New-holland excavator

[DrJB]

Very nicely done ... though, in all honesty, looks rather different from the WHEX I have on my desk. Which specific New-Holland did you model this after?

[GuiliuG]

From the Mh3.6 :

Edited August 29, 2013 by GuiliuG

[Namine Yeul]

Hello.

I have built this model, I give you a little feedback:

Overall, the model works well.

I was afraid with all these gears, the motors are less efficient, but do not tighten, it's good.

- The drive has good speed, not too slow or too fast.

- Steering has a little play, but it works as long as you do not abuse the machine.

- Stabilizers and blade are really powerful, just with mini-LA.

- The turret rotation is fast enough, not too bored. Moreover, there is no cable in the turntable, it turns indefinitely.

- All functions of the arm are well executed. The two L-motors are not too many, in fact, a M-motor would not have enough strength.

- All tested with 7.2V battery, then with 9V, you will not have to worry either.

The overall design is nice, though less well finished for the turret.

You should know that I built without certain parts, thus making the adaptation is possible, it just adds a few parts, and requires a bit of savvy.

It is difficult to build, requiring 2000 parts, but will fill you when you have done.

I therefore advise you.

[Hrafn]

I missed this topic the first time around, or I would have posted then to congratulate you on your model. This is really an extraordinary creation, packed with more features than I would ever have guessed could fit in such a compact package.

[GuiliuG]

Thanks for your feedback namine and your comment hrafn ;-)

[Thirdwigg]

Again, great MOC GuiliuG. Thanks for the Instructions.

[Blakbird]

Just wanted to mention that I finished building the model this weekend (took a long time to get my hands on some more L motors). Although I knew immediately that I wanted to build this MOC, I have to admit that I did not really appreciate from the pictures just how awesome it is. I've built a lot of excavators and at first glance this doesn't look that different. In fact it is kind of just a big block with an arm on the front. But that subtle exterior masks and interior masterpiece. This things has 8 motors and 10 motorized functions! It also has 7 linear actuators. As I built, I continued being amazed that I was adding even more gears and even more functions to an already glorious machine. A normal excavator has 6 functions: slew, boom, dipper, bucket, and left/right skid steer. This one has different driving functions with drive and 4 wheel steer. The excavator arm has the same 4 functions: slew, boom, dipper, and bucket, but then adds an additional two. The boom has an additional axis of articulation and the whole boom can also pivot side to side without slewing the entire superstructure. As if that all wasn't enough, there are also rear outriggers and a front blade. All motorized! This thing is so fun to use. I've gotten pretty good at operating traditional "CAT controls": two sticks with two degrees of freedom each. However, I have no idea how a real operator runs something this complex. It takes a lot of thinking to dig with it.

Anyway, thanks very much to Guillame for this wonder.

I did make two very small mods. There are a series of rollers under the superstructure which serve to help support the turntable when slewing. The one on the right side was cantilevered from the body and was really too springy to provide any support. By adding a 1L longer axle on the body I was able to support that roller on both sides and now it adds much more support. The second very minor mod was to the front railing which wasn't connected to anything on the top. I added a couple of 2x2 round plates to make it look more "finished".

For the most part, everything works as designed. All the LAs have plenty of power, even the main boom lift. The only technical flaw is with the slewing. Although there are Bionicle teeth on the chassis to act as ramps and help support the superstructure as it rotates past the frame, it consistently gets stuck and makes horrible clicking sounds. Luckily the boom also moves side to side so slewing is not always necessary.

Here are a couple of photos of construction. Much more at my Bricksafe.

The model is very well sculpted. The only single thing that I wish was different is the exposed electrical connectors that you can see in the last photo on the side of the boom. All of the other copious amounts of wires are well hidden.

[skriblez]

Very nice pictures Blackbird :)

[DrJB]

From the Mh3.6 :

That is rather interesting. I am not too familiar with the arm geometry. Typically the first two parts are a single one (in NA machines). Possibly the reason it is so in above picture is so you can fold the arm 'completely' for while in transport. Keep up the good work.

The excavator arm has the same 4 functions: slew, boom, dipper, and bucket, but then adds an additional two. However, I have no idea how a real operator runs something this complex. It takes a lot of thinking to dig with it.

I noticed that as well. This machine has more degrees-of-freedom than an operator can handle at once ... I'll look it up and get back.

[GuiliuG]

Thanks Blakbird for your review ! It's very rewarding to read this from you.

It's strange than the turret rotation is not as smooth as on my model, and some others people told me that before you. I guess it depends on the parts you use ( some may be a little more thin than others)

[Milan]

That is rather interesting. I am not too familiar with the arm geometry. Typically the first two parts are a single one (in NA machines). Possibly the reason it is so in above picture is so you can fold the arm 'completely' for while in transport. Keep up the good work.

I noticed that as well. This machine has more degrees-of-freedom than an operator can handle at once ... I'll look it up and get back.

This triple-articulated booms are not much harder to operate compared to mono-boom variants, mainly because the extra cylinder in the boom is used only when operation on site needs different angle, so the operator can just use the triple articulated boom as easy as monoboom. Otherwise, machine is used as standard excavator.

There even are models of the excavator which has quadre-articulated boom, with extra cylinder attached to the stick (dipper arm). Operator can use that machine as simple as the standard model, too, because he is using the machine as it is monoboom. But it is nice to have more degree of freedom when needed.

Edited October 30, 2013 by Milan

[LegoMonkeyMan]

Very nice excavator and especially thanks for the instructions.