[REVIEW] 42055 Bucket Wheel Excavator

[ctx1769]

The BWE is a beast and it was a great pleasure building it and it worked :)

[Ngoc Nguyen]

What I meant to ask was that, why using 1 clutch gear makes no function work at all, but using 2 clutch gears does?

[suffocation]

One of the main issues with this model is that if any moving part goes ever so slightly out of alignment then it's curtains. When I finished building it it ran decently enough; a few days later I picked it up by the tower (using it as a handle) a couple of times just to move it to another table and after that it refused to work - the clutch gears kept slipping. I replaced them with regular 24T gears and now the model works again but the motor sounds like it's going to blow up any minute.

[quilkin]

On ‎14‎/‎10‎/‎2016 at 10:01 AM, nguyengiangoc said:

What I meant to ask was that, why using 1 clutch gear makes no function work at all, but using 2 clutch gears does?

The two clutches are in parallel so it needs twice the torque to make them start slipping. I suspect that when the model was being designed, they tried a single clutch to start with and found (like you) that the torque required to drive the mechanisms was too much for one clutch. So they added another. A third in parallel (if there was room somehow) would extend the idea and make it safer than the fixed gear some people are trying.

[eliminator]

For any Canadians looking to buy this set, Costco.ca now has it for $239.99 CDN  (vice the Lego Store price of $329.99 CDN). Free shipping.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

BWE on Amazon.de for 165 EUR! Crazy discount..

[suffocation]

Got another copy from Amazon UK for £124 last week. As far as parts packs go it doesn't get any better.

[eliminator]

While I wasn't going to pick up this set, I couldn't resist the price at costco.ca. They're back in stock for $240CDN (=approx $179 USD).

I think I will build the B Model...

[teos]

Dang.  Those prices make it an easy buy.  The lowest price in the USA that I've found is still $274 (MSRP $279).  Still, I keep hoping to find a slightly better deal.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

It's officially revealed in the Technic page that Markus only design the A model. The B model is designed by Aurélien Rouffiange.

[Mantarri]

Wow, and I bought my Mercedes-Arocs the day before this thing went on sale for $200 CAD @ Costco.

It looks awesome, and I actually know what a BWE is (and I'm not German ), the way they have it so the pieces can move all the way from bucket to truck is pretty cool!

[cjh]

On 12/17/2016 at 2:40 PM, XtremeBuilder said:

Wow, and I bought my Mercedes-Arocs the day before this thing went on sale for $200 CAD @ Costco.

It looks awesome, and I actually know what a BWE is (and I'm not German ), the way they have it so the pieces can move all the way from bucket to truck is pretty cool!

I actually just ordered it for $200 at costco. Been eyeing it for a while, and couldn't resist that price! This will be my first technic set, excited to build it! I like that it's (more-or-less) minifig scale. 

[Mantarri]

13 minutes ago, cjh said:

I actually just ordered it for $200 at costco. Been eyeing it for a while, and couldn't resist that price! This will be my first technic set, excited to build it! I like that it's (more-or-less) minifig scale. 

This thing is big, but it is not minifig scale, but have fun!

[Ngoc Nguyen]

I've FINALLY achieved what I've always wanted while modifying this set. My aim is to increase the bucket wheel & conveyor speed, at the same time still retain some protection measures. And here is what I come up with.

Instead of
20z 12z
      24z 8z
      24z 8z

in the original setup, rearrange them as

24z 8z
24z 8z
      12z 20z

This increases the speed significantly, while still allow enough force to not slip the clutch gear 24z. You can even change the 12z - 20z into 24z - 8z and the clutch gears still don't slip, but that would be too fast to be enjoyable.

[cjh]

59 minutes ago, XtremeBuilder said:

This thing is big, but it is not minifig scale, but have fun!

I only meant that you can put minifigs on it without looking ridiculous, as opposed to how they would look on most of the technic vehicles!

[Mantarri]

Just now, cjh said:

I only meant that you can put minifigs on it without looking ridiculous, as opposed to how they would look on most of the technic vehicles!

Oh, I understand.

P.S. We need the Technic "mini"figs to be re-released!

[Huaojozu]

So I built packs 6 and 7 and stopped after attaching the battery to test it out. The scooping function works for a second or two, then stops. If I push on the bucket, it will restart, keep going for another second and stop again. I can't figure out if I messed up somewhere during the building process or if I missing something somewhere - anyone else with the same problem?

[Ngoc Nguyen]

2 hours ago, Huaojozu said:

So I built packs 6 and 7 and stopped after attaching the battery to test it out. The scooping function works for a second or two, then stops. If I push on the bucket, it will restart, keep going for another second and stop again. I can't figure out if I messed up somewhere during the building process or if I missing something somewhere - anyone else with the same problem?

A few things:

- Did you put the whole bucket wheel arm on the turret or did you hold the arm outside? The bucket wheel can only rotate smoothly when the arm is positioned in the way that the bucket wheel is lower than the control panel and the battery box.

- Did you use the two white clutch gear? When I first built I only used one so the model didn't work, but when I used both of them it worked

- You can try testing the individual units in the whole drive chain, by first disengaging the lower conveyor, then disengaging the bucket wheel, then turn the motor on.
To disengage the lower conveyor, either pull down the innermost LBG connector or pull up the DBG one in this step.

 

To disengage the bucket wheel, use an axle and push it from the bucket wheel size to drop out the black 12z gear, the one that meshes with the 20z gear.

 

4. You can try rotating the yellow 11L axle manually to see if it's to rigid.

[mattthewise]

Does anyone know why some of the bags come packaged in the small white box inside of the main box? I haven't been able to think of any reasons.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

One does not simply understand TLG's packaging logic.

[aeh5040]

39 minutes ago, mattthewise said:

Does anyone know why some of the bags come packaged in the small white box inside of the main box? I haven't been able to think of any reasons.

My guess is that the presence of the smaller box is supposed to add some strength to the outer box.  And possibly to prevent all the bags piling up at one end and damaging the outer box.  But it does seem like a strange approach.

[Siegfried]

On 31/12/2016 at 11:07 AM, Huaojozu said:

So I built packs 6 and 7 and stopped after attaching the battery to test it out. The scooping function works for a second or two, then stops. If I push on the bucket, it will restart, keep going for another second and stop again. I can't figure out if I messed up somewhere during the building process or if I missing something somewhere - anyone else with the same problem?

I think it's been said before but a common mistake (I made it) is to not ensure that the gear quarters are aligned. They seem to be not perfect circles and thus if don't align them the wheel goes from a bad circle that matches on both sides to a bad circle that doesn't. Thus increasing friction massively. 

[DaFokka]

 

8 hours ago, mattthewise said:

Does anyone know why some of the bags come packaged in the small white box inside of the main box? I haven't been able to think of any reasons.

Maybe the contents of the box are manufactured in a different plant?

[dr_spock]

11 hours ago, aeh5040 said:

My guess is that the presence of the smaller box is supposed to add some strength to the outer box.  And possibly to prevent all the bags piling up at one end and damaging the outer box.  But it does seem like a strange approach.

They used that approach with the UCS Imperial Star Destroyer back in the early 2000's.  It came in a huge box with four smaller boxes inside.  I think also to keep the pieces and weight distributed. It can probably prevent damage to some parts if they don't all sit under or be struck by a huge heavy pile of other parts when courier shipping guy toss the box onto your driveway and run.

 

[agrof]

As a packaging designer (although for industrial market, not displays like here) I can confirm this.

So many small pieces (bulk material) in such a huge box with flexible sides would cause that the sides can belly, as the small pieces extend downwards and outwords, thus damage the box due the extra stress on the corners and edges. In extreme cases the packed goods can burst the walls. This goes mainly for vertical position of the box, or if You lift it horizontally.
Another effect is the stacking (horizontally), one put a box with smaller footprint on a bigger one, without internal support structure (like the small white box) the thin wall (here: lid) can burst or crack. And there goes our discount...