Parax

Your not alone, I have 4870 X2 card also and get exactly the same problem but on 64 bit Vista. I noticed the problem when LDD 4.0 came out and was hoping that an update or a new graphics driver would fix the problem, so far it has not. Please update this thread if you find a solution. Parax.

Just 1 more... (it's in the technic control centre!) P.

Why just one axle? the original fits a joiner above and below the seat you could have put one in the backrest of the seat and above the seat... I like your steering mod, as I too did this :) nice work on the vid. P.

Wow someone has spilt awesome all over that.. and in orange too... P.

If you are stuck with NXT-G perhaps a back to basics approach will help. Lego very thoughtfully provided tutorials and instructions on how to program in NXT-G on the CD that came with the NXT kit. I'd start there! then when you understand NXT-G it really will be easy, and a lot more of these comments will make sense. As for using four sensors this is potentially a problem, as they will be calibrated differently and give different readings, so the one with the highest reading may not be in the brightest light! using one as suggested earlier and steering toward away to compare readings is probably the easiest and best solution, and is very (ok very very!) similar to a line follower (there are a great number of these on the web.) As for telling you what to do, It's for your teacher to decide how much help you get, and not for us to do your work. P.

This one? P.

Perhaps not, is it this part from this set? Parax.

for those who have not been following the discussions over at Technicbricks it seems there are at least a couple of new parts in the new 8069 set. The new actuators: (which have been discussed on EB) And a very useful new bracket part: Parax.

Congrats Zblj! Please do let us know which model won. Parax.

After giving it some thought I'm not so sure my suggestion will work very well.. There is no diagonal edge to vector thrust from so it may just work like a rotating brush, ie going nowhere.. It may get a result on sand, but only by piling the sand into shape... but I'm not sure that it would be any good anywhere else. I think the only way to get a diagonal edge would be to put short lengths of the corrugated hose over a flex hose core, but it might require some creative cutting... P.

how about this technique: perhaps with half bush spacers for a shallower pitch on the spiral: P.

Its because it is now a single piece moulding. The old part is actually two pieces glued together. There needs to be a wider radius ring (inverted ridge) inside so the pins click into place, this is not easy to mould in one piece so it is either made as a two piece (the old expensive way) or inserted through the side, by means of the slot. Lots of pieces now use the cheaper to make slot on the inside of parts, the new Differential and the beam frames spring to mind. Because the moulding tolerances can be wider and it will still grip the same. the old part was very rigid and so required a precise mould. the new part has a certain degree of flex built-in to grip the axle. P.

nah just scratching the outside...honest! Its a train power pack and a self made control unit two joysticks for pneumatic (including compressor) and electrical switches.. do you recognise the excavator from the Lego tracks challenge? (and the big red and white crane from the adult crane submissions) P.

There is a simple solution for LEGO to implement. Two photos per entry, One for the contest and a second not for publication of the builder and model and a sign saying 'technic challenge' a handwritten sign would do fine. This should eliminate all the cheating (except for those very highly skilled at photoshop!) Parax. PS: Is it just two entries? I have my doubts about another it could just be deja vu (I'am still searching the web..)

Not strictly the case that it will be slower, if they use the same Pitch, but a finer thread it can work the same (you can have two threads per turn instead of one - one turn moves you two half width threads) so it will respond exactly the same, extension per turn, but still have twice the contact pad area. (I think this would need metal though!) If they are heavy duty LA's, I'm hoping for a grey reversal. or at least a colour change (orange to red?) on the axle insert. I think it will be just the two that lift the arm, the others work well as they are. I am a little surprised they are considering a new LA (not disappointed though!) as the gearing change (8t+32t) on the lifting actuators does make a significant improvement. I'd recommend it! and because this change works so well, so I am left thinking that the Actuator change could just be a weaker clutch to prevent stalling the motors? P.

Since it has not been posted here yet: "(specifically the ‘linear actuator’)" "We’ve only just started the design and production of this new piece" Now that does sound good! P.

I am impressed with this tweak. I think this simple gear change may have put the motor back into its power band, so it is no longer struggling, it seems that this gear down slows the drive and increase the power, which seems to turn more freely, hence turns faster.. so yes almost as fast but it just works better. I'd highly recomend this change, and am starting to think this may be how the model was originally designed (and tested?) before someone tweaked it (to look better?)... I think this simple 2 gear(8t+32t) change may be what Lego are intending as the fix. (no matter how much I want an imporved actuator ) I have not tried this yet (did you mean step 36? maybe my instructions are different.) I have not tried this as it has not bugged me yet. I may try it later. I would like a long tube piece for this (new part). I do not like this change so much. it prevents manual switching (Though I dont know why you would!) and it does not cure the sticking issue (fix by pulsing all motors). This I see as a no brainer, it has minor cosmetic implications but it does ensure a equal actuation (I'm not sure how much it really helps though!). anyway batteries are on charge again more testing later. P.

I wonder how much advice Firgelli are able to give Lego? maybe they could outsource supply of some internal components to a specialist? I still hope for metal sleeve and metal screw, finer thread (same pitch) and double the length of thread maybe about 8mm so about 8-10 threads (maybe not as much as the Outside Diameter) but I'm going to have to wait and see... a tighter collar/gland might help with side loading but I think supporting the internal sleeve at both ends would help more, am I right that it is only supported at the base input shaft end? it seems to have a large amount of play inside the case when the actuator is retracted (shortest). P. PS @Allan, Race car tires are wider because for several reasons, rubber is flexible and this is key to grip, the thinner the better (more flexible) so lower pressure and wider helps, as the tire deforms onto the roughness of the road this provides 'keying' grip rather than true friction, in addition tires are 'sticky' and race tires even more so, so you want greater area for the sticky to apply, and to go further tires leave small amounts of rubber behind when loaded this rubber is torn away in a shear situation from the tire, you would loose grip faster with small contact area so a larger surface means a greater shear surface, but this is about the elasticity of the rubber and its tearing strength again not really true friction.

Not in snow! ;) The opposite applies! Frictional loss is proportional to force and area (like pressure) and frictional coefficient. Taking the car analogy further, wider tires are more likely to aquaplane! this tells us that lubrication works best under lower pressures, and hence greater areas. If you think of lubrication as tiny balls it is sensible that more rolling balls (more area) equals more lubrication. P.

I had the 8043 running constantly for a whole day before it started to get a little 'rough' initially I thought the actuators had become out of sync (they need to work exactly together), but further testing has revealed it to be a power & friction issue. I really like the set and do want to keep it, but I fear that it will not be easy for Lego to fix. Which is a shame as it may scare them from producing such complex sets again. I do think there is too much friction inside the LA's possibly more threads are required on the shaft I think there are 2-3 equalling about 4-5mm² contact area! increasing this to at least 6 threads would help a lot! doubling or even tripling the screw thread contact area would vastly reduce the thread pressure and hence friction, and using a more precise metal threaded sleeve instead of the (deformable under pressure) white plastic would definitely help a great deal. I also think that there is a quality issue with the motors. some do seem weak as Conchas noted here there is no reason for this as motor technology is really good these days. (just look at RC cars) by using slightly more expensive($2-$5) materials these motors could perform tremendously well. The Third concern that I have found is the gear train friction, which is a significant loss in some cases. Oddly I found that sometimes binding can occur in certain directions, This is most obvious by selecting the neutral gear position so everything should turn freely, and then manually turning certain features. By doing this I noticed that one track turns freely in one direction but can stiffen/bind when turned the other way. Also there is a lot of 'cross torque' being fed into other axles presumably from stiff idlers, perhaps these could do with a redesign? (maybe its time to loose the now redundant teeth too?) although this does not seem to be a problem on the main boom lifting gear train. Finally, If Lego do make alternative versions of the LA's or Motors I hope they will use a different colour scheme! perhaps reverse the Greys? dark Grey actuators with all Metal internals would be appreciated, as would dark grey stronger motors (maybe neodymium magnets?). both of these would be more expensive than what they are currently producing, but would be a better quality, for a few dollars more. And most importantly to this thread would enable the 8043 to remain the same. Parax.

See my thoughts here Parax.

Or a language joke that does not translate so well. I really liked your model it made me smile, and I think just as many technic fans will have seen it on EB too. P.

In this case That is NOT correct! Normally I would agree, BUT in this moc there is a geared wheel hub (3:1) so the stress is no way near as high on the bevel gears or the UJ's. they rotate 3 times faster and have 1/3rd of the torque. This is a good design. Try it out and see. Parax.

Yes I think looking at several different pictures that they are standard beams. the perspective in the big gizmondo image plays tricks because the double beams at the base are lit so that you cannot see the line between them inducing the effect of a double width beam, or that the others are half width. All I can say now is that this is a really big craft! P.

Wow 21 would be phenominal! I didn't count them all But there are many different lengths! Parax.