Posted October 16, 201014 yr On this Minipix blog, Matthew Dawkins ("MatthewMiniPix") explains in detail his Lego "Tumbler" car inspired by the "Batman Begins" movie. He wrote, "Each front wheel has its own steering mechanism, comprised of a transverse rack-and-pinion system linked up to a custom wheel bearing joint. You can see a little of the mechanism in the photo below. Not only do you have hardly any room in which to put all that mechanism, but it also has to be solid enough to support the weight of the rest of the vehicle. With the offset of the wheel and the looseness in the bearing I actually had a problem with the camber of the wheels. To resolve that I had to put some spacing at the top, effectively angling the whole wheel downwards to counteract the camber. "Alongside the complications of steering, the suspension system used in the Tumbler is quite unusual. The wheel sits at the end of an arm, which pivots at its connection with the rest of the subframe, and it held in place by two small springs for extra rigidity. The placement of those springs actually means a lot of spring force is needed, hence two springs on each arm rather than two; it’s all to do with turning forces and suchlike – the springs would have been more effective at a different angle, but then they wouldn’t look right. Thankfully they just about do the job ok." The first YouTube video shows the "Working chassis for a Lego Technic model of the 'Tumbler' from the movie 'Batman Begins'. Work in progress, but this video shows the suspension working on all four wheels, and real working steering on the front! I had to invent my own mechanism for that, using transverse rack-and-pinion systems on each arm to steer each wheel. It's all linked together and you steer from the back using what will eventually be the rocket booster! "Still got lots to do, so might post a follow-up later. The next technical challenge will be the canopy opening, which again I'm going to try to make as accurate as possible, technically-speaking. Then it's just a case of dressing it up appropriately and using up all my black pieces..." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WWpRUPfXxg The shows the completed "Tumbler model based on the batmobile from 'Batman Begins', made entirely from Lego. Has working steering and suspension. See http://www.minipix.co.uk for more details."
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