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Update: I published a fifth version of the robotic arm. See this comment farther down in the thread: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-253928/glaysche/6-axis-robotic-arm-mk5/#details https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-254189/glaysche/6-axis-remote-control-mk5/#details Original post: It's been a very long time since I have posted about my robotic arm. I have been working on it / obsessing over it for several years now and have published multiple versions on Rebrickable. I have now published my 4th revision which is almost entirely different than anything I have posted here before. For this reason, I decided to put it into a new topic rather than resurrecting my ancient topic. Rebrickable pages (free to download Stud.io files and PyBricks code): https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-244253/glaysche/6-axis-robotic-arm-mk4/#details https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-244757/glaysche/6-axis-remote-control-mk4/#details Basic stats for the robotic arm: 9 motors 2 Spike Prime hubs 1 Spike Essential hub Over 100 gears The robotic arm is controlled by a 6 axis remote control. Basic stats for the remote: 7 motors used as rotation sensors 4 Spike Essential hubs 0 gears -- all motors are directly coupled to the components to eliminate any slop Here is a video showing the robotic arm being controlled by the remote: Gearing The gearing has evolved over the years. At first, I was really interested in mechanical complexity and some clever uses of the differential to mechanically compensate for the coupling that happens when functions are transferred through a turntable. This worked but resulted in a ton of backlash and slop in the gear trains. This new version is focussed entirely on reducing slop and making it work as well as I could given the limitations of building out of injection molded parts. Here are all the gears in the arm: This is focussed on making each gear train as short and low slop as I could. The goal is not actually to have the lowest friction. As you can see, there are several redundant gear trains for different axes. This is needed to be able to generate the required torque, especially in axis 2 -- tilting the whole arm. That axis has 8 12t gears driving two turntables. Driving the turntables with fewer gears can result in destroying axles because the torque is too high. Having multiple gear trains also is a great way to greatly reduce backlash. You can "pre-tension" the different gear trains so the axles act as springs pushing against each other. The bottom two tilt axes are each powered by two motors. The was the only way I could get reasonable speed. I needed a ~40:1 gear ratio on Axis 3 (tilt axis at the top of the humerus) with a single motor but was able to use a 15:1 ratio with two motors, greatly improving performance. I used a 3d printed part to be able to pass three functions through a turntable, driving axes 5, 6, and the gripper. This was designed by @efferman. I would have preferred to use pure Lego parts but this was needed to get the functionality I needed in a compact form with minimal slop. Here is a view of this part in place. It's a little hard to see the part going through the turntable. This picture shows how short I was able to make the gear trains to drive axes 4, 5, 6, and the gripper. Another interesting part of the gear train is the 5th axis. I was able to use the blue 20t beveled clutch gear to transfer a function through the turntable. I haven't seen this configuration on another model. The extra 12t bevel gears help stabilize the blue gear and reduce slop. All these gears needed proper bracing to function well. This and making the basic structure more rigid is where most of my effort has gone over the last couple years. Structure If you look at the above pictures or download the Stud.io file from Rebrickable, you will see a very solid structure, especially in the base and shoulder modules. Pieces are form-locked together as much as possible and I never miss an opportunity to fill a pin hole with a pin. 2072 of the 3633 parts are pins. I made the robotic arm modular -- only a few pins attach each of the above 6 modules together. This really helps constructing and improving it. You can quickly isolate the piece you want to work on without taking apart more than you have to. Control I use PyBricks to control it. It is the only software that can run on the Spike hubs and be able to communicate between the hubs. It generally works quite well. I didn't spend a lot of time of the software because it was my least favorite part of the project. It's a bit ironic because I am actually a software developer. It's just the software I write for my job is way more interesting than the software running on my Legos. As part of controlling the robot, I needed to calibrate it. I use a few sensors and the encoders in the motors to do this. This uses color sensors for the 3 rotation axes, and a touch sensor for axis 2 -- the bottom tilt axis. The other axes drive the motor until it stalls to find the end point. This uses one other interesting trick. It uses the tilt sensors in the hubs to point axes 2 and 3 straight up during the initial calibration. This is a quick way to get things into a known state and ended up working quite well. Parts I wish I had Much of the evolution of this robotic arm came because Lego released new parts. The 3x19 and 3x13 frames, for example, revolutionized most of the design when they came out. Similarly, flip flop beams and the 3x5 flip flop L have dramatically improved the structure. I have a list of parts that would have really helped me if they were available: 5L flip flop beam -- there are many places where the structure or axle support would have been much better 3x7 frame -- I think this would be a great boon in several structures 4L pin -- I could improve the strength of many structures with this. Sometimes I am able to use 2 2L pins with a 4L bar but this doesn't work in many places 7x9 frame -- this will probably never happen but this would help make some things more compact 6L and 7L axles with stops would be super helpful in a few places. I currently use the axle with no stop in these cases and the axle can fall out during assembly / disassembly which is unfortunate A few recolors into my favorite lime green, especially of flip flop beams Anyway, I hope you found this interesting. I am happy to answer questions. If you want the Stud.io files, PyBricks code, or STL file for the custom part, be sure to download them from Rebrickable. -
Dear All, LEGO lasts forever – assuming “forever” is exceeding 6 decades – which surely will happen (or has happened already?). I still have bricks from 1965 (my first LEGO set was #323 – a push along steam train running on rubber tires …) – that still have very good clutch, colors only very little faded – and seamlessly fit into 2017 sets. Almost as long as I live, LEGO has been part of my life. True, there were dark ages from the late 1970’s to 1996 – but then it instantly came back – everything: The excitement about a new model, just another LEGO box, new bricks, colors … and it never disappeared since then, in contrast. 1998 was the ultimate rush back into the LEGO world: The Mindstorms RIS system – the RCX (at that time without the “1.0” extension) – it blew my mind. And since then a somewhat larger collection of all themes has assembled over the past 20 years. Building over multiple themes is my brick-philosophy. During my dark ages computer technology became my favorite hobby. The “IBM PC” was lightyears out of reach but other miracle machines came up: The C64, the Sinclair ZX81 – and that one was within reach of my limited budget! 1 kByte of memory and a 16 kByte dynamic RAM extension I built myself. “Tri state TTL bidirectional bus drivers”, the 74LS243 – and no internet, that remained to be invented. And it went on – the ZX Spectrum with 16 kByte of on-board memory got a 64 kByte memory “upgrade” – switchable in two banks. It was fun. Today, TTL chips are fading out and 64 kByte would result in the worst digital “photo” ever … I am not whining – so many wonderful new things have emerged! What really shocked me though was when TLG did not even think about making a 64 bit driver for the “perfect” Mindstorms USB IR/VLL tower. That beautiful communication hub for all RCX1.0, 1.5, 2.0, Scout, Spybotics, MicroScout, CodePilot bricks one is truly dead since 64 bit operating systems have taken over. At least this is what I have learned from the internet after years of searching. The next shock came around 2002, when .NET came up and Microsoft said “no more VB6 development at all”. VB.NET was so different from what I knew. In the following years I stuck to VB6 … my fault, sure. But I am moving slowly as time for LEGO is rather limited. XP vanished, 32 bit OS came out of fashion – and all that cool stuff – the Mindstorms software, the NXT software, NQC for RCX, RobotC for RCX … and all my VB6 programs – almost “gone”. Well, I kept of course my Dell Latitude E6500 laptop running WinXP SP3 with all that stuff installed and I still have it! Carefully backed-up everything and there it is, slowly aging. I hardly like to play with that thing – I don’t want that it gives up, which will eventually happen of course. Yes I know: “Install XP within a virtual machine” – but that did not work to the extent I would like to use a “LEGO programming and playing workspace”. The one thing that changed everything were internet rumors about the old Mindstorms RS232 tower working well with NQC/BricxCC on a 64 bit Win7 machine. So for the past couple of days between Christmas and New Year’s I was browsing the net, installing this and that, copying stuff from my old XP machine … and: BINGO. It all works! Everything works on my rather new DELL Precision 7510 with Win10 Professional as OS. All the old-back-from-the-late-1990’s stuff! OK, I know, not everybody will be as excited as I am. But I believe LEGO lasts forever – and now all the software I love so much, as well as all my old-fashioned programmable bricks (there are currently 9 RCX1.0, 6 Scouts, 10 MicroScouts, and 1 NXT PBricks doing work on my train layout) are directly accessible from this laptop, and they are programmed/operated using NQC/BricxCC, NXC, NXT-G, RobotC, the Mindstorms SDK 2.5, and most importantly VB6 SP6 programs – all natively running on a Win10 64 bit platform. A dream came true. And for all old or old-fashioned Mindstorms PBrick heads, for all who never managed to get their head around .NET stuff, for all who still believe that RCX’ and Scouts are miracle thing: Here is how I got it to work: Assemble some software from the internet: BricxCC (free, latest version from 2011) The Mindstorms Software Developers Kit (SDK) 2.5 (free on Philo’s homepage) RobotC for RCX 2.03 (which is free as well). Don’t download the 32 bit tower driver. It won’t work. The NXT 64 bit driver from TLG VB6 SP6 from Microsoft VB6 cumulative update for SP6 from Microsoft Get out the original CDs for: VB6 (SP5 or higher) The NXT-G 2.0 software suite – if that is not at hand, TLG’s Mindstorms website has it Assemble some required hardware The Mindstorms RS232 tower. They came in 1998 with the original RIS system – and they are widely available at BrickLink for about $5. Don’t forget to put a fresh 9V battery into the battery compartment on the back. Slide the range knob on the front to the left (short range). An USB2RS232 converter – I tried a (randomly picked) LogiLink converter, which works just fine. A PBrick of type RCX, RCX1.5, RCX2.0, Scout, or Spybotics. The next steps are for proper tower access: Plugin the USB2RS232 converter into the computer and let it find and install the driver (either shipped with the converter or on the internet). Open device manager (Windows key + X, select “Device Manager”), expand the “Ports (COM and LPT)” section, find the “USB Serial Port (COM X)” entry, double click it, choose “Port settings” then “Advanced” and make sure the COM port for this device is in the range between 1 and 8. Otherwise BricxCC and other old programs will not find the USB/RS232 converter = IR tower! It cost me some time to figure that out. When all COM ports in this range are taken by other devices, move one of them to the next free COM port far up and then manually (modern hard/software has no issue using COM ports in the range exceeding COM 8!) assign the converter to the now free COM port in the 1 – 8 range. Plugin the IR tower cable into the USB2RS232 converter. Next is getting access to RCX, RCX2, Scout, and Spybotics PBricks via BricxCC – this will also let you download the latest RCX firmware is case it is “gone”: Install BricxCC (full install) – this comes with NQC and many more things, e.g., the RCX firmware downloader. Put a PBrick from the list above into the IR tower range, a couple of inches away. Start-up BricxCC – it will try to connect to an RCX PBrick and most probably fail (“Cannot find brick. Switch it on or move it closer and press OK”). Press “Cancel”. Select “Tools” in the menu, go to “Find brick” and in the window that opens, select the correct COM port manually. Also select the correct PBrick. An RCX, RCX1.5, or RCX2 without firmware will correctly reply to the “RCX-type” in this window. The LED in the tower should come on and the program should connect to the PBrick, which is shown by many of the menu icons now being enabled. Download firmware to the PBrick (RCX, RCX1.5, RCX2) and that is done. Next is RobotC – this very straight forward: Install the software and run it. Select menu entry “Robot” and then “Platform type”. This should be “LEGO Mindstorms RCX”. Select menu entry “View”, then “Preferences”, then “RCX communications port” and select the COM port you have the USB to serial converter on. Download the required RobotC RCX firmware – and done. Next ist NXT-G – again very straight forward: Install the NXT-G software. Install the 64 bit NXT driver – done. Finally VB 6 – this is a little more elaborate: Install the Mindstorms SDK 2.5 – this will register one essential DLL correctly (vpbcom.dll). I don’t know how many times I tried that manually – I am too old I guess. Don’t install any USB tower software – it won’t work. You can test a PBrick connection using the “ScriptEd” program – upon starting it, the IR Tower LED should come on. This program also lets you download firmware or monitor the IR tower. Very handy for checking things. Install VB 6 from the CD. Now the trick here is that a full default install won’t work. Follow the instructions of this youtube video. There are many others, but this worked for me. I did the install directly from the “VB6 Professional CD” I still had (the video assumes you have an enterprise version but that makes no difference). The single most important point is to uncheck either the entire “Data Access” check box during the preparation steps for the installation or select “Data Access”, click “Change Options” and uncheck the “ADO, RDS, OLE DB Data providers” entry. The let the install program do what it has to do and be patient at the end, when it attempts to register all sorts of things. That may take several minutes, at least on my machine. I had a cup of coffee, did some other things and when I came back, it successfully finished the install. Install VB6 SP6 in case it is not already on the CD. Install the cumulative patch for VB6 SP6 in case it is not already on the CD. Right click on the new VB6 icon in the start menu, go to “Properties” and select “Run in XP SP3 compatibility mode”. Run VB6. Open or start a new project, then select “Project”, “References” and then tick the “LEGO VPBrick 2.1 Type Library” – and access to the above PBricks is established! The Mindstorms SDK has a PDF explaining the calls to the routines you need for that (e.g. ”FindPort” or “OpenPort”. This is it. At least on my computer. There may some other things to do on other machines, but it really appears to be doable. Just in case you want to program with VB6 “forever” or more importantly run all of TLG’s miracle PBricks from the latest Microsoft OS … as I do. And Yes I know, neither Microsoft nor any decent programmer will endorse this, in contrast. But then: It wasn’t my fault that TLG never published a 64bit driver for the Mindstorms USB tower. Nor did Microsoft ask me whether or not it would be OK to abandon VB6. All the best Thorsten -
Hi, my NXT Axle Sorter is finished. This machine works with a Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0 and an IR Link sensor. The little car that you see puts the axles in the right containers. The large 'building' with AXLE measures the length of an axle with the color sensor as you can see in the video. The little car drives over some gear racks. The ultrasone sensor reads the distance and the IR Link sensor sends the signals to the little car. Here you can see the inside of the machine: The machine sorts normal axles. Also the new colors (example: the red 4) If you want to sort your axles you need to do these five steps 1. Put the axles in the machine 2. Press the button on the NXT 3. Have a drink 4. Take the containers with the sorted axles out of the machine 5. Make your next Lego Creation If you want more pictures about some details, let me know. Here is the video:
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Sioux.NET on Track presents the Ticket Dispenser Unit (TDU) Two articles about the Lego Dispenser Unit can be found at our blog: https://siouxnetontrack.wordpress.com/2016/09/28/ticket-dispenser-unit-reader/ In this article you can read how tickets are read using a four-color based number system. This article was written before the dispenser part was created, so it is only about the reader part. https://siouxnetontrack.wordpress.com/2016/12/28/ticket-dispenser-unit-complete-version-2017/ In this article you can read about the upgraded version that will be used at Lego World 2017. Click on the following picture to see more pictures: A video of the working TDU 2017 can be found here: -
At our Flickr page you can view the photos of our visit at Lego World 2016 in Utrecht: https://flic.kr/s/aHskMd9EAj. A video is also available: Enjoy, Hans
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I am new to this blog and don't know how things work yet. I have a few questions about some programming I am having trouble with and wanted to see if the community can provide me with some programs they've built. 1. I want a program so that you can press the touch sensor ex. 2 times, it would run the 2nd program; press the touch sensor 4 times it would run the forth program etc. Or have a color sensor and I put a red brick in front of it and it runs a specific program. 2. I have a wall follower program and I am wondering if it can follow the wall for about 24in or so and then stop and do some other action. Does anyone have an idea on how to do this, and can you provide a program? I can't figure out how to program these. Any tips, programs, would help! -
Ladies and gentlemen, I present LEGO Typing Machine Mk. III. This a follow up to typing machines I built 5-6 years ago. It types my name. 100% LEGO. A dog interrupts. -
Rally Racer is the successor of Rally Rac3r. The difference? This Rear Wheel Drive race car is a tremendous success. As complimented by Karl4123, this vehicle has "sleek and stylish looks." It is geared up 36:12 or 3:1, and it is decently quick with decent torque. Many styling cues have been added. Why is there no InfraRed Sensor, you may ask! Well, thank you for asking! With the help of Builderdude35's tutorials, Rally Racer drives via Bluetooth! Rally Racer's Intelligent Brick acts as a receiver, and a second Ev3 Intelligent Brick is the remote! In this way, I am able to control Rally Racer from 200 feet away. Rally Racer features twin dual exhaust. The taillights feature vents which mimic the outsource of airflow, similar to that of the Ferrari 488 GTB. The spoiler is a low, lean downforce-inducing wing. The headlights are a twin-cluster with a main headlight and an auxiliary tinted light, not including the rally style fog lights. The chassis is extremely compact in and of itself. I borrowed the drivetrain design from Builderdude35's Falcon FAV100, so thanks! Two Large Motors drive a 36z gear which drives a half-bevel 12z gear (these are encased about an H-frame). It then transfers drive both to the front and rear of the robot. There is a differential which transfers power to the rear wheels, while the front axle extends to the front of the car as a neat auxiliary cue. The rack and pinion steering setup is controlled by a Medium Motor, and stabilized with a LEGO rubber band. Check out the metallic exhaust tubes while you're at it! Please comment if you have any questions or... comments. I appreciate any feedback whatsoever. I am quite please with how this turned out, especially when comparing this with my original Rally Rac3r model. -
Please check these link: https://www.epo.org/learning-events/european-inventor/finalists/2018/munch.html And watch the video. "LEGO programmable robots" (basicaly Mindstorms ) and their "ufficial "inventors (i.e. those named on the patents) are candidate to the European Invento Award in the category of "industry". However there is also a "popular prize" that can be obtained with on-line vote. Check here: https://popular-prize.epo.org/i/i/gaute-munch-erik-hansen-dk-and-team/#inventor-gaute-munch-erik-hansen-dk-and-team It would be nice to inform as much AFOL as possible to support LEGO Mindstorms and its inventors. So please, let's support LEGO Mindstorms together P. S. I work at the European Patent Office. If you need more information, you can always contact me
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A music video for Daft Punk's Harder Better Faster Stronger, with Technic letters, filmed using a GoPro on a custom Mindstorms controlled rig. Made by this guy:https://www.youtube.com/user/fastythefastcat -
This lego GBC miniloop uses three technic lift arms to push the marbles up a ramp, then they fall onto another ramp. When a second marble falls onto that ramp it tips them down another set of ramps and back down to the start again. It is quite reliable if you place all the 1x1 "cheese" slopes straight but it can get stuck if they are not straight. (using 2x2 cheese slopes would fix this problem but I did not have enough in dark grey) The instructions are here. I also have a LDD file for it but I can not find any place to upload the file as it is not a standard file type, any suggestions? -
I'm Yves from Montreal city, Quebec province in Canada. While I don't consider myself a true AFOL as I don't build big mocs, I still love legos and I love to find out the unlimited creative talent of others. I'm not into castle, themes etc. I'm more into buildings, vehicles, technics (I have many technic sets... not the recent ones). I've been working in the industrial Automation fields (PLC = Programmable Logic Controller) for 30 years and I also own few mindstorms sets :) But I did not really "played" much with them yet. I've been off of the scene for about 10 years but recently, I stumbled on my old Lego Interface B (9751 - 70909) and had an Idea. 10 years ago or so, I did some VB.Net project to control this old baby. Was OK, certainly better than nothing but still lacking of some friendly programming language like we have in Automation. Then I had an idea to revive the Interface B. I'm going to share in the proper section if I can find it :) Here's my old brickshelf gallery: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?m=YvesLev
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This lego great ball contraption module uses a three sided wheel with "forks" to lift the marbles to the next module. The module is surprisingly reliable but it can take some time to get it running well. The stepper used to load the main mechanism works fairly well but it could still use some work, as you can see at 0:50 in the video it does not always work perfectly. The instructions, LDD file and part list are here. I used 1x3 technic half beams instead of the correct 1x5 ones in the instructions becuase LDD does not have them. The differential gear is not essential, it is only to make it easier to set the timming of the loading mechanism.
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Hello, I have a couple of questions regarding Lego Mindstorms EV3 1) Is it possible to program the EV3 brick using C++? Is it a viable option when programming? 2) Is there some software that could help me programme an EV3 robot with NXT sensors? I have not been able to find this option in Labview so far? Can you recommend me an alternative? I’ll be highly grateful for any answers.
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The Delivery Station unloads the train, separates the candies from the containers and delivers the candies to the visitors. The 2017 consisted of four parts: Push mechanism: pushes the containers-with-candies from the train Roller mechanism: rolles the containers-with-candies to the lifts Lift mechanism: lifts the containers to separate the candies from the containers Locker mechanism: candies are stored in lockers, to be opened with the ticket reader The order of the candies needed to be kept, so every visitor received the candy in the color he requested. You can watch the 2017 here (starts at timestamp 2m39s): For 2018, we keep the Push mechanism and the lockers. The part that will take care of separating the candies from the containers, is completely redesigned. The push mechanism however, was rather slow and - as you can see in the video - it needed quite some space due to the slider. So, that needed a redesign as well. You can see the new version here (click on the photo to go to our Flickr page): And of course a video: Enjoy, Hans
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Here is a quick summary of a previous post. Right now I'm planning on a new project and I could use some help. It's a 1:8 scale model of Lexus' LC coupe powered by Lego Mindstorms EV3. Currently, I have the rear axle built off the instructions from the Porsche 911 GT3 RS set. I also made the engine for the LC500 on Lego Digital Designer and I am wondering if it is good enough to buy the pieces for it on BrickLink. I also want to add the following features: Four or six-speed paddle-shift transmission Retractable spoiler Detailed interior Fake V8 engine (but I would like to achieve moving pistons) Full independent suspension I would welcome some helpful comments about the V8 engine, axles, and the gearbox I planned to use before I order pieces on BL. Thank you. -
This is my simple Lego car chassis for Mindstorms and Technic beginners. Features Rack-and-pinion steering Full independent suspension 1:3 gear ratio driven to rear differential I built this chassis as both an experimental project but also an educational one to not just me but people starting to make their own cars with Mindstorms and Technic. If you're looking for a chassis design that may work for the build you're creating (a sports car, sedan, or small truck) then I hope this helps you and I would look forward to seeing the finished result.
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This is ASSAULT3R, a Lego Mindstorms EV3 Assault Vehicle. After getting a second Lego EV3 set, I knew that I had to build something awesome. Features RWD and Steering Ultrasonic Sensor Infrared Sensor Two Color Sensors Dual Ball Shooters Gullwing Doors Detailed Interior and Exterior The ASSAULT3R's front sports red lights that will strike fear in enemies and their machines. Its dual ball shooters will shoot a total of six Lego balls, three for each side, high or low. That's twice the weaponry used by EV3RSTORM. The gullwing doors allow easy access for operators and it makes the ASSAULT3R look futuristic yet sinister. I had a lot of fun building this, and I'm very happy with the result. And of course, here are some photos as always.
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After 2 months of work, I can finally present to you, The Zapper! This MOC was quite a challenge to build, not only because it's the biggest thing I've ever built, but because of the numerous design changes that I made while I was building it (most of which you can see in my posts below). I'm just glad I managed to finish it before the deadline, otherwise who knows how many more design changes I would have made... Video: Quick stats: Height (to top of support structure): 30 studs (24cm / 9.45") Width: 32 studs (25.6cm / 10") Depth: 34.5 studs (27.6cm / 10.86") Weight (with batteries and passengers): 1968g Now, you may look at those numbers and think that they're just measurements, but while that is true, there's also quite an amazing coincidence among them... You see, as I was typing it out, I realized that written as grams, the weight was a year - not just any year, but the EXACT year that the original Zipper (which is what The Zapper is based on) was first invented! Unbelievable, I know, but I can assure you that is the exact weight. Links: More about The Zipper: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zipper_(ride) Bricksafe page: https://bricksafe.com/pages/mocbuild101/tc14---the-zapper YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxbVNoT2SOc More photos: All versions (from prototype to final entry): Original post: -
This is my first WIP post on EuroBricks where I will show my progress on my newest build, an EV3-powered 1:8 replica of Lexus' newest flagship coupe, the LC500. The car will most likely be a combination of both the standard and the V6 hybrid LC, but it will have a V8. The body will also be orange. Here's a photo I found of an LC that looks a lot like the one I am shooting for. Features I'm planning to add: Four or six-speed paddle-shift transmission Retractable spoiler Detailed interior Fake V8 engine (but I would like to achieve moving pistons) Full independent suspension All I built so far was the rear axle for the LC. It's exactly like the one in the Porsche 911 GT3 RS set but more reinforced. I also made the V8 engine using Lego Digital Designer. I plan to build the paddle-shifting mechanism used in Didumos' Ultimately Playable Porsche 911 GT3 RS (the one with the tilted wheel) and pair it up with a gearbox. I currently am having trouble whether to motorize his gearbox with the EV3 motors or to pick a different one with less gears and friction. I also am having a little bit of trouble finding the right front axle, though I like the one that Didumos put his Porsche because of the fact that is has two shocks for each wheel. However, I find it very difficult to fit the V8 engine in the middle since the axle is made for a rear-engine car. Here's a poorly drawn render I made of what I'm trying to achieve with the front axle. And here's the chassis in the real LC and the measurements for the LC Lego model. Overall, I'm excited about the build. I would welcome some helpful comments about the V8 engine, axles, and the gearbox I planned to use before I order pieces on BL. Once I start working on the body and aesthetics, I would appreciate some input with that as well. I can also give you the download for the .lxf file of the engine if you'd like to check it out. I look forward to replying to your comments and sharing my progress. Thank you.
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Hello World! Though I am a New User of Eurobricks Forums and a Newcomer to LEGO®, I am still wishing for LEGO® MINDSTORM despite it will never happen during my lifetime. Starting off, I do not want to sound like a beggar (or some other negative adjective), so I have updated my Eurobricks Profile with additional details about my LEGO® avocation. To summarize matters, I am an old (almost 47 years old) disabled person with ailing health and receiving tiny disability income. My avocations, with some professional experiences, in the fields of computers and electronics, originally started in 1983 (in the USA) when I was 13 years old. That includes my computer programming experiences, which is why I have painful arthritis in my hands today. My wish for LEGO® MINDSTORMS began in January 2013 during my visit to LEGOLAND Malaysia.(along with my wife and nephew). Due to bad legs and feet, I could not enjoy the themepark. When I saw the MINDSTORMS exhibit, I went to the employee and asked if I can "check it out" as I never experienced MINDSTORMS before. Sadly, the employee refused to allow me to go near it because I am not a teenager! That was the exact moment when my interest in LEGO® vanished! Since January 2013, my hobby work with digital electronics increased! Using my long-term experience with the C Programming Language, I had learned how to program a variety of microcontrollers, such as Microchip PIC, Atmel AVR (a.k.a. "Arduiino") and TI MSP430. A Good Samaritan in the USA had donated the BeagleBone Black to me and my hobby work in embedded systems deverlopment exploded! I had experienced new skill that I never thought I would ever experience in my lifetime; from blinking LEDs to customizing LCDs to foreign language speech synthesis. Sadly, from 2014 to 2016, my life had crashed! To make a long story, short, I experienced severe depression from my Filipino dad become a stroke patient and my relatives backstabbing/betraying me, forcing me to purge my technical hobbies off the Internet for good. And then, unfortunately, I have experienced my worst nightmare! (Long Story!) As a result, I was forced to launch my contingency plan which designated LEGO® as an official avocation for me. The LEGO® MINDSTORMS box cover is the closest I got! In January 2017, when I was visiting in Singapore, I was able to hold the box for the EV3, however the pricetag forced me to put the box to where I picked it up from. In early February 2017, while visiting a LCS in Philippines, I saw an assembled MINDSTORMS product through a glass display case and was able to touch the empty MINDSTORMS box; yes, only the box! So far, as of this writing, I have never experienced what a MINDSTORMS product feels like! In my experiences, money is required before I can even touch a MINDSTORMS product. Will My LEGO® MINDSTORMS Fading Wish be Granted? I have not yet written to LEGO® HQ in Denmark nor in the USA, asking for a sponsorship; the fact is, I do not know how to ask! I don't know how to look for a Good Samaritan, either. It seems I require money I don't have before someone would consider sending me a MINDSTORMS product. I don't require a brand new product; I would even accept an old, obsolete model. I have no interest in profiteering! I just want to experience programming a MINDSTORMS product and witness the outcome of my created program. As of this writing, my wish for MINDSTORMS is fading away! Thanks for Reading! Though I probably will never receive a MINDSTORMS product in my lifetime. Thank you for reading my post. Have a Great Day, Everybody! -
I'm back again with another gear grinding issue but this one is a bit less critical. The grinding only occurs when my 4x4 SUV chassis (with Sariel's 4-Speed Sequential Transmission) is in a certain gear. Here's some photos of the chassis. The transmission is shifted to the speed where the nonstop grinding occurs. When in this gear (I believe it may be 3rd) The car is supposed to move, but it does very slowly while clicking noises fire like a machine gun. This is the only time when the gears grind other than, say, if the chassis hits a wall. When the clicking begins, I hear the driving rings shake (which awfully reminds me of the somewhat gear clicking in the Mercedes-Benz Arocs set). I would love a response a soon as possible to address the clicking problem so I can finish the chassis once and for all.
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So, I came across some news articles talking about some new 'moto-mods'. For the people not in the phone-world, Motorola is selling some phones which have special connections for so called 'moto-mods'. The mods can be used to enhance your phone with whatever functionality the mod-maker comes up with. Apparently, Motorola showed off some new mods. One of them caught my eye: a Lego Mindstorms mod. Take a look: | Image from here. It's maybe not clear from an image, so here's a video too. Really recommend watching it, because it makes it much clearer how it works. You can clearly see the EV3 module at the 15 second mark, and it clearly shows how it works and also in combination with other mindstorms and Technic parts. I'm not sure if it is just a concept or if it will be an actual product. Nevertheless, it looks really cool and think of the possibilities! I mean, a phone has a lot more power than the ev3 brick while also being significantly smaller. It has a much better screen. And, depending on how they implement it, maybe you could even use the phone as a sensor too, or the camera capabilties. The only 'downside' I can think of is that a 'moto-mod' like this would (obviously) only work on compatible phones from Motorola and isn't a more general device that works with e.g. all android devices. Nevertheless, I think it's quite cool and I'm wondering how much Lego is involved in this. Maybe, they are working on a new version of Mindstorms where you can use any phone as the 'intelligent brick'? What do you guys think about this moto-mod? -
Hello, World! Over the past seven (7) years, I had hand-built about four dozen microcontroller development boards (like what is used for the "programmable brick"), like "Arduino", but I have expanded way beyond Arduino. LEGO Classic Large Brick Box (10698) Using my LEGO Classic elements, purchased in January 2017, is it possible to add mechanisms to make my MOCs "animated"? I am still a newbie at LEGO and I don't know where to search for my answer. My previous Google searches gave the outcomes focused on train projects. I did see some stuff at Lego.com that might work, but I have no real clue if that's what I'm looking for. Because I could not find what I'm looking for, I'm guessing that LEGO is purposely discouraging my MOC idea to promote the EV3. I'm not planning on building complex MOCs, such as a walking robot, however, I would like to build something with 5VDC stepper motors and the needed gears, such as a robotic arm with calipers. I may only need the "accessories" as I can purchase the stepper motors, locally. What I've seen online, are stepper motors already attached to accessories. Though I can build what I want without using any LEGO elements, I just know to know if it is possible to use my LEGO Classic elements in a way to act like a Mindstorms product. Linux Development By the way, I am GNU/Linux developer with almost 20 years of GNU/Linux experiences and almost 28 of programming in C. I am just wondering, if my own technical skills can be used to invent unique LEGO MOCs that are animated under a GNU/Linux environment. I desperate need inspiration to build MOCs, too! Thanks for Reading! By now, after reading my posts, one could probably guess that I want to build my own, specialized MOCs, which is true! I'm one that is not gifted with money and I do know LEGO products are expensive, so in the event I do buy another LEGO product, I want it to be a "main ingredient" to my MOC projects. Thanks for Reading and Have a Nice Day!
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My first technic MOC after rebooting my Lego hobby. It's not finished - it has no program - but I am declaring it finished anyway. It was a nice project to get acquainted with the 2000s technic Lego. The robot is made of a Mindstorms NXT 2.0, a Mobile Crane Mk II and some additional parts. More pictures, description, and LDD file for download at https://frankvandermost.nl/lego/6x6x4-robot-vehicle/
