I got this idea a while ago, when I first got Sbricks.

Why not make modular, expendable system of axles and chassis pieces in order to create a system for offroad truck construction.

Here is what I sketched up in LDD.

First we have a basic axle. It uses 2 XL motors for drive, independet suspension and steering with servo

Because we need a minimum of 2 axles, I designed a double chassis holder with two battery boxes:

If we combine 2 axles with the double battery holder, we get the most basic configuration, a 4x4x4:

In order to expand on the system I designed a single battery chassis extension:

Finally we can combine the three basic modules into a 6x6x6:

 

Or even a 10x10x10:

 

In theory there is no limit how far you can go, but I think anything over 12x12 might cause too much strain on the chassis.

Important details:

- Axles are designed for Claas wheels, which are not in LDD, hence the wheels above may look small

- Each axle can use any kind of a combiantion of number of springs and hardnesses for best flexibility and weight support

- Each axle is meant to also house and S brick, which allows you fine steering angle control in order to support any kind of configuration or steering mode (only front, only rear, all wheel steering, crab mode)

- For now this is still a concept, so I will relase the LDD file once I build, test and polish the concept

That's a great Idea!

How about putting the Bat-Box in a vertical line, so you could increase the space between the axles.

Edit:

A idea for the truck ;)

Chris

Edited May 22, 20177 yr by KikoTube

Cool idea :)

Fantastic idea, the 10x10x10 setup looks crazy

You've definitely have a great idea; however, I can see a few problems thus far. Firstly, all of the axles would have the same steering angle; however, if you can squeeze a space for gearing the servomotor, this wouldn't be a problem. Secondly, servomotors are 25USD each, which means that even on an 8x8x8 you'd spend 100USD on servos. A potential solution would be to to have an axle on top of the assembly that connects all other axles to all of the gear-racks.

Just now, Beck said:

You've definitely have a great idea; however, I can see a few problems thus far. Firstly, all of the axles would have the same steering angle; however, if you can squeeze a space for gearing the servomotor, this wouldn't be a problem. Secondly, servomotors are 25USD each, which means that even on an 8x8x8 you'd spend 100USD on servos. A potential solution would be to to have an axle on top of the assembly that connects all other axles to all of the gear-racks.

Like I wrote, Sbrick can be set to set each axle's steering angle and mode. If you dont need steered axle, you can always make a non-steered version. Also steering a long truck via normal axles will cause issues due to axle flexibility. This way everything is decentralized for maximum flexibility.

Just now, Zero (Zblj) said:

Like I wrote, Sbrick can be set to set each axle's steering angle and mode. If you dont need steered axle, you can always make a non-steered version. Also steering a long truck via normal axles will cause issues due to axle flexibility. This way everything is decentralized for maximum flexibility.

Oops, didn't see that!