msx80

incredible work!

Hello, this is my first competition here on Eurobricks and first technic one! My entry is a front loader. Ok, not very original, but.. :) I tryed to make it as compact as possible. The hard part is done: the steering and loading mechanisms work and are very solid and compact. The driving cabin will come next. Feature: - Working steering - Working front loader Any feedback is welcome :)

i'm pretty sure tubing and rope MUST be official lego

ohh great, i really hope i'll find the time to take part :)

Edit: You cannot vote since you joined after the start of the contest (1st Apr) Category A: 1 - 1 point 14 - 2 points 16 - 1 point Category B: 1 - 1 point 6 - 1 point 10 - 1 point 19 - 1 point

Any chance we will see this on Rebrickable? :) I'd love to build it! Also, a non-pf version would be fantastic too

2: 1 8: 1 14: 5 15: 1 22: 1 23: 1

love it!

awesome! all models are immediately recognizable and quite detailed! all being an alternate of a set is impressive!

Yes there are third parties producing sensors etc. But they're usually mindstorm or PF compatible. And i've don't think anyone is producing custom motors. The idea was to design a new complete system rather than single parts, something that fits together with some simple standards but at a lower technical level (more adapted for robotic hobbist for example requiring some understanding of electronics). I hope i've explayned a little better.

So i've been playing with mindstorm for some time, and while i think it's a great product, it has many limitations, the biggest of all being the size of the components. It makes it impossible to create small or even medium sized vehicles or robots.. The weight often makes the models too fragile for serious mobility. Other limitations are the proprietary nature and the stiffness of the cables. I know that EV3 components have great features (motors have encoders, the IR double as both a distance sensor and a receiver, etc), but sometimes you just need a couple of motor to motorize a compact vehicle. Being a robotic hobbist, i'd much prefer some smaller, less ingegnerized solutions. There are plenty of components of all shape and prices targeted to hobbists to choose from. So what if we design fantasize about a robotic system based on those components ? :) My idea would be a 5V system based on Arduino. There are very small boards with plenty of capabilities. It would be ideal to have a custom board with a couple of this drivers to control 4 motors. I bet it would all fit in some 3x5x1 stud space. About motors, i've used Pololu micro metal gearmotors many times, and they're great. Very small but plenty of power and come with different gear ratios. My idea would be to design a custom enclosure (or enclosing brackets like the originals) with pinholes to connect to regular technics. The same goes for sensors, servos etc. The excellent sharp IR distance sensor would be a good replacement for EV3 sensor while being many times smaller. This photocell would fit in a stud. About batteries, it could run on 4 AA rechargeable batteries with an holder like this one, but again with some technic mounting points (maybe two pinhole at the sides). Being slim and long makes it ideal to integrate in the stucture of a vehicle. But it would also be cool to have smaller, 2 battery holders so that one could distribute two holders in a moc to balance weight and space requirements. Or any other solution really. So in other words, the idea is to choose some fine components that can interoperate without too much trubles, design some technic compatible enclosures/attachments and have fun. Today there are many projects / shops that have access to custom part moulding (brickmania for example), so at least is not impossible. The recently funded Mechabrick kickstarter campaing just shows other people making cheap custom parts. So now that i annoyed you, any toughts ? :)

i love it!!! finally something original in technic! Lego should publish something similar instead of the usual car and truck :) i must find some idea for this compo :)

Yes i tryed 32250 but the hole inside is too big.. the nice thing of 32009 was that it keeps a pin or axle trapped inside limiting movement.. i guess i'll solve in some other way

quick question.. i'm using part 32009, taking advantage of the "elongated" hole to use as a lever. But the part is too big, so i was wondering, is there a smaller part with a similar hole? something like a 3 or 4 long beam with two fused holes or such ? sorry if it sounds like a stupid question

Awesome project, i'd love to program with arduino.. Also, the separation between PF and Mindstorm has always bugged me. There shoul be one single line with different capabilities. Now i have 6 motors but i can only use 3 in a project, either PF or EV3. Sucks. Also, i like that it's small. EV3 board is HUGE (and the components too).

fantastic moc piterx! i like compact technic models, and the panda is just an icon for us italians :) pleasepleaseplease make some instructions! it looks like a car anybody with a non-infinite amount of lego could build with a moderate cost, and i surely will! it would also be a great cuusoo project, methink :)

Great! i'm looking forward to try this :)

Fantastic as all of your models :)

I just recently purchased 79108 Stagecoach Escape, i was surprised by the amount fo technic parts in it.

Please do! Another thing i miss is a good glossary. There are a lot of terms in GBC forums that i don't understand, such as "hopper".. what is it ? :) As for my experience: I managed to build a very simple marble pump some month ago, and i learned that building a GBC is HARD! i knew it beforehand, but not THAT much! The worst part is calibrating everything: a small offset on a lever or button or such can break down a whole mechanism.. But when you correct that, another part disalign and require calibration. Also, maybe it's becouse i'm a rookie, but it requires a lot of pieces. Gears, axle, structural elements, etc. Another thing i learned is that the balls are evil :) if there's the remote possibility that some balls get stuck, they surely will! For example my input box included a mixer becouse no matter the shape i gave to it, balls kept jamming every minute :( As i said, i'm relatively new to technics, so maybe most of that is becouse i suck :P

very compact and simple, i like it! i'd also like some more info on GBC, i had an hard time browing very old forum posts around the net to collect bits of knowledge. It would be fantastic to have something like a wiki with all tips and tricks.

Fantastic idea, i love it! :) btw you could try and build triangular support like the ones for shelves (like this one), maybe with standard click hinges. It should greatly reduce whobbling.

I too feel like the battery pack is too big. Not only that, but ALL lego electronic components are very big, for example motors or controllers, not to speak of Mindstrom motors and programmable bricks, they're HUGE. I know that they're designed with all kind of protection circuitry, and with children in mind, but sometime i'd like to have smaller, more "standard" parts. As a robotic hobbist, i've used "naked" motors, drivers, sensor, etc and everything was small. something like an arduino mini https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11114 has most of the functionality needed to program a robot. Motors like this one https://www.sparkfun.com/products/8912 are powerful enought to move any technic set. Actually, the huge size and difficult to interoperate with non-lego electronics has always held me from purchasing a Mindstorm set. I'd like a more adult- and electronic-savy oriented system..

i love your GBC models! interesting mechanisms and great color schemes

great idea, and the arm blocking the sensor is very nice to see!