42055 - Bucket Wheel Excavator - MODs and Improvements

[Imanol BB]

If you want to speed up the shaking rate there are 2 things you can do:

1) You can speed up the front conveyor belt as it is the one that powers the whole shaking system of the chute.

2) You can put more 5L liftarms in the front conveyor belt.

Now, all you might be wondering why do you need to do that to speed up the shaking movement, look at this picture:

So, it works like this: when the front conveyor belt (left one in the picture) is moving, the 5L liftarms (marked with green circle) hit an small pin on the chute (marked with red circle), this make the chute move up, and the chute lies in an small pivot (marked with blue), so, this is why you can make one (of both) of the previous options to speed up the shaking of the chute.

There is also a new review made by Sariel of the B model, and there are some parts of the video in which you can see how the shaking system works, here is the video and the topic in Eurobricks:

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=138792.

[carver0510]

I found this video:

I have used pasta too, but it was to small and it didn't work. Maybe I will finde some shell pasta ;)

[Imanol BB]

That looks good, this is a good option for the people who don´t have too many spare pieces to dig, by the way, i have made some more modifications on both models:

For the A model i have made some small changes in the lower conveyor belt, i moved some gears and added those pallet-like things to ensure that all pieces will be successfully transported:

I have also fixed the box-like thing (again), it has more inclination now but still don´t collide with the lower conveyor belt; and other change is in the pieces that hold AAA battery box in the chassis, i have added an easy removing system (so now it can be actually turned on and off without the needing of disassemble the chassis ):

Now, for the B model, i got a little bit inspiration from Discovery Channel and one of the hundreds of ore mining TV shows, and made some major modifications:

First, as i wanted to add the pallet-like things in the rear conveyor belt too, i needed more space under the conveyor belt, because the pallet-like things would collide with some parts in the structure under it, so i put the whole conveyor belt 2 studs back, i also needed to modify some of the parts which guide the material into the conveyor belt and moved some gears (Yes, the conveyor belt still moves to the right direction), and i now have enough space for the pallet-like things:

Another big modification was in the chute, i made it have a little bit more inclination and replaced the 11x3 panels in the lower area with 11L liftarms, to avoid that some pieces don´t roll to the conveyor belt, because as i saw in some reviews, this was a very usual problem in this model:

And finally, i made an small experiment in the rear part of the chute and under it, i put a prototype of a "vibration unit", in an attempt to improve the sorting function, it works with an M-Motor geared up with some pieces at the end that would act as an oscillating device, and it is powered by a PF electric switch (I hope it to be included in LDD soon), i am not sure if it will even work, but it would be cool if it does:

I hope you like all the modifications, and if you have any suggestion it is welcome.

Edited August 14, 2016 by ImanolBB

[Ngoc Nguyen]

@ImanolBB: Is there any way to route movement directly from the XL motor to shake the chute, instead of using an extra M motor

[Imanol BB]

Yes, but the only problem is that the XL Motor isn't enough fast, and you would also need to put another function from the gearbox, and the other problem comes there, because the XL Motor is geared down, you would need to gear it up again and you will lose many power to achieve the vibration function, that is why i went for the M-motor.

[Gabi_BC]

Back from vacation, started some early work on what i want to make out of the bwe:

The proportions i'm aiming for are something like this:

the BW arm will be raised/lowered via a pulley system like in the real machine, with the driving motor at the rear of the counterweight arm.

This bw arm needs to be substantially lengthened but i think that won't be a structural problem since the cantilever will not be larger than the one on the 42055. It will all be a problem of balancing the machine properly (some counterweight box might be needed in addition to the battery)

Edited August 26, 2016 by Gabi_BC

[Cumulonimbus]

The original 42055 wasn't big enough for you? Amibtious plans, I'm curious how it will turn out.

[Imanol BB]

Oh boy, that is going to be huge, and i really like that, the whole design looks very good.

[andrewganschow]

I get the feeling were looking at the beginning of a 6~7000 piece MOC. Wow I'd love to devote that many Legos to a build, the would definitely be the center piece of my Lego room/desk.

[dr_spock]

That's going to be nice and big. I think the big challenge will be to get it all balanced to avoid undue stress on the turntable and other parts. Some of the real machine designs have huge counterweights.

Ha, finally someone did a GBC MOD video.

[Gabi_BC]

I get the feeling were looking at the beginning of a 6~7000 piece MOC.

That would be the intention, however, i don't think it will become a real model in under a year. Real life, job and budgetary constraints will have a great say on this project. LDD model will hopefully take less than one year

Some of the real machine designs have huge counterweights.

I think the advanced tehnology of lego box with metal coins inside will be used. There will be plenty of space in the counterweight arm and the real machines have all sorts of "boxes" there for electrical equipment.

I was wondering...is there any other spacing possible for the buckets on the bucket wheel, such as to have more of them, say...10-12?

Edited August 28, 2016 by Gabi_BC

[carver0510]

Found this interessting video of an MOD of the B-Model

[Gabi_BC]

Counterweight arm structure is almost complete. I think the battery box will be placed in the counterweight since it has a hinged cap, along with some lead weights that will be adjusted on a trial and error basis in the real model.

Structurally speaking i think there won't be any problems here. Now i have to squeeze in the wire drums that control the elevation of the BW arm, motor and IR-receivers.

[Imanol BB]

That is becoming bigger and bigger every day (like a certain country´s inflation ), and from the structural point of view, looks pretty strong and robust, the counterweight arm looks amazing with all those reinforcements, is looking very good so far.

[dr_spock]

I think the advanced tehnology of lego box with metal coins inside will be used. There will be plenty of space in the counterweight arm and the real machines have all sorts of "boxes" there for electrical equipment.

I used old AA batteries to counterweight my Friends BWE GBC MOC. I needed my coins to pay LEGO.

It looks like you're going to need quite a few large value coins to realize your creation in physical LEGO.

[Alegomind]

How do you make this image with ldd??

[Gabi_BC]

How do you make this image with ldd??

search for Bluerender. It's free, available online and easy to use. There are multiple rendering programs, but i'm ok with this one so far.

It looks like you're going to need quite a few large value coins to realize your creation in physical LEGO.

Oh yes. I know a certain loved someone who is not going to be happy with that

Also "make large BWE model central item in living room" is not going to go down very well.

Edited September 2, 2016 by Gabi_BC

[gvo25]

@ImanolBB I've just tried to make a liitle more inclination in the shaker in the original B-model, but now the "grating" is too high and the big blocks don't pass under the black conveyor belt. If you want to make more inclination by altering the pivot point one has to adjust also the black conveyor belt or alter the whole setup of the shaker.

[gvo25]

@ImanolBB I've just tried to make a liitle more inclination in the shaker in the original B-model, but now the "grating" is too high and the big blocks don't pass under the black conveyor belt. If you want to make more inclination by altering the pivot point one has to adjust also the black conveyor belt or alter the whole setup of the shaker.

And still the small pieces are not sliding well

[Imanol BB]

I think i should make more improvements, by the way, where did you find that reply?, i dont remember where i wrote it.

[gvo25]

I think i should make more improvements, by the way, where did you find that reply?, i dont remember where i wrote it.

"Another big modification was in the chute, i made it have a little bit more inclination and replaced the 11x3 panels in the lower area with 11L liftarms, to avoid that some pieces don´t roll to the conveyor belt, because as i saw in some reviews, this was a very usual problem in this model" a liitle bit up on this page

[Imanol BB]

Ok, i will see if i can make more modifications to avoid that problem.

[gvo25]

I think I have found a way to add more 'potential' energy to the shaking. I've added a grey spring to the large shute. Early testing show great promise.

Edited September 4, 2016 by gvo25

[gvo25]

Here's a pic of the (for now) final version of the spring shaker. The problem of the small pieces getting stuck on the slide is largely solved. A lot depends of the inclination of the big conveyor belt. After testing I decided to go for the grey spring as the yellow spring is way to hard and the conveyor belt gets stuck.

[Imanol BB]

That looks very cool, is a very nice idea.