Jump to content

DrJB

Eurobricks Dukes
  • Posts

    3,006
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by DrJB

  1. I assume you're driving the two motors in 'parallel' (otherwise the gears would break), to have a higher torque on the drive train. If that is the case, then the down-stream components are certainly not designed to handle that high of a torque/power. There is enough published data about such motors to enable one to do some basic calcs, and that for sure could be a fun/rewarding activity. However here, I would do a brute force approach: if you run the drive-train with a single motor, do you still have the same issue? Depending on the answer, we can tell whether the components are under-sized, on something wrong with the kinematics ... my 0.02 On a different note, it looks like you're using suspended pendular axes for an 'all-terrain' vehicle ... that and the dirt on the tires tell me you might be pushing the parts to their limit.
  2. Thank you for the info and the link. You're absolutely correct, If I recall, the trans colors are based on acetate (bio-degradable plastic from wood sources), most parts are made from ABS, and the soft Bionicle only God knows ... It seems they used soft plastics for Bionicle for durability considerations and the relatively 'younger' audience.
  3. I was building a contraption (Platonic Solids) using a combination of the parts below I had gotten a large number of the last one in 'pearl gold'. Such color however is made of a different/softer plastic than other typical colors, and this results in the mating parts having very little clutching power. Of course TLG is very well aware of this, and they simply cannot design different molds for different materials. The point here is, when you're planning your next project, choose your colors 'wisely'. In any event, what I found is: 1. Highest clutching power - trans colors 2. Typical clutching power - typical solid colors 3. Lowest clutching power - pearl gold and most parts used in the Bionicle sets Any member on here with expertise in plastics cares to comment?
  4. Typically, most lego parts have the part ID molded in on them. Get yourself a lighted magnifier though as those markings are very small, and often difficult to find, especially on the small parts. Some very small parts do not have such markings at all.
  5. Looks very nice ... makes me want to dismantle mine and update it ... hmmm I was looking for such set many years ago and they were hard to find. Then I opted to buy the parts separately from various places. Got the wheels/tires/gear shifter all from Australia for a little fortune. Then few weeks later one of them popped up on eBay and I won the auction. The end time was late at night and many people were in bed by then. In any event, I have today my completed model and also those spare parts. I tell you this though: white parts from that time period do not age too well, and the half bushings were prone to cracking.
  6. If I may ... As much as I like the styling and functions of the 8880, I feel the studded parts detract a bit. Wherever possible, I would replace all the beams with the corresponding lift-arms. Also, regarding the gear rack. The one you're building is 12L long. There is already a part of such length, though you might have to shim it vertically https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=32132&name=Technic, Gear Rack 1 x 12 with Holes&category=[Technic, Gear]#T=C&C=11
  7. Yes ... friction will do the trick as well.
  8. With such diagram now in the open ... should we expect some copycat solutions from the 'far-east' anytime now? Also, and on a slightly different topic, I was looking at the parts for Spike Prime Expansion Set (45681), and one such part is a 'proto-board' for mounting 3rd party SBC (Single Board Computers). What does this say about Lego? ... opening up to Arduino, Raspberry PI and the like? https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=45681-1
  9. I agree fully, change those gears and also the toothed connectors and half bushings. Those tend to break very quickly. and and ... For the gearbox, you can copy the one in 8466. Though have to make it more compact as the 8466 is rather 'tall'
  10. Not to 'excuse' them but, it appears for their electronics/software, they were always sub-contracting them. As such, it is difficult to ensure continuity/longevity. I doubt they have the internal know-how and resources for that. TLG has primarily been a plastic toy company. Anything else is, well, find someone outside who can do it and pay them.
  11. hehe .. you're the cup half full kind-a-guy ... *cheers*
  12. Perhaps you have a MOC where you wanted to use the propeller below, only to find out such propeller has a pin (not axle) hole .... hmmm ... How do you spin it then? Well, you look closely on the back, and you realize that such part can mate with the gear-syncro ... and voila! or Oh but wait, there are two rows of blades on that turbo-fan, and the pitch angles are opposite. Thus, no matter how fast you spin such part, you will get zero net flow, and a lot of vorticity... too bad :(
  13. CD files (ZIPped) uploaded to Archive.org. Try to download/run. If not, make an ISO on a virtual drive. ... Someone please try this and let me know if it works. https://archive.org/details/vision-command-xp
  14. Sounds good. I'll do that sometime tomorrow as I must go to bed now. Good Day.
  15. You're absolutely correct... Good News: I looked into my old collection of CDs and found one that says Vision Command - Windows XP. I recall now that, within the Vision Command box, there was a Win98 CD but there was also a letter that gave instructions on how to obtain the XP CD, and I did request it years ago. Now, how do I get a 'copy' of such CD to you, it is about 350 MB. Options?
  16. When 9731 was released it came with a Windows 98 CD (I have it, in English). Are you sure there is a Win XP version?
  17. How about the new syncro, does not fit either? vs. or maybe even the extension I do not have the new differential and as such can't check... but still curious.
  18. It seems not everyone on this forum into wheeled vehicles .. and that is rather refreshing. Keep up the good work, as for sure your accomplishments are very inspiring :) @Thorsten - Glad you got the card.
  19. If I may add my 0.02 here ... 1. Typically B-models are less attractive than the A-models. Example: The Silver Champion vs. 'squarish' truck 2. Typically, by the time I'm done building the A-model, I display and forget about the B-model 3. Old Lego sets were some sort of 'universal' where one can build a multitude of contraptions. Modern sets offer only one choice 4. With the large part count, who wants to go through the process of disassembling 2000+ part model and build something else?
  20. I thought this was an Efferman part (which I ordered only 2 weeks ago) ... In fact, it is a Lego part and came with the Airbus Helicopter. I've been away from this forum for so long and was not keeping track of the latest. Incidentally, such part is NOT available on the PAB website ... and commands hefty prices on BL.
  21. Thank you Alex ... I have none of the 7L thin arms ... lol ... a BL order I must do :)
  22. Thank You. I got the 6-blades version of that part just few days ago :)
  23. Every now and then (or more often) I stumble upon very interesting topics in this forum. Is there a way to 'bookmark' such preferred threads, from within eurobricks? Mods: Sorry was not sure where to post this. Please move/relocate as appropriate.
  24. Thank You very much ... and for the fast response as well.
  25. Beautiful, great work. I like how you incorporated both collective and cyclic. If I recall, Lego has never done that. I bought 9396 a while back when it came out, hoping for such feature but it did not have it. The rotor was fairly 'massive' and complex though. Can you show some more detail on how you did both cyclic/collective? I just bought two of Efferman's parts from shapeways but haven't got the time to put them to test (must sand them down first ... but who has the time?) It would be nice to motorize the rotor and show the blades' pitch changes as they rotate against the vertical axis, both for a stationary and rotating observer, a bit like what Akiyuki typically does with his complex GBCs.
×
×
  • Create New...