Aurorasaurus

That's some impressive speed, would you be able to show us a video?

These look incredible, I wonder if they'll look so bright in real life.

If I recall correctly both versions slide smoothly, but I may be wrong.

Its very simple but recognizable, very elegant. Are you able to share more detailed photos of the drivetrain, possibly without wheels?

Merry Christmas everyone, thanks for a great year!

Thank you very much! Not that you'd believe it if you looked outside today... I have a draft version from the gathering group chat, so they are subject to change.

Tomorrow I will try film again, surprisingly the performance on the road isn't bad. But the model does flip over easily. About the tires, how would I pre-heat them? Thank you :) I switched the gears around in my mini racer this year, so yes, I will do that again to gain more control. Thank you! And yes, the flights are... unpleasant. But it was worth it this year. If I can afford to go again, I will.

In the past week or so, I've been working on a car for the 1:12 racers competition of next years Buwizz gathering. The rules state that each participants vehicle must have at least two of the following features: opening doors, working steering wheel, suspension, working fake engine. For a long time I struggled to pick what to build, I thought about a warthog from halo, because all wheel steering would give it good maneuverability. I also thought about an LMP1 car, but some tests found that neither of those were good options for me. Then, I was inspired by a rally version of a porsche 911 3.3. The building process started with the front axle, I wanted to have at least 2 studs of ground clearance so I could comfortably drive on grass or gravel. To do this, I decided to use part 2393 rather than part 48989. This allowed me an extra stud of ground clearance compared to the solution I used in my mini racer this year. The 9 module flip flop beam is still unreleased, and not added to LDD new parts yet, so I made my own one with this handy tool, then used LDD brick editor to add it to LDD. I have uploaded this file here, along with the 3d model I was working off in LDD. The steering rack is in front of the center of the front axle to keep the model as compact as possible, but unfortunately meant that the steering axle rotated in the opposite way to how the working steering wheel should. Luckily, the spacing between the axle for the steering wheel and the actual steering wheel was perfect for 4x 8t gears, meaning the steering wheel rotates the correct way. Next was the rear drive. I knew from my previous mini racer that 2 Buwizz motors would have plenty of torque, I previously geared up 2x from the slow output and had no issues. For this model, I chose a less extreme gear ratio because I wanted to have enough torque for light offroading, and with the higher weight and larger wheels I needed a lower rpm. I settled on a 20:16 ratio from the fast output. This gives me, theoretically, over 3000rpm at the wheels. I positioned the motors so that the rear part where you can see the actual motor is in roughly the same spot as the engine in the real car. This is also good for the weight distribution, as in my previous mini racer, I suffered from a lack of grip at the rear wheels for the huge amount of power I was putting down. Then, chronologically, I added the working steering wheel, and seats. Because of the 3d model I imported, I was able to place the seats and steering wheel almost exactly where they should go in the real car. Some simple chassis reinforcement followed, and then I assembled it in real life and did a test drive: At that point, I was happy with the performance, so I kept building the bodywork. I struggled for some time with the hood; the real car has a tapered hood but a straight hood was easier to make with lego and looked better. I would like to thank @N1K0L4, @Alex Ilea and @Zerobricks for helping me with that decision. The next interesting thing I designed for this model was the front bumper. It is mounted to two rubber parts so that it actually functions to absorb some impact. After the bumper the next interesting part of the build was the doors, which have a bi-stable mechanism to keep them closed while driving. This also fulfills the requirement of at least two of the listed functions. And so, after making the trunk openable, it was all done, and time for a test drive. And that went pretty bad. So I've decoupled the rear wheels, they now run independent of each other. This will probably kill the performance on grass, but fix the performance on other surfaces... right? Anyway, I wrote all of this before finding out it drove poorly, and I'm not just going to delete it all. I'd be glad to receive any suggestions, I clearly need some help... More photos + files download: https://bricksafe.com/pages/Aurorasaurus/rally-porsche-1224

I have never wanted to build an alternate model so much! This model is just fantastic, the functionality is outstanding, and the execution of all the functions is flawless in my eyes. And the way you presented all the details makes it so easy to understand, seriously good work.

How about buwizz/buwizz motors? I'm thinking about a flywheel foam dart gun.

I've never heard of that sort of thing being done with buwizz, and I'm not aware of any interface that would allow you to transfer code to it.

I think people can apply common sense logic to it, if we provide a few good examples. Mech, Drone, Roomba, not being allowed gives me a pretty good idea what we are and arent allowing.

I think most of those would not be allowed, because of the definition of a vehicle being something that transports people or goods. Something like a drone would be allowed though, I believe.

How would people feel about this sort of thing? It's not strictly a vehicle, but I think making it move would be kinda cool. This is "Fido" from the anime 86, and I think he's really cute :)

Why not? It's just for fun, after all.

I'm not sure if what I'm about to say applies to the AT-AT mechanism, but when building fast rc stuff friction pins help reduce rebound in suspension and keep everything moving at a slightly more regulated speed. Could be something to do with that. Another reason could be for inserting a bar, and extending the pin, which cant be done with the grey ones.

Not really, you just vote for what you interpret to be the highest quality/what you find most appealing.

Agreed, I think a complex hand model capable of somewhat realistic articulation would be really cool, and sorta fitting with the theme. Animals alone feels too restrictive.

It looks like a solid build. Have you got any footage of it?

Only as long as you provide a digital file so I can make one too :)

Sure thing: Front wheel hub: Rear wheel hub: Actual photos: And finally, a video of a prototype working: I originally made these out of PETG, attached metal U joints with a hole drilled in one side with glue and a cut up screw, and glued both pieces to either side of the bearing. PETG turns out to be a terrible material for this application, so it broke. The newer ones were from PLA, but I kinda gave up half way through because the brushless motor is just too much power for the lego differentials. I ordered diffs from zene, so I'll pick the wheel hub project up again in a month when those arrive. STL files are on bricksafe: https://bricksafe.com/pages/Aurorasaurus/brushless/wheel-hubs

If they're out of stock because of other orders, I think so. They could also be on holiday, we all deserve a break sometimes. You'll still get your unit before christmas.

This looks super promising. I've also been working on this topic, only trying to connect lego wheels instead of rc wheels. Funnily, I'm also using a 21mm OD 15mm ID 4mm bearing! But I have put my project down for a bit, so I'm glad someone else is doing it too. Cant wait to see how this turns out.

Conveyor belt wheels, flywheels for a foam dart gun, flotation devices... theres lots of options!

Honestly, it sounds like a fun challenge. Especially if the rules on what you can build were very loose, I have some ideas already...