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Another Bruder conversion

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ddmckee54:
The wheel hubs are threaded M3.  I don't have any M3 socket head cap screws in stock, but I DO have a plethora of M3 SS button head cap screws....  So I tried a couple of them to see if they'd work any better than the M3 grub screws.  They seem to eliminate the Jeep's annoying habit of letting the wheels fall off.  I wasn't sure if I wanted to use the 6mm length, or the 10mm length, so I ordered a bunch of each.  I've got a LOT of Bruder stuff sitting on the shelf waiting for RC conversion, so I'll probably use both lengths somewhere/sometime in the future.

And another thing... 
While I was looking at the wheel hub attachment I noticed that one of my solder connections to one of the front axle N20 gearmotors had come loose, those connections always had been kind of shaky because of the way I routed the wires.  I need to come up with some kind of a strain relief for those connections, so that'll mean another re-design of the front axle and spindles.  The rear axle gearmotors I'm not worried about since those motors do not move in relation to the axle.

This is why I build and test the prototype.  It's not all just fun and games, I promise!!
Don

ddmckee54:
M2 self tappers and the M3 socket head cap screws are supposed to arrive in the next few days.

Over the weekend I re-designed the front axle gearmotor mounts to include a strain relief for the motor wires.  The way I had them originally routed, I knew the wires would probably break from the flexing, I just didn't think they would break that fast.  I design industrial electrical control systems for a living so I SHOULD have known better, I just wanted to see it move under it's own power.  I designed a wire strain relief that is printed into the gearmotor mount and had to redesign the front axle to provide a little more clearance to give the wires a few millimeters of airspace to move around in.  I had to do this TWICE.  The first iteration I only allowed a 1mm slot for wires to fit into.  The 26AWG red/black pair that I am using IS 1mm thick so it should work, right?  Ummmm…. not so much, the wires could be forced into the slot but when they were removed there was visible damage to the insulation.  So on the second iteration of the design I opened the slot up to 1.25mm and I get a nice firm fit in the slot with no damage to the insulation.

I'm going to need to make the front motor leads at least an inch longer than they currently are and the rear motor leads will also need to be longer, I moved the position of the ESC, and I found a good home for the new 4 way splitter that will clean up the wiring mess a little.  I also started work on the 4 way splitters to the motors last night, and I am REALLY liking the way they are going to look.  It doesn't look like something a Mad Scientist cobbled together anymore. 

When I get the screws that I ordered I'll take a couple of pictures of the final installation on the prototype.  The white 3D printed parts that I'm using on the prototype will show up much better in the pictures than the black that I'm going to use on the gift Jeeps.

I have a very impressive pile of 3D printed parts that DIDN'T quite cut the mustard, but the STL files that I have now I KNOW will work for the gift Jeeps.  It takes about 6 hours to print out the required parts for the front and rear axles and the other miscellaneous parts. 

Don

ddmckee54:
It's gonna be a late Christmas this year, I still haven't got my M3 Socket head cap screws.  I got some M3 grub screws, but they were only a slightly better grade of cheese-whiz than the original set screws.  My socket heads have cleared customs and are "In Transit", I expect them within the next couple of days.  I've got the 4 way splitters built and I made 3D printed brackets to hold them in place.  I don't cringe anymore whenever I look at the wiring, so that's a good sign.  I'll take some pictures when I get the wheels back on.  It looks kind of pathetic right now just sitting on the frame rails, I suppose I could 3D print some jack stands?

Don

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