Tecknics By Legos Durable Cheap And The Applications Are Endless

[AQUASUB]

I thought that I had to make a section just dedicated to the Tecknics Lego system of interlocking not bricks but gears, shafts,U joints,gear boxes,bearing blocks and pneumatic cylinders that can be made to become hydraulic rams.

Hear you engineering ideas will come true without breaking the bank as these parts are very inexpensive yet made with incredible precision on a mass scale,the engineers at Lego's in Europe never thought that these items could also be used in a RC Sub!

I have found that they work very reliably in the wet or dry ,they can take the heat in the summer without distorting or warping,made from a special high impact plastic that is a secret and molded to perfection.

From door hinges to rams to gear boxes to U joints you will find that this is the way to make your subs scale operational items and concepts work in any Sub environment. Even and very importantly they can be used in control surfaces, say your rudder is in a very tight area, with a 90 degree gear box the rudder is turned with a shaft not a arm and pivot and all the control surfaces can be done in this way. It illuminates the push pull method.

The U joint for instance is a true micro U joint that can be taken apart and re assembled or replace individual parts, you will find also that they do not wear out fast.

The shafts there amazingly simple yet super flexible in there use,by having a cross section of a "+" they engage with the mating components at any point just cut them with a wire cutter as needed.

The assemblies that you design can be screwed together at certain points so that they can be easily serviced.
Also CA works very well on Tecknics just be care full and don't get into the bearing blocks!

Lubrication! In the wet none is needed even at high speed. A considerable amount of torque can be applied as well, for the RC Sub the amounts needed is well below the breaking point.

One could use the shafts and U joints extra in a drive for say a 25 inch sub but in anything larger the usual shafts would be better.

So here is one example that I made last night a bow thruster,it can be made to fit in any hulls beam by extending the cross shafts, it uses the "T" type gear box that is shown, it can be also dissembled and serviced, the beveled gears are nylon and have strong large teeth so it can take the load.

The housing itself is a brick, making it interlock with any Lego The center of the horizontal gear is a hollow plus shaft so that a shaft will pass through it making it possible to place the gearbox anywhere on the drive line. It is truly a remarkable device as are all of the Tecknics components.

The 2 props are also from Lego's and there are several sizes available. This one is 3/4 inch and produces a great deal of thrust. I plan on installing this into the bow of the SB-2.0 so that while filming a pan capability is available. I will show that mod later in that thread.
The shafts are supported by the bearing blocks and held in place by the red shaft lockers or collars.

Without even CA it holds together at high speed providing plenty of thrust for even the largest RC Sub. I was amazed at how smooth and strong the unit is and the cost about 3 bucks! Wow try that with any other make!



It is adjustable to any hull's beam, so the props are just inside of the hull with a say a PVC fitting to house the props and scale appearance, nice.



Get the parts at Bricklink.com there the best international Lego supplier with the best catalogs.

I can supply the parts list as needed.

Dave Amur Sub Yard

[AQUASUB]

The unit above is made to fit the beam of the SB-2.0. The motor is the test motor and the beams bellow are just for that purpose. The finished product will have the motor directly mounted to the Lexan bulkhead with a 1/8 inch shaft tube, couplers and stuffing box. By the way a 1/8 inch shaft fits right into the Tecknics components with good friction and acts like a clutch if needed, or it can be clamped or glued in place.
That was a great solution to a problem I had, where the plus shafts could not be made water tight, so by using the 1/8 inch shaft where it passes through a casing, the problem is solved.
Another interesting item is that 3/16 in shafts also fit the bearing blocks and they fit a 3/16 inch ball bearing.
More pictures of the parts to come .

Dave

[Slats]

Thanks for posting that - I am particularly interested in how lego pnematics could be incorporated with a WTC to raise and lower scopes.
J

[AQUASUB]

The Lego pneumatics cylinders do not offer much travel for masts,they could be used but not very scale,they are better suited for mechanical operations like doors and arms.
The longest travel is about 2 inches,that is why I use syringes or regular pneumatic cylinders as the travel is much greater.

Also hydraulics is far superior than pneumatics in that if air escapes it will upset the balance of the sub and the motion is not smothe but jerky also the air system is more prone to internal corrosion and more items are needed to operate.
The hydraulic system has none of those drawbacks,besides being cheaper and simpler.

Dave

[AQUASUB]

Hear are some examples of the Tecknics arms and the variety of designs,there is also a non pneumatic ram that uses rotation of a shaft to extend the inner shaft ,its a new item I thought might be interesting.

Also see how I have incorporated a hydraulic mast into a casing ,3 inch diameter in the diagram and in the videos where it raises a battery.

Lego mind storms also has a nice set of actuators though expensive and not able to get wet.

[AQUASUB]

Casing diagram

[AQUASUB]

LEGO has recently come out with a new linear actuator piece as part of their new Power Function sets. The new actuators have a movement range of 5 studs, or about 1.6 in (4cm), which correspond to 26 full revolutions of the input shaft. The actuators also have a built in clutch mechanism to prevent damage from over-extension. Klocki has more pictures of the actuators. This may be a useful alternative to much more expensive linear actuators, like the ones from Firgelli.