JCB 531

September 1, 2014 1 Comment


Astute readers will note the heading of Thirdwigg.com has changed to read “LEGO Technic from Grand Rapids.” A slight heading change notes a rather large life change for myself, Mrs. Thirdwigg, and Jr. Thirdwigg. This has caused a slight hiccup to production and the timeline of The Queue, but we are back in business.

A working telehandler has been on my list of machines to build for a long time. I finally acquired a 32l axle, and it was the impetus I needed to start the project.

The full gallery is here.

Ready to take on any project.

Ready to take on any project.

Right from the beginning I decided the MOC would have steering, boom lift, boom tilt, and boom extension. All the functions would be manual as is my current trent (do not fear, it will be over soon), and would be housed within the boom itself. I based the scale for the MOC on the length of the boom being 32 studs so I could use the full 32l axle.

The 32l axle was placed on the top of the boom, and would allow the sliding 8z gear to transmit rotation to the fork tilt throughout the full extension of the boom. At the end of the boom I added a mLA to adjust the tilt of the fork. It took a little working, but I eventually figured out how to adjust the tilt for every position in the lift. I then worked on the boom and the extension so it would be as stiff as possible through all points of the lift.

I then worked on the chassis and the cab. The chassis was rather basic, and after a couple of rebuilds to get the steering right, it was done. I did have to do some revisions to have the boom/chassis interface more rigid. It turns out that when the boom was fully extended, the lift would sway a little too much. I then added a cab and the engine box on the right side. Here you can see the final project working.

The MOC worked well, and other than a slight sagging of the boom at full extension, I would not change a thing.

Happy Building.

Advertisement

Filed under Construction Tagged with , , , , , ,

JCB 714

March 29, 2014 1 Comment


My repertoire has become quite diverse over the years. I have made large cars, large planes, MODs, and many other types of builds. I enjoy those builds, and I get an immense amount of satisfaction completed them. Recently I have enjoyed making smaller, non-powered, Technic MOCs. I can generate more small build ideas, I can stay motivated better, and I enjoy the playing with final result more. So I made another small MOC, the JCB 714.

The full gallery may be found here. Instructions may be purchased for $5 USD.

Buy Now Button

JCB 714

This MOC started when I was browsing the JCB UK website. I thought the 714 would be a fun little project that would have some nice features, and would utilize some of my collection that is not currently being used. I started working on the frame. The MOC would have a four wheel drive system, suspension, steering, and a dumping back. I designed two suspension/steering designs, and while the first one was awesome, it was not as stable as I would have preferred. So I reverted back to the design utilized on the real JCB. It was not as flashy, but it worked well. A turntable is planted behind the steering pivot, with the drive axle moving through the center of both. A liftarm was placed on the left to operate the steering function. The drive axle would connect to both axles through a 12/20 gear reduction which connected them to two differentials. The I3 motor was placed in front of the forward axle.

The rear was more challenging than I expected. First, I had to plant the mLA’s in such a way that they could be connected by a single axle that would not impede the driveline. Second, the mLA’s had to operate in such a way that the bucket could do the full range of motion; nearly 90 degrees. Third, the shape of the bucket did not work well in LEGO, as there were limited flat surfaces. Thankfully the sides were flat, and some of the bottom. The bottom was connect to the dump pivot, and the sides would hold the angled panels. Finally, it had to make sure the rear wheels could still move freely. While there are still some holes in the dump, it works well enough to transport a bunch of bricks.

The cab built up fairly quickly, and allowed me some space to add the rear window grate, and a exhaust pipe. The hood can open, and there are steps to get into the cabin. Safe egress is important.

As I am finding with MOCs that do not utilize Power Functions, the MOC functioned well, every time. No maintenance is needed, gears do not skip, and the MOC works as it is designed. This is part of the reason I am building these kind of MOCs more often. The MOC worked as it was designed, just like a MOC should.

Thanks for reading and happy building.

 

 

Filed under Construction Tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

The Sod Farm

November 27, 2013 4 Comments


During two summers when I was in college, I worked on a Sod Farm. It was, let’s say, a developmental experience. The days were hot, long, and often included nothing more than sitting on a tractor listening to the diesel drone as I would slowly mow the sod at 1.8 mph (2.9 kph).

While I would often  recite the dialogue of Sgt. Bilko in my head to pass the time, I did manage to develop a deep fascination for the machinery used. Two months ago, Eurobricks decided to hold a contest to create three Technic creations that would work together. After some thought about the rules, the parts I had, I thought I could create an entry, and offer something a little unique.

The full gallery may be found here, and instructions here.

The Sod Farm

The contest required three models that would work together in a particular setting. Each must have a part count that did not exceed 500 parts, and each had to be unique. While trailers were acceptable, I somehow felt offering an entry with a trailer did not allow for enough creativity. As my thoughts wondered on a bike ride, I decided I would create a small truck, a little forklift, and a sod harvester. My design would harken back to those days on the sod farm. Rather than the Freightliner Columbia and Piggyback Forklift we used, I designed a MAN TGS and a JCB 150T to have little more international flair, and frankly, to have a little more color. We used a Brouwer SH 1576 to harvest the sod, so I thought I should keep that machine.

The MAN TGS went through a number of revisions. Each was done to reach the part limit. The final MOC ended with a three function knuckleboom crane and a simple bed. In addition to the steering and the working doors, the crane is fully functional. The rotation is handled by a wheel on the right of the truck, and the main lift is handled by a wheel in the rear of the truck. The second stage lift and boom extension is handled by a small wheel at the top of the crane.

The JCB 150T was a simple and straightforward build. Recreating a MOC with a single arm lift created some additional challenges. A single mini linear actuator was used to lift the boom, and a worm gear system was used to adjust the tilt of the forks. The offset cabin caused some frustration, but I eventually figured it out.

Finally, the Brouwer SH 1576 was the purpose of this project. After a little research, I determined the scale of the project. I then started building. I usually add too many features to a MOC, and this harvester was no exception. The rear wheels spun a single differential, which ran straight to the front to power a two cylinder motor. Off the driveline was a PTO between the motor and the differential which would run the harvesting arm. The harvesting arm has a track system to drive the pieces of sod up to the back of the harvester to load the sod on the pallets. A simple cutting head was added to the front which had a cutter to cut the sod off the ground, and a timed cutter on the top to make sure each piece of sod was the correct size. After some work I added a simple steering system controlled by the smoke stack. Finally, I added a forklift system to hold and drop the pallets of sod off the back, and a small standing pad for the pallet worker.

This was the first LEGO contest I have entered since 1994. I hope you enjoy my entry. Thanks to Eurobricks.com for the contest. I appreciate your vote at eurobricks.com. In addition, instructions for the models can be found here.

For those counting (me), the number of parts needed for each MOC are: MAN TGS- 557, JCB 150T- 287 (inc 58 tracks), Brouwer 1576- 484 (inc 43 tracks)

Filed under Construction Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

JCB 930 Forklift

April 29, 2012 1 Comment


It was time for me to to make something that was a little smaller with a lot of functions.  I kept driving by a JCB forklift on the way to work, and I thought I could make that.  I wanted manual functions, including a working fork tilt and dual stage lift, working steering and drive, and a yellow bodywork.

I always start with the hardest part of a model.  For this model, that was the fork.  I wanted to use a dual stage lift as to get the forks to a substantial height.  This design would require a chain that would wrap over a moving frame, and connect on one side to the forks, and on the other side to the body.  The moving frame would be moved by a screw, thereby lifting the forks.  I used a number of worm gears on two 12l axles, connected through the bottom to move the moving frame.  This setup allowed for a pivot point, and a lifting mecanism that would function much like the real JCB 930.  The moving frame consisted of two rows of liftarms, and the forks tied everything together between the moving frame and the worm gears.  A chain went up and over the full assembly to work move the forks as the moving frame was lifted.  It works like this.

I then worked on the driveline.  I added a 3 cylinder motor in the rear, driven by the front wheels, working to keep the functions out of the way of the fork mechanism.  I added a steering axle on the rear, and gave it a pendular suspension setup.  This allowed for some stability on uneven ground, while keeping the front wheels planted for the load as it had no suspension.

I then built the body after the JCB 930, and as I did, I added a tilt freature to the fork.  This feature did not work too well, but it gave me the ability to adjust the pitch of the forks, which we a design requirement.  It was not too stable.  After a little work to the body, and a HOG steering link out the top of the cab, the model was done.

The model worked well, particularly the lift feature.  I was a little disappointed with the tilt feature, as it was a little too wobbly. The drivetrain worked well, and the steering allowed for tight corners.  The suspension give good stability, and offered a little bit of off-road prowess.

The full gallery is here.

Filed under Construction Tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,