MOC: Excavator

[Selander]

Below my attempt to re-create in 6-wide a Volvo excavator.

In Sweden this model with wheels (not a "crawler") is quite common.

As my speciality isn't exactly Technic Lego, the arm has room for improvements,

but still it is fully functional and possible to tilt in three ways.

Excavator is busy loading a 6-wide Scania lorry in DkRed colour scheme.

UPDATE: I deleted some of the big pictures...and added three new small WITH

the new arm completely built with original parts.

I made a display with a construction site, for this weekend's Swebrick meeting.

A separate post will follow.....

Any comments would be appreciated.

Visit My Website

Edited November 9, 2009 by TheBrickster

[the Inventor]

A very good creation ,

a great excavator, and also a nice truck.

I really like that you used the power miners piece.

the Inventor

[MetroiD]

Both vehicles look wonderful and seem to really match the minifig scale properly, which makes them all the more awesome to me The Scania is absolutely sweet, great job on that!

Btw, are those black stickers at the front of the 3x1 dkred bricks? I don't have anything against those, just asking :)

P.S.: If you could just please downsize those pics to 800x600, they'd be perfect :)

Edited October 27, 2009 by TheOtters

[Rick]

Both are really nice designs indeed. They fit in well with the current City scale.

[Milan]

Ah, the construction equipment, my favorite...

First, it has very nice appearance, with very accurate shape and width and tire size. Cylinders are placed on accurate mounting points, and the arm is pretty good.

But what did you do to the sloped liftarm in the arm? Bent a little bit to follow the line of the arm more accurately?

Scania is also very nice, both color, both shape.

Oh and please reduce the pictures to 640x480, that is a rule here!

[harrysnapperorgans]

Both BEAUTIFUL MOC's. I really love the truck.

[5150 Lego]

But what did you do to the sloped liftarm in the arm? Bent a little bit to follow the line of the arm more accurately?

Looks like its a techinc Studless beam that was bent to fit the shape of the lift arm. The moc looks great, but i'm not a fan of modifiing parts in that way to achieve the desired look. i finda feelits cheating.

[Selander]

Both vehicles look wonderful and seem to really match the minifig scale properly, which makes them all the more awesome to me The Scania is absolutely sweet, great job on that!

Btw, are those black stickers at the front of the 3x1 dkred bricks? I don't have anything against those, just asking :)

P.S.: If you could just please downsize those pics to 800x600, they'd be perfect :)

Thanks Otters ! Yes I strived to have a good minifig scale. In fact I downloaded some tehnical brochures from Volvo

that had drawings showing all overall dimensions, and then I converted them to a 6-wide width with the aim to keep the original feel

and proportions.

I choose 6-wide.....since my trucks are all 6-wide and when building an Excavator to scale with those, they should have the same width.

On the Scania there are no black stickers.....I assume you mean the black plates on the roof ?

They consist of 2pcs black hinge plate 1x2, to hold the hinge bar for rear mirrors, and in the middle just an ordinary black plate 1x2.

Sorry about the size of pictures, I'll bare that in mind.

Since I don't know how to make multiple answers, here are some comments to the "arm".

Yes, it has indeed a modified technic arm on pictures.

As mentioned I don't do much in Technic lego, nor do I have many technic parts. Upon studying the Volvo brochure I realized such a bent

technic arm would "do the job". So I made an "experiment" with bending the technic arm in boiling water.

The purpose was more to get something to continue my trial design with. I was pleased to see I managed to get the functionality

I was looking for in my very first attempt. So I continued and built the rest of the machine and took some photos and shared as

per above.

Bottomline:

As a second phase I will try to modify the arm to:

- buy some more Technic lego and use only original parts.

- try to make it more sleek and with improved colours to enhance the overall look.

- yet keeping the good functionality from the first attempt.

It'll be exciting to see if those three factors are possible to combine.

[Rick]

Since I don't know how to make multiple answers, here are some comments to the "arm".

Click the 'quote' button under the posts you like to quote and then use the 'add reply' button on the bottom of the page.

[Milan]

As a second phase I will try to modify the arm to:

- buy some more Technic lego and use only original parts.

- try to make it more sleek and with improved colours to enhance the overall look.

- yet keeping the good functionality from the first attempt.

It'll be exciting to see if those three factors are possible to combine.

If you could build nice curved arm in that angle, it would be very realistic and beautiful. However it is very hard to make such angle and keep strength, I know, I built several excavator arms in big scale.

I don not know about small scale like this, but I wish you to make it good. I will follow this topic!

[curtisrlee]

The Scania is awesome!!!

[Selander]

If you could build nice curved arm in that angle, it would be very realistic and beautiful. However it is very hard to make such angle and keep strength, I know, I built several excavator arms in big scale.

I don not know about small scale like this, but I wish you to make it good. I will follow this topic!

I think I figured out a new durable solution using only standard parts

(all is in theory - but I usually always start so...)

AND I got some ordered Technic parts fromBricklink today...so hopefully I am able to present

an updated arm quite soon.

[Milan]

Good luck with the arm!

[Rick]

Good you're trying to go for the purist solution. Looking forward to your solution.

[Big Cam]

Both designs look very good, the Volvo looks like it could be a real LEGO set.

I'd highly suggest reducing the size of those images though, each are humongous and that will really slow this page down for others.

Great work though.

[Selander]

Good luck with the arm!

Updated arm is now ready and works flawlessly, pls see updated pictures

in the first post of this thread.

[Milan]

Ok, you have updated the arm with great success!

It looks good, and you have used original parts without modifying them!

Just one thing: those metallic "cylinders" you are using, do they hold that axles in them, or axles can slide?

[Selander]

Ok, you have updated the arm with great success!

It looks good, and you have used original parts without modifying them!

Just one thing: those metallic "cylinders" you are using, do they hold that axles in them, or axles can slide?

Cylinders are made from relatively soft plastic, so SURE axles can slide !

The good thing is you have a just enough friction in them, so axels can slide,

but you can stop in any position and the friction force is enough to keep the axle

in that particular position, even with load in the bucket.

"Cylinders" are used in for example set 7992 = Container stacker.

Check that out.

So far, I haven't seen so many MOC:s using them as cylinders.

[Milan]

Then I have small suggestion how to make this moc even more realistic, regarding cylinders.

Try to always make axles in that way, so they never pass their pivot point, if you understand?

I meant, make sure that axles in cylinders are in this positions:

instead letting axles pass pivot point like this on your picture (on bucket and double cylinders on the lower part of the arm) :

Sorry for me tying to be perfectionist, but I like excavators and am just trying to make this great moc even better.

[Rick]

Nice job on the updated arm! I'm not an expert, but Milan's comments seem worth checking out.

[Selander]

Then I have small suggestion how to make this moc even more realistic, regarding cylinders.

Try to always make axles in that way, so they never pass their pivot point, if you understand?

instead letting axles pass pivot point like this on your picture (on bucket and double cylinders on the lower part of the arm) :

I think I follow you.....but I am not sure it is possible to fully realize.....you have to bare in mind this "cylinder" is

more like a bushing and the exact movement you get, depends on the relative friction between axle and item 6536 versus friction

between axle and item 53586.

This means it can be difficult to always predict which of those two parts moves first.

On my design it seems I have a lucky combination on the mid-placed "cylinder", because that moves

as you would like it to move. A preliminary test I just did, shows it does not seem possible to change anything for the double

"cylinders".

But I think it could perhaps be possible to improve the bucket "cylinder"......I will investigate further.

As I understand you like the design, I like to encourage you to build something similar and make some trials on your own.

With our combined efforts we might achive an even greater technical solution.

Needed parts are few and relatively cheap.

[MetroiD]

Thanks Otters ! Yes I strived to have a good minifig scale. In fact I downloaded some tehnical brochures from Volvo

that had drawings showing all overall dimensions, and then I converted them to a 6-wide width with the aim to keep the original feel

and proportions.

I choose 6-wide.....since my trucks are all 6-wide and when building an Excavator to scale with those, they should have the same width.

Thanks Selander :) I actually meant the outer bricks just below the windshield (acting as doors at the same time), looking at the front I was wondering what that curvy design was, but then I realised it was a curved slope brick :)

As to the scale - your work on that really is impressive. I also agree that 6-wide (or max. 7-wide) is the best scale for trucks & large vehicles, and I really think you've done a great job on both. I can't really offer any kind of advice on the Volvo excavator, since I'm hardly into that stuff and I'm not good at Technics either (unfortunately ), but I really like how Milan has kept you on your toes here

[Milan]

Yes, on this scale it is very hard to make realistic arm with cylinders, movement range and design perfect.

This would be ideal situation:

All cylinders extended max:

All cylinders extended min:

if you have trouble making those cylinders configuration hard to menage, why dont you use different approach,

for example use few round bricks and bar like this cylinder on the bucket:

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Alex101/...ar/img_1780.jpg

That wsy you can adjust extending the cylinder really precise and cylinder will stay in position, and it looks quite realistic for me!

I would make one, but I am big scale only builder, acctually I am building one excavator now, but it is 95 cm long, so no ideas there

[AMK152]

really cool

[Selander]

Yes, on this scale it is very hard to make realistic arm with cylinders, movement range and design perfect.

This would be ideal situation:

All cylinders extended max:

All cylinders extended min:

I made a few small adjustments, so now it looks as you wanted and described above

For all four "cylinders", when extended max or min, there is nothing sticking out.

I will post some pictures later.

Thanks for good advice, Milan - I must admit it looks more elegant and realistic now.