G’day, here’s a brief update from the workshop.
On the weekend I finished building the new power functions Lego bulldozer (Techic) which has the new remote power functions components (there are a few servos included).
I’ll post pictures later since I’m roaming at the moment, but let me say it was a fun job. We had friends visiting and I got a bit distracted. As a result, I forgot to add one cog to the main motor assembly – whoops. Thankfully it was in an unguarded position and I was able to insert it with little fuss.
The next project is this one: Technic Tow Truck. No remote control functionality, but it looks pretty awesome. Ultimately I’d like to be able to re-purpose the Mindstorms kit to power some of the operation of the truck. In fact, I am hoping to do the same with the Bulldozer also.
Anyway.. back to the Mindstorms kit. You might recall my earlier post with regard to the tribot I built. Received some interest from the world wide web and made some modifications to the base frame as a result.
Firstly, reverse direction was a problem. The unit does have some issues reversing, so I’ve mitigated the impact by adding two cogs on the underside of the cross bar which holds the rear wheel set in place.
This gives the rear wheel more strength on turns and keeps the connected shaft perpendicular rather than on a weird angle (the rear wheel also is partly load bearing).
Here’s a sketch of the basic change (please ignore the ‘basic’ nature of it.. I’m not very artistic):
Lastly, I realized when I placed the bot on a shelf that it wasn’t level. After changing part of the intelligence brick bracing, I’ve made the housing level which has altered the center of balance slightly.
Again, I’ll post some updated pictures when I can. The other thing, not sure if I mentioned it earlier – I changed the upper body section.
The original design was too "wonky" and not very detachable. My wife pointed out that the original design was ‘cuter’ but that really wasn’t part of the core deliverables for this release..
Anyhow, I moved it forward on the intelligence brick and strengthened it with dual vertical side struts (added strength). It’s also fully detachable now when the brick needs to come off. The top section is also totally independent of the brace/frame.
