[WIP] Orion - 1:10 racecar

[Jerry LEGO Creations]

Hi all,

I just stated a new project, and I decided to create a WIP topic for it so I can show my building process on it.

It is for now a side project, I started it early since I got stuck a bit on my main project (which can be found here for those interested), so progress probably won't be quick at first.

 

So about the car. It is going to be a 1:10 scale racecar. I'm not aiming for a certain car, I want to design my own. This gives me a lot of freedom in functions and features I want to add.

I looked at the Greek mythology to find a name, and settled on Orion. 

I am going for a different design style than my previous builds. In those builds I used a lot of panels and liftarms to close as many gaps as possible, for this one I want to go for a more 'technic' look.

I also have a list of functions/ features I (might) want to add:

 

Definitely want to add these:

• AWD (3 diffs)
• Sequential gearbox + engine (a simple 4 speed one to leave room for other functions)
• Spring-loaded scissor or butterfly doors
• Advanced suspension set-up & geometry
• Openable engine bay (probably with a lever in the car)
• DRS (or a similar system)
• Rigid monocoque

And might add these:

• Modular bodywork
• Modular chassis
• Active aero (e.g. panels which move when steering)

If you have other features you'd like me to (try to) add, please let me know.

So far I have built the axles. The rear axle is pretty much done, the front axle needs a few refinements, but is mostly finished by now.

 

Rear axle:

Orion - Rear axle 1 by Jerry LEGO Creations, on Flickr

Functions/ features:

• Double wishbone
• Stiff, short travel pushrod suspension with a limiter
• Heave spring
• Anti-roll bar
• Differential

Front axle:

Orion - Front axle 1 by Jerry LEGO Creations, on Flickr

Functions/ features:

• Double wishbone
• Stiff suspension (springs are attached with levers)
• Heave spring
• Anti-roll bar
• Differential
• Positive caster angle
• Kingpin inclination
• Ackermann steering geometry

At first I also added a negative camber angle, but it was a bit too exaggerated and lead to some problems, so I decided to not add it.

 

This is it for now, hope you like it :D

Edited April 30, 2021 by Jerry LEGO Creations
edit: formatting mistake

[higgins91]

5 shocks in the front and 1 in the rear, I think the rear will sag?

[Rudivdk]

@higgins91 Took me a little to realize, but the rear has 2 yellow springs as well, pointing inside and slightly downwards.

[higgins91]

well seen ! indeed with 2 more yellow it's already better ;)

[Andman]

I wouldn't trust the connection between this and this in your rear axle. While it my not be pushed off immediately, IMHO it will be pushed off over time. Did you test that thoroughly?

Why didn't you use 3L pins in you rear axles to connect the wheel hubs?

Looking forward to see progress!

[TeamThrifty]

Real suspension. Heave springs, anti roll bars.... Brilliant to see!!! 

[Jerry LEGO Creations]

@higgins91 Yep, there are 2 yellow shocks in the back, and more aren't needed, they are connected to a sort of rocker which amplifies the motion of the hubs quite a bit, making the suspension very stiff.

@Andman They get pushed of ever so slightly, so far it hasn't been a problem, but I might take a close look at it again. As for why I didn't use 3L pins on the rear, that's a leftover construction from earlier prototypes, I'll change it, thanks for pointing it out!

@TeamThrifty Thanks! :D I very much enjoy mechanical challenges like builing that

 

[amorti]

On the rear axle, is the grey spring a "heave spring"? It seems like if one wheel goes up, it'll force the other down. Isn't that the opposite of an anti-roll bar?

[Jerry LEGO Creations]

@amorti Yes, the grey spring is the heave spring. It acts when both sides are compressed. The anti-roll bar acts when the car is rolling, so they indeed have some opposing purposes. The goal is to achieve a nice balance of mechanical grip and to give a stable platform for aerodynamic purposes

Edited April 30, 2021 by Jerry LEGO Creations

[Jerry LEGO Creations]

I made some progress over the last week. I reworked both axles a bit. I changed the height the rear suspension a bit since I wanted a slight rake. The front suspension has been reinforced and seems to work properly now. The steering radius is quite large, although I don't really mind that on a racecar. The toe of the front wheels turned out to be wrong, which also messed up the Ackermann steering, so I made it adjustable. The connection to the steering rack seems to be strong enough to not change the toe over time, so I'm happy with how that turned out. The front of the car bottoms out on the ground, the rear doesn't. I'm ok with that, since it allows me to have a smaller ground clearance.

The rear axle has a 4-speed sequential AWD gearbox with a 3rd differential. The way I made the gearbox is opposite to how I usually do it, the input from the wheels is connected to the clutch gears and the engine is connected to the shafts of the driving rings. This was easier in this case since the 3rd differential has 2 different gear sizes on it, and now I can use both. The shifter is a simple red lever to the right of the engine, and it is connected to a lever in the car. This lever moves (a bit) when you shift, though you can't use it to shift since it can't handle the force. The shifter has a limiter to prevent shifting from 1st to 4th or vice versa. The engine has a high rpm but runs without skipping gears. Just to be sure, there is a white 24t clutch gear in the drivetrain.

I also made the monocoque. It has the HOG steering with a working steering wheel and a lever for the DRS. Of course there is no DRS yet, but I already have a connection point for a link at the rear to control it. The rear might look a bit high and bulky at the moment, but I think I can work with it. The chassis is modular, consisting of 3 parts: both axles and the monocoque. The angled beams at the rear might not have the perfect length, but the difference is so small that it doesn't give much stresses.

I still want to do some detailing work on the interior and engine bay, but I'll probably leave it at this for now, I want to do some things on a different project.

Here are some WIP pics:

Orion - Chassis front by Jerry LEGO Creations, on Flickr

Orion - Chassis back by Jerry LEGO Creations, on Flickr

Orion - Monocoque by Jerry LEGO Creations, on Flickr

[Pato Sentado]

Getting a good shape. I will follow your progress.

Engine position?

[SUPER Max Black]

This will make a great car.

[Alex Ilea]

This looks promising! I would recommend, as I see the cabin structure to be quite rigid, that you make the A pillars very thin, this will make the car look better than if it had thicker ones (even just a flexaxle). 

[Jerry LEGO Creations]

11 hours ago, Pato Sentado said:

Getting a good shape. I will follow your progress.

Engine position?

Thank you, it is mid engined.

3 hours ago, SUPER Max Black said:

This will make a great car.

Thanks :D

2 hours ago, IA creations said:

This looks promising! I would recommend, as I see the cabin structure to be quite rigid, that you make the A pillars very thin, this will make the car look better than if it had thicker ones (even just a flexaxle). 

Thanks for the suggestion, I know what you mean. It's how I've done it the last few cars as well, and it looks better. So far I wasn't happy with the rigidity it gave me, but I can see what I can do. Maybe I'll try to build a roll cage and then only have flex axles for A pillars, since that has worked before

[langko]

This is looking great! I've always liked the idea of making a freestyle model, to just let your creativity loose. But on the flip side I also like the challenge of replicating a real car. But maybe something for me to try in the future.

9 stud links can also be good for creating thin A pillers if you haven't tried that already. https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=32293&idColor=11#T=C&C=11

Slightly off topic, but the Ford is looking fantastic too. Guessing the dark azure part availability is causing headaches for the front?

[suffocation]

Looks awesome! There's an elegance to your design that reminds me of Madoca's work.

[Jerry LEGO Creations]

1 hour ago, langko said:

This is looking great! I've always liked the idea of making a freestyle model, to just let your creativity loose. But on the flip side I also like the challenge of replicating a real car. But maybe something for me to try in the future.

9 stud links can also be good for creating thin A pillers if you haven't tried that already. https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=32293&idColor=11#T=C&C=11

Slightly off topic, but the Ford is looking fantastic too. Guessing the dark azure part availability is causing headaches for the front?

Thanks for the suggestion, it's a good one, and exactly what I've been working on :

Orion - Monocoque 2 by Jerry LEGO Creations, on Flickr

I can recommend trying to create a freestyle model, since I very much enjoyed it so far. It gives you so much freedom to do whatever you want.

As for the Ford, thank you! The dark azure seems to be my nemesis. I've spent the better past of November trying to come up with a design for the front, but nothing I liked so far. That is why I decided to work on the rest of the bodywork. Now, I want to finish/ refine the back. That part is mostly done by now. I also have a few ideas for the front, so hopefully I can make it work with those.

26 minutes ago, suffocation said:

Looks awesome! There's an elegance to your design that reminds me of Madoca's work.

Thank you, I really appreciate that! He's one of the people who inspired me to create my own models some years ago

[Scoar Sonander]

Hi! New to the topic, but this is looking great! As I see you have renders for the ford, do you still have the file by any chance? 

[Jerry LEGO Creations]

31 minutes ago, Scoar Sonander said:

Hi! New to the topic, but this is looking great! As I see you have renders for the ford, do you still have the file by any chance? 

Thank you! The Ford is still a work in progress, but I will be creating instructions for it once finished.

[Scoar Sonander]

I am looking forward to building it! Keep up the great work! 

[Jeroen Ottens]

It is looking good so far. As mentioned by others there are a few friction locked solutions in your suspension that violate my own designrules, but if it works I'll be the last to complain. The monocoque is looking really sturdy. Do you also have connection points higher up for the axles to connect to the monocoque?

[Jerry LEGO Creations]

12 hours ago, Scoar Sonander said:

I am looking forward to building it! Keep up the great work! 

Great, will do! :)

1 hour ago, Jeroen Ottens said:

It is looking good so far. As mentioned by others there are a few friction locked solutions in your suspension that violate my own designrules, but if it works I'll be the last to complain. The monocoque is looking really sturdy. Do you also have connection points higher up for the axles to connect to the monocoque?

Thank you. There are indeed some friction points in the suspension, but I'm happy with how it works, it is very responsive. The overall structure is quite sturdy, but I want to try to connect the front axle a bit better, since it can rotate a bit about its axis. Not much, but too much for my liking. The rear doesn't move at all. I have 2 high connection points on both axles, for the rear axle they are the 2 red pins in the T liftarms and at the front they are the 2 red pins behind the white axle and pin connectors.