DrJB

We should ask mahjqa, some of his MOCs are notorious for using such/similar bionicle parts.

I have collected many of those, and have not used them yet. But yes, they do have promising potential.

While I see your point, there is some problem with this part, both as is (with an apparent kingpin) and after you add a caster. I say 'apparent' because what this part does is tilt the whole wheel/tire by some angle, and this is different from a kingpin. If you take the part you're showing and attach a wheel/tire to it, the whole wheel/tire will be tilted by the same amount as the kingpin. The best parts for making kingpin/caster are the latest hubs from 42000 as you can offset the top/bottom towball connections either sideways (kingpin) or fore-aft (for caster). The combination of the three A-arms below (old, new, narrow) makes for a good palette to choose from. I'm confident that the combination of parts below, togethrr with some offsetting connectors opens up substantially the options for suspension tweaking (even multi-link) In contrast, the parts below, and while we love them very much, offer no option for suspension geometry tweaking.

The main 'evolution' as I see it is rather simple. In the old studfull cars, the width of such cars was even, and if the diff has to be centered between two beams, well, it needed an even length (4L). With the advent of studless, the width of cars became odd numbers, and for a diff to fit between two liftarms, it had to have an odd length (3L). This is true for rear or front diffs only. For diffs in 4x4 setting, that need to be placed between front and rear axles, the requirement for odd length is no longer needed. That is why, in most 4x4 cars (original/MOC), the center diff is always 4L as it offers features the 3L simply does not have. Of course, going from 4L to 3L, we give up the diff-lock feature and the ability to mesh spur gears. In that sense, the old diff (4L) is more versatile than the new (3L). These are few reasons the 4L has not been discontinued by TLG (yet). Anyone sees this otherwise?

Here is my attempt at replicating this beautiful masterpiece in LXF. Of course, and thanks to LDD's non-collision constraints, I was not able to put all the sub-assemblies together. If anyone can improve upon the model, by all means. Also, the Aventador uses the 8070 spindle, which is not available in LDD. As such, the tires are 'floating'. I also changed the wheel color to titanium, looks a bit 'different', and maybe even promising. Lamborghini Aventador.lxf

You' right, and all this connectivity makes sense in the context of developing software that handles all the connections. Or at least, that is how the discussion might evolve. That said, i do not know of any Lego CAD program that knows about gravity or which was is up. LDD is the only one that does not tilt the z-axis, but I'm sure this was done to be easy on the young lego audience. That said, you can be assured that your roof will not fall off :)

Possibly another reason why studless beams/liftarms were adopted quickly: recall that in that time period, oil was expensive, and the 16x1 technic brick uses almost twice as much plastic as the equivalent 15x1 liftarm. There are huge cost savings going from beams to liftarms, in addition to other benefits.

Can't be a pneumatic Easter Egg? Or is that too late?

You're right. I guess I was focusing on mainly technic and few system, but if you look more, I'm sure there are many types of connections possible out there, some we might have not thought of yet. Very interesting read indeed. Bookmarked for tomorrow's lunch break.

Very good find! I like the one below (#7 I think). It's a cross-breed between technic and trains. Any volunteer? The size of the circle (scale of the crane) is already fixed by the curved tracks of the train system and that means a MOC is going to be HUGE!

That's exactly my dilemma. I have more parts than I'll ever need ... but not in dark-bluish grey, especially the system bricks.

Agreed with above posts: Get them both, and if you already have the crawler, there is no need to get the 41999. Unless of course you're after dark blue panels not available anywhere else. The other two must-have sets in my opinion are the red truck 8258 and the backhoe 8455.

Thank you for the reference. That is indeed a very good read, and very much in line with what I was thinking. Again, if one pauses and thinks a bit more about the whole lego system, there is way more TLG does than just molding plastic (reminds me of another thread). Such connectivity database must be hardcoded within LDD, and yet none of this exists in the LDraw based suite (anyone knows otherwise?). Given that for any given connection, any male part can mate with a multitude of female parts (and vice-versa) complicates the math considerably. Because for any connection, there are ensuing degress-of-freedom (I'm sure Sergio SR3D has already stumbled upon this) that are allowed or not. For example pin+hole has only rotation, but must also account for smooth/friction. Likewise, the tow ball connection has 3 rotations as DOFs, but they are limited in range. So, for each type of connection, one must specify the degrees of freedom, the range/bounds for each of those, and whether they are tight/loose. The more one thinks about this, the more one appreciates (gets humbled by) the effort the TLG programmers (and mathematicians) had to invest into LDD. Connectivity itself is only the beginning, as on top of that, there ARE always exceptions: a 2x1 tile cannot mate with a liftarm (illegal in LDD), but two 1x1 tiles can (side by side). This means that the connectivity matrix (or database) not only handles general principles/connections, but most likely every single part combination ! One of the 'events' that got me thinking more about this is, I was building the yellow Aventador in LDD, and on the car's underside, the author uses the old differential, coupled to a transmission ring. Essentially as below: + + While building gear boxes, LDD lets you move the coupler (center part) left/right to engage either gear. If you try to engage the driving ring into the differential, LDD won't let you. Some call this an LDD bug. To me, it makes me appreciate even more the amount of work TLG must invest to make new parts available in the LDD palette. It is way beyond geometry only. The connectivity has to be right, and I'm sure there are many other part attributes I/we haven't even thought about. I said enough for a post. Who's next?

To me they're all 'tools of the trade', and yes, in my toolbox, I do have my 'favorite', and there are others I hardly use. One item I recently bought that enables me to do nonstudded statinary machines is a 21×31 baseplate (below) full of pin and axle holes. It was made by a third party company, and I wish Lego made few dimensions available.

*smack* ... ouch ...

Sure, we can start with the legal techniques only then extend, or go full-fledge legal/possible and see where that leads us. This is for sure an 'academic' excursion/distraction and for sure there are people here with the right background. If you pause a minute and think about it, the people who designed LDD had to start with some sort of algorithm that handles connectivity first.

This topic/question has been on my mind for a while. I must warn, this might not be for the fain of heart. In reality, there are three main/distinct parts. These are: Inventory/Identify all the possible connections in Lego 1. Axle vs . Axle hole 2. Pin vs. Pin hole 3. Stud as in system bricks 4. Spherical ball joints as in technic tow ball 5. Ball/Socket as in Hero Factory 6. Dual small pins of Lego Factory 7. 2mm bar vs. hole in technic bricks' studs 8. ... I'm sure there are few more Now, once all connections have been identified, organize 'all' parts based on the type of connections they have. 1. Parts could belong to a single sub-group as in axles/bushings 2. Parts that have 2 types of connections (common amongst technic parts) 3. Parts that do not mate with anything else but parts within their own family (e.g. 90617/90622) 4. Else? Last, build a connectivity matrix of that list, for a given part, all other parts that could mate with it. Some skills in Math/Programming might be needed Any brave souls out there?

At first I thought we've had this discussion many times but, when you pause and think of it, the answers will vary/evolve for the simple reason that, at any instant of time (over few years), the opinions will sway one way or the other depending on various facts: 1. Collection of studless sets increases with years moving forward 2. New EB members tend to be younger, and thus may not have been exposed to the studded technic 3. Older members (studded lovers) might move on to other hobbies. As for me, I've had a feeling of deja-vu for this question few times. Have I been on this forum at this hobby too long?

Guys. please try to post pictures whenever you can (Should be easy, go to bricklink, find item, and right click copy/paste). Grazie!

Have you tried using these gears? They came in red/yellow in few sets only, and might fit the printer's belts you're referring to.

I have nothing against red either, on the contrary. I was simply (playfully) referring to a thread I started a whie back, and in it, we all discussed/debated that there are too many RED/Black supercars. Since that thread, there were several efforts (cars) made in colors other than red.

This has 8880/8448 written all over it. Agreed, it's such a pity that those parts were of very limited distribution, mostly exclusive to those two sets only.

My mistake , and You're absolutely right, the black/lime is just stunning! :thumbup: And, I like how he used the black/ribbed (not so rare) 19L flex axles.

Here's another one ... I like the 'function' but have not used them in anything specific (besides slowing down doors as in 8466)

Didn't we say a while back: No more red cars, por favor? :laugh: :laugh: Unlike Rishab, I'm not sure about the black/orange combination. Yes, when used judiciously, those two colors offer the best contrast (no wonder construction machinery is orange black) However, the unavoidable gray parts (propeller blades) qualify as 'neutral' colors and kind of blur the contrast a bit. But then again, this is just about 'taste' and color combination/matching Edit: My mistake, I read too quickly one more time and got the colors mixed up (as Rishab clarified below)