The Plastic Brick Blog

Lego Mindstorms EV3 forklift.

2015-02-17T04:44:00.002-08:00

Lego Mindstorms EV3 forklift.

The purpose of this build was to see how well the Bluetooth control system works, I've not done any programming its simply the Mindstorms mobile app that's been used.

The joystick allows degrees of movement that's difficult to achieve using the standard IR Lego system, it also gives you the ability to make very precise movements.

The functions are simple two motors are used to power each track these are directly connected to reduce gear slack. The first MOC up had a gear train but this was removed to make the joystick inputs more accurate.

I've used the mast from the Lego Technic set 8416 this is powered by the smaller Mindstorms motor.

Lego old truck MK2

2014-11-11T05:39:00.003-08:00

This has been a steady build over the past six months - I've picked it up looked at it then put it back in the draw again more times then I've actually added to its progress. I've been wanting to rebuild the the old version for sometime because I really enjoyed the process, making something in this way is far easier than finding a real life version to copy.

The new version is more detailed than the old, which means it has more weight. The chassis is pretty much unchanged apart from swapping the medium drive motor for a more powerful large motor

The model when attached to the trailer is quite long but has a very small turning circle. This is achieved by linking the tow bar to a rack and pinion steering system which connects both trailer axles together - each axle steers to its opposite, which reduces the turning circle by a huge amount.

Improvements for the Lego mk2 crane 42009

2014-01-17T13:01:00.000-08:00

Faster outrigger stabilizers:

The outrigger stabilizers on the Lego technic 42009 MK2 crane are very slow. This can be improved upon by replacing the two gears on each outrigger as per the photos below.

Faster winch speed:

As with the outriggers the winch speed is quite slow. To increase the speed you first need to remove the two gears circled below.

Fit the spare red gear that you should have left over from the build in the position shown below. Making this change will reduce the amount of torque the winch outputs, this in turn will slightly reduce the winches lifting capacity but it will improve its speed.

Better cable tension:

The easiest way of improving the cable tension is to increase the hooks weight. This can be done by using the hook lift from the Lego technic 8421 crane

Incorporate the metal hook as per the image below.

This improvement coupled with the shorter winch gear ratio will help the hook move up and down more efficiently.

Hobby Tractor

2013-06-16T04:43:00.001-07:00

A made up model based on the early style of tractor.

Along with moving house and being stuck trying to finish two larger builds, I've been struggling to be creative with my Lego building. I finally got round to unpacking some of my Lego boxes last week which inevitably lead to me building something!

The model is mostly studless and was made using a very small amount of parts. - Basically what I could find in the two boxes id opened.
The steering can either be controlled by running after the model and tweaking the steering wheel or by reducing/increasing the speed of one the XL motors that power the rear wheels. In both cases the steering isn't great, but it kinda works.

The trailer is really simple, made with a studless chassis and a studded top. The axle has a torsion bar set up which is similar to the type you would get in the rear of a small french hatchback.

Link to video: Hobby Tractor Video

Lego Technic Rock Crawler Comp

2012-11-03T08:47:00.001-07:00

This is my entry for the Lego Technic design comp:

Its based on the Lego 8110 Unimog U400 that came out last year, although the cabs been made smaller and I've reduced as many parts as possible to improve its power to weight ratio and lower its centre of gravity.

The chassis is the standard Lego 4x4 crawler 9398 one as per the competitions requirements. the battery box can easily be removed by tilting the cab.

only current Lego parts have been used and I was thinking maybe Lego could add a random minfig to each set.

RC Lego Technic Unimog U400 8110

2012-03-17T08:06:00.001-07:00

This is my attempt at an RC version of the famous Lego Merc Unimog

Drive comes from two XL motors which transfer power via a new style centre diff, this in turn drives two strengthened diffs on each axle. A final amount of gear reduction is achieved inside the step down hubs.

The chassis has been shortened by two studs, this improves the look and helps the centre ground clearance.

The battery pack is located inside the cab replacing the 4 cylinder engine.

All auxiliary motors and the RC receivers are located in the rear loading bay. A tractor style trailer hitch that can be adjusted in height remotely by a medium motor is located at the rear.

The front mounted winch is no different to the one found on the original but now has a dedicated medium motor that's also powered remotely

The compressor is also powered remotely.

Steering comes from a medium motor. The turning circle has been improved slightly by shortening the chassis and by removing the small dark grey pins and replacing them with light grey ones instead.

Chassis jig

2012-01-14T07:14:00.000-08:00

This is a jig I've made to help me build chassis.

The jig helps me to plan where each axle will go. You can see the finished truck here: Scania

I just move the yellow pins around to suit each axle position.

Lego 8070 super car RC.

2012-01-10T06:57:00.000-08:00

I had a play around with this last night and thought it would make a good RC car, wasn't going to put it on

here but when I realised how easy it was to make I thought maybe other people would want to have a go at making it as well.

All the cars other functions are not effected.

Medium motor to steer

This three holed grey beam is essential, It stops the gears from slipping.

Plenty of room to add lots of different gear ratios.

Remove the Lego V8 engine. Add an XL motor, if fitted correctly as per the picture the bonnet closes fine.

The blue connecting part to the left is all that's needed to hold the XL motor to the car chassis.

Christmas

2012-01-03T10:45:00.000-08:00

Hoping to add some new attachments to the Unimog over the next few weeks.

Simple compressor

2011-11-22T04:15:00.000-08:00

This is a simple compressor that can be remotely controlled by the Lego Technic infrared system. Its powered by 3 medium sized motors, two drive the switches and the other drives the pneumatic pump. Because the pump cam profile is small it only generates small controllable movement in large pistons. This makes it very easy to control crane attachments, etc. However the smaller cam reduces the amount of overall pressure which makes lifting heavily objects difficult.
The switches control the direction of the air pressure and can power two pneumatic cylinders independently.

This compressor was originally built to fit within my cat crawler loader hence its compact size I also used it in my Unimog

4 X 4 Scania

2011-11-21T06:22:00.000-08:00

This is my first model of a truck, I looked around on Brickshelf for sometime trying to find a good example of a Scania cab before coming across Sariel's racing truck, the scale was very good and with his detailed pictures it was easy to reproduce. For my model I reduced the size of the cab and changed the roof this was more in keeping with the tech drawings I had of a 4x4 Scania.

The battery box, receiver and medium motor are hidden under the tar poling on the loading bed.

Working front lights.

The chassis is a 4x4 configuration with no center diff. the original truck uses leaf springs but Lego don't make a leaf spring so I opted for the yellow stiffer coil spring. Drive comes from 1 XL motor and steering is rack and pinon which is driven via a medium sized motor.

Please click on the images to enlarge.

Here is a link to Sariels racing truck:

http://sariel.pl/2010/07/scania-racing-truck/#more-1514

Old Truck

2011-11-20T06:40:00.000-08:00

This is a Lego model based around an old theme and does not exist in real life.

The model is very simple and was built within a few hours. The chassis is rear drive via a new type Lego diff and medium motor.

The battery box sits very neatly in the rear and is easily removed.

The trailer is also very simple with a turn table being used to steer the front axel. The bed is lifted by using the large type linear actuator.

Steering is done by rack and pinion and is powered by another medium motor, it will also self centre via the use of elastic bands.

click on the images to start the picture viewer.

Crawler Loader

2011-11-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

This is my Lego model of a crawler loader, some of you may have seen it already as its been on my brickshelf page for sometime.

The model is powered by two XL motors which give the model a large amount of torque, one IR receiver and a large type battery box (located in between the tracks). I put the battery box as low as possible in order to help its climbing ability and improve its center of gravity.

The attachment is driven by pneumatic’s.- Two jacks to lift and two jacks to manipulate the bucket. A hand pump is located at the back and the hand controls are inside the cab. I’ve also built a small compressor that can be remotely controlled to fit this model, but its not shown in the pictures.

I built the model very early on and didn't have all the parts to finish it, you can notice this in some of the pictures

Click on the images to enlarge them.