Bzroom

That is awesome dude! I really hope you can rig up the valve on the outside with the crazy reverse linkage thing. I really want to buy some of these wheels and give this a shot! Is there a recent set that sells these steam powered wheels? Or are these old school/need to be ordered off brick link?

noooooooo. i wanna buy this car (again, + new body) so baddd.

How do you plan to do the drive shafts? edit: Oh I see, the telescoping universal joint in there. Using universal joints on these cars always seems like the weakest part. I think if i was building a rock crawler, or high powered car, i would try to use the yellow 4 tooth gear.

Thank you! Perfect timing for that advice because I have just created the palette model! However, when I create the folder like you asked, and placed my model there (named: HotRod.lxf), LDD failed to launch saying "Could not load content, please reinstall." edit: This worked on my Windows 7 machine! (but not xp) For building instructions. I plan to use Lipko's advice. I'll build the entire model in LDD, then i'll take it apart, step by step, taking screen shots. If I move the removed parts into a small group in the corner before the screen shot, then when i play back the images in reverse, it will represent the parts needed for the next step.

Awesome advice! Thank you. I need to assemble my light booth and attain a DSLR in order to do that! I was kind of hoping that LDD would allow to me to filter parts by set, to verify i hadn't used any extra pieces. But it seems like that is wishful thinking at that LDD doesnt actually include many sets to filter by (around 5 in total.) The reversed-disassembly seems like a great way to go.

This is my first completed MOC that uses only the pieces from a single set. The intention was to build an "alternate model" that anyone who owned the 7347 set could build. I hope to upload instructions just as soon as i can figure out how to make them. The set of origin: https://www.google.c...rch?q=7347 lego I think mine is significantly more appealing than the C-model included with the set. I'd love to have some feedback on what you like about it and what you don't. Thank you!

I kind of suspected that "dont use LDD" would be the advice. I was optimistic and hoping that I could use the official LEGO tool. I'll give LDraw a shot. Thank you. I have another quick question before I give up on LDD completely. I'm trying to use the "filter pallet by sets" feature, since my MOC uses parts from a single set. When I click on the filter button, it only says "hero factory" and I can't figure out how to pick a set. Has anyone had any luck with that feature?

Sorry if this has been posted to death. I searched the forums and with Google and could only find a bit of information. The way I see it, using LDD, I need to build the model in the order that I would expect the builder to assemble it. I'd rather build the model from all sides, recreating sub components as I dissemble the original. I'd rather that digitization process not affect the build instructions. It would definitely be possible to build one version in LDD with any arbitrary order, and then build another in a better order. I could maybe import and export different components to create modules. I'm not sure how this will affect the assembly instructions. I could save different components into different files, representing the major components to assemble, and then build these all again once more in a master file. I'm just thinking out loud now. How do you guys do it? Can you recommend me a guide?

If i'm not mistaken Paul has recently auctioned one of his cars for charity. This may be the car that the boy is holding.

That is an amazing linkage! Edit: I was looking for a mechanical solution that would allow me to continuously transition from forward to reverse. Since the travel is not continuous, this seems to be the ticket! This thing would look very nice on the side of the locomotive, you could use half thick lift arms, attaching the valve just above the cylinder. It appears that this would be the most elegant and effective method, working just like the real thing. To summarize how the linkage works, the important part is the rocker arm. Each side of the rocker is traveling the opposite direction. If you could variably adjust where the valve attaches to the rocker, you could control both the direction and range of travel of the valve. This gives you continuous adjustment from reverse-full-power to no-power, to forward-full-power, with one adjustment. You can see that the rod attached to the valve can travel up and down the rocker, based on the angle of the cam. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/60163_Tornado_motion.jpg

How many bricks tall?

Can you fit 5 switches in there? 3 of their levers linked together, 2 of their levers attached to the drive shaft cam? what is the total volume you have to work with? can you make a sketch?

I think the red split will still pose a problem, because when one drive shaft valve becomes inactive, it will become the path of least resistance. The air will just flow out that valve. You may need to tie in a 3rd reverser valve on the red fork, to deactivate the valve entirely. This is becoming quite heavy duty. I hope there is a more elegant way.

The servo logic is completely self contained, it does not communicate with the receiver when it has reached its travel. Therefore, a motor and servo connected in parallel will both independently interpret the signal. The servo stopping when it reaches the instructed position, and the motor will turn at a speed proportional to the input. Regarding the bed actuator, I dont think the issue is only with leverage, but also with travel.

Your comment about the drive shafts gave me an idea. You can have two complete sets of drive shaft vales, configured to run the piston in each direction. Then you can select between the two systems to choose a direction. edit: I just noticed BoxerLego beat me to it!

GuiliuG, that thing is gorgeous!

I dont think you can do this with just gears. You need friction of some kind, and a lot of it. You could probably put the input shaft in one end of the diff, and the output shaft out the other, and then lay a ratchet onto the gear on the diff housing. This way, torque would push into the ratchet and be transferred through the internals when the motor drives, but when the drive-shaft back-drives, the diff housing would spin and the ratchet would click, click, click. Driving your vehicle through diff gears is likely going to break something I imagine though.

I think the problem is that: since the two switches on the left are connected in parallel, but reversed, as air flows through one, it will flow out the other's vent, and not into the cylinder. With electronics you could solve this with back-flow diodes. But i think the problem may be even easier to solve. What do you think of this configuration? It uses a "DPDT" switch as the pole reverser, and the cycle valve stays the same as with no reverser. Actually, i think my reversion would have the same "blowing air out the vent" problem. :/

I'm working on one that will blow your mind. It needs polish though. I can't release it before it's finished because I want to be as striking and sought after as you're looking for. In the mean time, i'm building D models for creator sets. I just got word from our company that the long hours will be over soon. I can't wait to finish my PF/Heavy machinery and release the plans to you!

So cool. Good job!

So awesome. The studs on the engine are one of my favorite parts. I love that machine screw look on the real thing. AND IN LEGO

very amazing mechanism, it would be awesome if you could simplify this so it's smaller and more usable. This seems like a much better solution than friction. However all these small gears are definitely weak and likely to fail. :( I would still love to see a more physical explanation of the different modes this thing operates in. To me it seems like it is adjusting the ratio of rotation between 1:3 and 3:1 between the two sides, like the continuously variable transmission implies. I'm trying to come up with a very small/simple mechanism that will let me continuously transition from 1:1 and 1:-1, this seems like a very usable technique. I suppose my first moment of unclarity is how one adjusts the ratio of the CVT. There were two disconnected shafts and i suppose friction or power in either of those adjusts the ratio?

It's amazing!

I'm still a little confused how this works. But your demonstration did seem to work. Is there some specific amount of limited slip? For example, it wont slip more than 1:3 or 3:1 ? This is quite the pile of gears. Good job!

It's my first fully featured studless MOC. I have to finish it before it's revealed. :/ and I work 6 or 7 days a week, 12 hours a day. My friend is coming over tonight and we're going to play with LEGO so i'll try to get it finished some time this week. I can leave you with this though: My last fully studded Technic model, RC Dump Truck using 9v motors and RCXs for RC. This was before my studless revelation. I bought a Unimog after I made this truck and never looked back. Also, I think I commented on CrowKillers youtube and he gave me some inspirational words. The LEGO community is so friendly.