George Staples' Lego Technic Suspension Tutorial

[DLuders]

George Staples (saberpurple) posted this

of six different types of vehicle suspensions, using simple Lego Technic models. Here are excerpts from his discussion on MOCpages, he wrote:

"This is a suspension tutorial, or a idea guide for suspension systems. I have included 6 suspension types each with their pros and cons, and best uses....

1) TANDOM PIVOT: The tandem pivot is built to connect two axles together, and have a central pivot point.

Pros: Two axle have suspension; compact size; Fair ammount of travel.

Cons: Axles move together; No "squish" in the supension; Lots of friction when driveing axles.

This type of suspension is good for smaller MOCs. The size is limited to the tire size, and smallest Technic beams.

2) PENDULAR: The pendular suspension is another very simple design. It's basic idea is wheels on the sides, and a pivot point in the center of the axle.

Pros: Has the best travel(distance from lowest point of suspension to highest; Simple to build; Good for small MOCs; Steering can be attached easily, and steering shaft can be the pivot shaft.

Cons: No "squish" in suspension; When one wheel moves up, it tilts the wheel onto it's edge; If equipped on front and rear, cab of vehicle tips over.

My suggestions for using this suspension are: use this mainly for front axles, If used for rear and front axles rubber bands must be used to level....The main problem with the rubber bands is that it's hard to get the cab level, and keep it level....

3) RUBBERBAND PUSHDOWN: The rubberband pushdown suspension is fairly simple, but more complex than the preceding suspension types. The reason I named this Rubberband pushdown is because the rubberbands push the suspension rods down.

Pros: Squish in suspension; Adjustable squish by tautness of rubberbands; Versatile size.

Cons: Suspension provides little Roll (side to side bounce); Can be rater stiff unless used with large vehicles; Can bend axle.

One thing you have to make sure to do when building this type of suspension is to make sure the axle is properly secured to the frame. I had to use 8 rods from bending forward and backward. 4 rods are adequate to make this work properly, just make sure the axle can't bend too much.

4) LEAF SPRING:

Pros: Uses only lego pieces; Good for heavy vehicles.

Cons: One size (Realativly speaking); Very stiff; Adding steering can be a pain.

This suspension is very stiff, and has almost no roll. When building a model with this suspension, you need to make sure to fortify the frame, so that the suspension actually bends instead of the frame. I recommend this for only large vehicles, If you want a similar type of suspension for smaller vehicles use the rubberband type.

When building this for a rear axle I suggest using the rectangle piece shown here, and the differential that goes with it. It is the simplest design I have found so far. Just make sure to attach the rectangle piece to the bottom of the rods.

If you want a tutorial on how to build the leaf spring, I have one on

.

5) INDEPENDENT:

Pros: Each wheel moves on its own; Wheels don't tip when moving up and down; "A" arms are provided and can be easy to set up.

Cons: Steering can be a pain to get straight; Dimensions are limited when using A arms; Can be hard to fit in small models.

This is my favorite type of suspension, because each wheel can travel on its own, and are not attached via solid axle. Another good thing about this suspension is that you can adjust where the springs go, and there by adjust the "squishyness" of the suspension.

6) PNEUMATIC (AIR BAG): The pneumatic suspension system is unique in that it is readily adjustable.

Pros: Adjustable; Linear design; Can be used for a variety of vehicles.

Cons: Requires pneumatic parts; Can bleed off axle is only attached at one pivot point; Hard to add multiple drive shafts.

...One good thing is you can adjust the height of your MOC, and you can adjust the suspension tension. I would recommend this for trucks, and maybe the occasional tricked out car.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

If you use the LDD for a MOC, or use the leaf spring/Air Bag on a MOC, a little credit would be much appreciated. Thank you for looking, and please comment. I spent quite a while on this! [Lego Digital Designer] (LDD) files are available for the following:"

Leaf Spring

Pendular

Rubberband

Tandem

Edited March 29, 2012 by DLuders

[timslegos]

Very informative, you learn something new everyday!

tim

[DLuders]

George Staples recently added a second Lego Technic Suspension Tutorial on MOCpages. His

displays them well.

He wrote that "After receiving lots of positive feedback from my first tutorial, I present my second suspension tutorial. If you have not seen my first one I would sugest you check it out, here. This tutorial features 6 different and new suspension types 4 of which are built for tracks. I also have a video at the end, and a LDD file containing all the systems. So with out further adieu lets get started.

Types of suspension covered in this tutorial:

* Rubberband pull up

* Torsion bar

* Solid track frame

* Inside track dual bar

* Independent roller

* Sideways independent

1: Rubberband Pull Up

"Basically it does what the name implies. The tire pulls down on the rubberband, and it springs the wheel back up. Very easy to build.

Pros: Simple, compact design; Can be built on very small vehicles; Rubberband and arm can be adjusted to get the right squish.

Cons: Not good for larger vehicles; Have to add stops on the arm; Not intended for steering axles.

"This design can be used as a sort of independent suspension, with each wheel having it's own arm and rubberband.

"If you were to add a drive, I would sugest hooking the arms together as to make a more efficient drive, and so your axles don't twist as much."

2: Torsion Bar

"I would not recommend this suspension, but I received a comment on my last tutorial stating I had not done this type, so here it is. It's more of a joke than a actual viable suspension. Now you maybe thinking, where are the rubberbands, shocks, something to provide the spring. No, it's not a unfinished build. The black axle provides the spring to this one. A torsion bar is a bar that is fixed to the frame at one end, and twists to provide spring. I have fixed this one by two ends, so that it is a little stiffer. This is susposed to be for a roller on a tracked system.

Pros: Requires only Technic pieces, no rubberbands, springs etc.; Can be built for small creations; Very stiff design for heavy vehicles.

Cons: Can be hard on your pieces, especially the axles; Hard to make torsion rods twist."

3: Solid Track Frame

"I'm not too creative with the names of these systems. This one features a solid undercarriage system. This means that the tracks don't expand and contract according to the suspension. The gray rods in the center must be added, or else the frame will pivot around the shocks, and fall down.

Pros: Tracks are solid; Can be built for a variety of tracks -- High tracks, tank tracks, straight tracks.

Cons: Have to make frame to account for springs; Tracks don't contour to terrain, providing less traction."

4: Inside Track Dual Bar

"I'm very pleased with this one. My friend wants me to make a half track with the suspension that follows this one, but I found a picture of a half track with suspension similar to this one, and I will be making a halftrack featuring this suspension. It is a simple concept of putting the shocks on the inside of the track from the top main bar to bars below that move. Having two bars gives it an independent feel.

Pros: Lots of suspension travel; 4 way independent feel.

Cons: Track moves a lot around sprockets, and can slip; Requires space for springs."

5: Independent Roller

"I wish I could say I came up with this idea, but I did not. It came from Zackhariah Macasaet, who in my opinion is a professional tank builder. He has some awesome tanks, and this very cool suspension design. An important note, he uses the smaller black tracks for his tanks, and I have found out, these bigger tracks don't work as good as those for this suspension system. The reason being, the bigger tracks don't have very much bending backwards motion.

"I modified it a little, changing the position of the rubberband.

Pros: Very independent track suspension; Excellent design for tanks.

Cons: Doesn't work well with larger tracks; Requires quite a few rubberbands; Limited to spacing such that the rollers don't collide.

"Anybody building a tank, I would recommend trying this system out, and seeing how it works."

6: Sideways Independent

"I saved the best for last. My friend sent me a picture of a suspension in which the springs were mounted parallel to the frame. This was for a model RC car. He wanted me to build it for my raptor, but it is too wide.

"From the photo I found out, the springs were attached to rockers, which were in turn attached to bars attached to the A arms. Lots of attaching. The main benefit of building it this way is that you don't have shock sticking up from your frame, and you don't have to build your frame around them, etc.

"An added bonus is that the lever action of all these parts combined produces high amounts of travel, with very little shock travel. I have equipped this on my Barracuda, a rugged off road vehicle.

Pros: Great suspension travel; No shocks perpendicular to frame; Can be used for steering or drive axles.

Cons: Hard to add steering and keep wheels from towing in or out; Limits width of vehicle; Lever action makes spring power weaker, must use double shocks, or different levers for larger vehicles.

"I would sugest this suspension system for medium to large vehicles. Some examples being race cars, jeeps, ect. If you want to make this for a heavy duty vehicle, I would suggest repositioning the spring and bars so that you have stiffer suspension. I found out that when dealing with independent suspension systems, it is best to move the steering rods as close to the A arms as possible, this gets rid of the towing when the suspension is pushed down and up.

"Check out the travel on this thing -- it's simply amazing!"

"The [Lego Digital Designer] LDD file contains [building Instructions for] all the suspension systems. I did not add the A arms to the Sideways independent, because I could not find the right ones. I think that they are the only part missing. If you use these suspension systems, credit would be appreciated. Thanks for looking, I put a lot of time into these tutorials, feed back is greatly appreciated!"

Edited April 28, 2012 by DLuders

[timslegos]

Wow i have not heard of a few of those suspension types, definitely a helpful video .

tim

[Burf2000]

Very inspiring set of videos!

[parda]

This come from a genius!! Very interesting!!

[scifunk]

Fantastic work - love the sideways independent version. 

I guess this is a combination of a couple of the above but how about floating axle and triangulated suspension as often seen on crawlers?

Edited May 30, 2017 by scifunk

[Milan]

@scifunk

Welcome to Eurobricks.

Please try to avoid posting in old topics, especially in 5+ years old topic. Please familiarize yourself with the site guidelines. There is active and very nice topic about axles HERE.