have never considered to be legal (I used a very similar suspension in my hot rod and I wasn't too confident in it's legality, even though it had 18 long trailing arms instead of 5, as in the Acors).

It exists, but some parts are oriented wrongly, somehow positions are very inaccurate (I noticed almost 0.25L misalignment). However, I used one trick: reading off exact angles from LDD then use them in MLCad.

Thanks for the interest! Pop-Freak, the model looks good in blue! The instructions are coming along, but very slowly. With my current tempo, I think I need a month to finish them.

I dare to say that I think it's a little bit more messy than your previous builds Anyway, you managed to solve many things I didn't manage to solve in bigger models, so this model is is still one of the most awesomest.

How much percentage is the design cost and how much is the actual making cost of the mold? Sure, Lego pieces are complex but most Lego pieces are compounds of common shapes (like in MLCAD). And sure, Lego pieces are precise, but not every single surfaces need to be precise. Pretty much the surfaces that are in connection with another part, and these surfaces (studs, pinholes, bars, etc) are again the common shapes.

I'm anything but a molding expert, but is it really that expensive to make the tool? I mean, such a huge company either design/manufactures its own molds or has long proven/tried suppliers who design a tool in no time due to their experience with the material and similar parts. So a few molds that aren't reused again is really a bottleneck? They don't even have to manufacture more tools because the relative low number of produced parts, there's no significant tool wear.

remove the s from the https

The LDD file can be animated: just remove the gears, the switching arm and one of the T-beams and start to rotate:

That mechanism is ingenious. The wheels don't have to be aligned, basically it has continuous transition between the steering modes. I though it's not possible in a simple way, but Barman proved me wrong. And proved that I am so far from being smart...

Based on the demand for the free instructions (made by others) for my other models, I could buy a calculator...

Thank you for the comments! Based on your comments I'm on the right track. I have 58 submodels at the moment and there are even submodels with only one part to draw more attention with the callout that the part has to be inserted. I intentionally left the flex parts at the end with placeholder parts so that hopefully I can set everything (even the layout) up and replace the placeholders with the actual flex parts. I don't see how could I get away with not using buffer exchange, there are many situations when it's very tricky to show which pin/axle needs to go to which hole especially when joining larger subassemblies. I also find buffer exchange a good tool to draw attention to parts that otherwise would be harder to spot (for example due to parts added in one step symmetrically). Though I'm not experienced enough and sometimes I overdo it. Adding this extra bit doesn't seem to be too time consuming but along with the frequent verification in view mode, this can be an issue. Another thing I "learned" is to finish the main assembly before the submodels, so the buffer exchange stuff in the submodels obscuring stuff in the main model in view mode won't bother me (I still don't know though that whether it's a bug or some hidden setting). That's for the pdf export tip, I will certainly do that. So to sum it up: probably it is just this huge work and should just discipline myself and finish it (I did instructions for a 8-900 part model before, that was also slow but this one is getting over my head). Thanks Alasdair for the offer, I'll fight a bit more with finishing it myself.

Thanks for the reply! Is it normal that after panning/rotating the view in MLCad in edit mode, it takes 2-3 seconds to redraw the view? And 5-6 seconds to swap between view and edit mode? I'm starting to think that the bottleneck is that I have to check if the step/arrow/rotation is correct and what's the next task after every single task with this slow process (where 80% of the time is waiting the program to refresh). I wish I had better memory as a gold fish. If my machine is the reason and MLCad is not that slow normally, then I really have to ask for help to complete the instructions.