Nico71's Creations

[gyenesvi]

Really cute build, great shaping, and I love how much mechanics is stuffed in there, that transverse front engine is really neat, I would not have thought that it could fit along with the steering. Clean interior, and the convertible top is also a nice addition. Great work!

[nico71]

Hello, 

thanks for your comment !

It has been possible to create like that because the size of the tire, and the overal proportion of the car, which allows 7 studs between the two steering center. So with the frame, I have 5 studs, which is enough to fit a 4 cylinders engine, as long as the gearing is inside the engine, here is the trick.

This model was designed about 1 year ago, so now I think I could make even better with heavy CV join and split connector as I do on my upcoming 6x6 truck (yes the floating Toggle Joint is inspired from your Ford :) )

Edited November 18, 2024 by nico71

[Thirdwigg]

Great job on this @nico71. I have fond memories of a little Del Sol when I was younger, and your managed to get the look and feel of the car very well.

I love the removeable engine. This is such a silly feature, but I love it when it can be done. Keep up the good work.

[gyenesvi]

4 hours ago, nico71 said:

This model was designed about 1 year ago, so now I think I could make even better with heavy CV join and split connector as I do on my upcoming 6x6 truck (yes the floating Toggle Joint is inspired from your Ford :) )

Nice looking truck! Interesting solution for connecting the spring to the lower towball arms! This small scale has a so much potential :)

Yes I know about that heavy duty CV joint technique, I haven't used it yet but plan to test it in the future. Glad you got some inspiration from mine as well!

[nico71]

Thanks Gyenesvi, 

I embed the picture here for everyone : 

So this is a WIP truck, 6x6.

The picture of the front axle underneath :

Which is a combination of several small trick to obtain a strong and steerable / drivable axle at this scale with using heavy CV join. I have make some research to find the original author / inspiration to credit them :

• Floating U shape connector (remove one U join, very useful with the long reinforced CV join) I inspire by you but in fact this is way older : https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-119108/Bricklab2006/mini-4x4-rc-offroader-buwizz-30/#details (from 2022)
• Use of split connector + heavy cv join : I discovered here but in fact it exist for longer time here : https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-149669/Apachaihapachai/terracotta-pickup-truck/#details (from 2023)
• The double gearing on the center is very old technique, I can remember when it popped.

For the rest of the technique, I do not know if I am the original author but I just use like that when building. As you mentioned, the spring is attached to the arms, as this is a live axle (5 links), the spring as only to work up and down like a trailing arm and so not complicated build to enable crossing axle.

The arm with towball is attached underneath the axle, so on heavy load, we can think it can be taken apart but in fact there is a bar with balls above which secure the towball pins, and where a links 6l is connected (not present on the picture). so it gives the 4 links. The last one is a panhard rod on the front.

Then, the front part of the axle is composed of layer of half beam and 7L beam the closer it is possible to the drive axle, in order to avoid the wheel to camber ot much. As there is no attachment point underneath. Not perfect, but better than everything I have seen before at this scale.

I need to connect the servo motor for the steering. But I would like to avoid join so direct actuation with link, but I want also a removable working engine so I have to make compromizz on space. Then a two-speed gearbox, a proper design and it will be ready for testing :)

Indeed, this is my preferred scale (1/20 and 1/17) for trucks.

Edited November 19, 2024 by nico71

[jorgeopesi]

Very nice front axle and truck. I already saw the same configuration in a Nissan Patrol by electro, I always think how to build small drive and steer axles but I did not achieve this solution.

[nico71]

3 hours ago, jorgeopesi said:

Very nice front axle and truck. I already saw the same configuration in a Nissan Patrol by electro, I always think how to build small drive and steer axles but I did not achieve this solution.

This Patrol is very recent, mostly inspired by other, surely by Apachaihapachai.

Indeed, that is not easy to create a small driven and steerable axle, but the part combination is only one side for the solution. The other side is to containing the weight and the axle geometry to keep low the taken-apart force.

[jorgeopesi]

6 hours ago, nico71 said:

This Patrol is very recent, mostly inspired by other, surely by Apachaihapachai.

Indeed, that is not easy to create a small driven and steerable axle, but the part combination is only one side for the solution. The other side is to containing the weight and the axle geometry to keep low the taken-apart force.

The part I like most from this design is the extra stud for the wheel, I can not use designs with only one stud for wheels.

[nico71]

New creation !

A fully mechanical bilateral letter scale, with dual dials from 0 to 175gr, ideal for antique objects enthusiasts or to decorate a desk.

How it works ?

This machine is used for weighing letters or small objects, inspired by Columbus Maul scales. It rely only on mechanical components, with connecting rods, levers, dials and counterweights. It measures 20cm (L) x 10cm (W) x 28cm (H).



The upper tray is connected to each pendulum side with connecting rods, which share a coaxial rotation axle. When weight is applied, the two pendulum sides move apart, the greater the weight is. One pendulum side holds the cursors on it, the other holds the dials.

The bottom cursor indicates the weight from 0 to 80gr. It is placed further from the center of rotation of the two pendulum sides, and with an angle between the connecting rod and the pendulum closer to 90°, which makes the measurement more sensitive and linear.

The upper cursor displays the weight from 70 to 175gr, with the same functioning as the previous dial, but at a less distance and an acute angle between the rods and the pendulum. This causes less displacement of the cursor as the weight increases, allowing a non-linear scale and a reading of a greater weight.

This combination of functioning and dials enables a fine reading of the weight on the bottom cursor, and a rough reading of larger weights on the other cursor, with keeping the symmetry of the scale which is important for its functioning.

If you want to read more about Letter Scale, please visit this excellent website.

Regarding the design, the most complicated things was the symmetrical weight despite different side (one with dials, one with cursors), with keeping a nice look to be a decorating objects. The sticker was also not easy to draw as the scale a non linear so a lot of try and retry to find the correct setup. 

Regarding the accuracy, I would say it is something like 5g for the fine reading (0-70gr) and 10g for the large one (70-175gr) with a maximum error at the max due the friction (bar work well at low angle), with a good repeatability as long as you center the mass on the tray, and a minimum weight of 5gr (below it is not very repeatable measure).

See it in action (with some tips and tricks) :

Links :

📕 Instructions on my website : https://www.nico71.fr/product/letter-scale/

🧩 Bill of material and instructions on Rebrickable : https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-202559/Nico71/bilateral-letter-scale/#parts

🎁 Complete kit (Genuine LEGO parts) : https://buildamoc.com/products/bilateral-letter-scale

 

Let me know you though about ! 👍

Edited November 28, 2024 by nico71

[pleegwat]

Impressive.