TasV

I was going through my nxt stuff and came across a bunch of NXT sensors that we no longer need. All the sensors are unused but I only have the box for the HiTechnic barometric air pressure sensor. Temperature sensors (http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?S=9749-1) sell for about $50 AUD (Australian Dollars) each. Will let them go for $35 AUD each. HiTechnic Barometric Air Pressure sensor (https://www.hitechnic.com/cgi-bin/commerce.cgi?preadd=action&key=NBR1036) also sells for about $50. Will let it go for $40. Photo is of actual sensors. The compass sensor is no longer available (we've decided to keep it for Robosoccer). Items are located in Australia but I will post anywhere. Postage will depend on where you are, so contact me for postage amounts or visit http://www.austpost.com.au to calculate the amount for postage. Money raised will go towards helping Ulverstone High School purchase an EV3 kit. Payment is by PayPal. Thanks, Simon

We haven't actually used any of these... so putting them into a model would be tricky given their range of turning is so large... maybe a technic billy cart ;)

My Son came up with another this afternoon: Bionicle parts are: 44135, 44247, and 44136 This one is pretty good as it uses the 44136 piece to lock the steering arm from the bottom.

This is something really simple my Son and I were playing with to make steering (H.O.G. mostly but it could be motorised easily), for smaller vehicles. Bionicle parts are 44137 and 44810. Works well and gives vehicles a nice small turning circle. The pin joining one part to the other is low friction and turns easily and smoothly.

Over the weekend I will look through the boxes and show a neat steering mechanism we made using bionicle gears, technic gears and other bionicle/technic parts... won't have time until then to sit down and play. It worked really well. We just decided not to use it because there was a bit too much 'slop' in the mechanism.

I'd really like to see a robot based on three omniwheels that can follow a line using a PID! That would be sweet but really hard I think.

I don't really look at the models much unless I want to learn how a particular mechanism works (actually... that's why I buy models... not so much for what it is modelling itself), or if I want the parts. The Triple Challenge is a good example... my Son (Aiden) and I know what we want to build for it (time is the biggest challenge), and we went through the prize list and said if we won 1st prize we'd take the Crawler for the RC gear and to learn more about transmissions. If we got 2nd we'd choose the Service Truck for the pneumatic pieces and to learn about crane arms. The hardest choice, for Aiden and I, is actually is for third place. The motor bike is cool and we could use more chain links and another 40 tooth gear but the mini backhoe has the most useful mechanisms we can adapt for our robots... we'd probably end up choosing the motor bike just because it is so cool!

Blue tractors=Ford ;)

Ooooooohhhh.. I barely have time to scratch myself atm... I'll leave that job to someone more qualified and endowed with time ;)

<cough> TasV <cough> ?????

I'm impressed with the increase in torque in the EV3 motor, but she's power hungry!!!

As the Doc said above, this is very cool! I'm assuming you used the Elasto Plastic material (I haven't checked out your website for a while so please forgive my lack of memory if it's stated there)? How does the feel of this material compare to the rubber compound regular Lego tires are made of? EDIT: I see you got Shapeways to make the moulds and you cast them from silicone... that's awesome! Jim, no sign of the parts yet. I'll be sure to let you know when they arrive. Simon

So... if it IS a transformer... does that count as 1 model or 2

It's not on Bricklink.

What are the full-Lego omniwheels? I would love TLG to make an omniwheel to go with their robotics kits. I have two of the 48mm Rotacaster omniwheels and they are worth the money IMO. I have about 4 of these: ...in my NXT kits at work and they work fine but are quite large. The downside of the Rotacasters is that they are funny size that does not easily match up with standard Lego pieces. It can be done but you need to switch from odd lengths to even lengths to get then to line up.