1/16 Opel Maultier - Reusing this topic as im reworking the 1/10 files to 1/16

[MITCH]

Very good job, congratulations

[Herr Dr. Professor]

And away it goes! Another triumph! In the video, it appears that the tracks and steering are coordinated. I that correct? What electronics did you use to coordinate the two?

[ziddan]

For the moment there isnt anything other than a diff for the track drive axle, very much a standard RC vehicle.

Ive designed, printed and fitted what is essentially drum breaks on the drive axle but have yet to tie those to the steering servo, my idea is just to have a linkage with spring loaded position and preload adjustable "pullers" that will engage the brake on the inside track when turning.
The real world vehicle did soft turns with just the front wheels and tighter ones engaged track brakes, im intending to mimic that.

As the rear end/tracks were a lot lighter than the front end/wheels in the vid there was very little turning resistance on the tracks, with a bit of weight back there the turn brake may actually have a purpose instead of being unnecessarily complicated small parts i designed for some reason

[ziddan]

THIS IS WHERE THE 1/16 VERSION UPDATE POSTS START

Right, here is where the 1/16 version is at:



I got one of the wrong tracks, its a longer pz2 track but it still shows what it looks like

Ive just placed my order containing, among other things, the WPL E1 tracks.

I will probably need to redesign the road wheels and idlers, im thinking im going to see if the drive sprocket can be used as it is supplied with the tracks and is metal, cant do that for the Pz2 though.

This is where im at with the cab:



Ive split it to fit my Mars 2 with the intent of printing them with the rear wall facing the build place, its a big flat so should be easy to sand away where the supports hold it and pretty much all other visible areas will not be having any support attachment points.
Still need to add a way to attach it to the chassi and put in alignment helpers for ease of assembly, i might try to make it so it can be taken off to get at the interior as i will be wanting to add a driver holding a steering wheel and at least some rudimentary paint, the seam follows the line of the rear of the hood and on the door so ive hidden it as well as i could manage.

I need to make the seam around the door a bit larger as it really disappears when shrunk down to 1/16, dont want it looking like they are a smooth part of the cabin.

So yah, back at it again

[Herr Dr. Professor]

I am still watching, jealous, etc. I was impressed that you got the 1/10 Maultier to turn so well without any track brakes. Did you ever install them? Do you think you will need to install them on this 1/16 version, or will a regular RC truck differential do the job?

[ziddan]

Never got around to installing them as i got derailed into doing the Pz2.

Im going to start with just a diff to see if it works on the this 1/16 model, if not i will probably do dual motors with with mixing on the radio as the linkages and brake drums would be near miniscule at this scale.

Been poking around some more with the 3d model, added inner wheel wells to the front fenders so keep stuff out and also to have mount points, ideally the body should be easy to remove but i cant think of a good way so im going with a catch bit under the seat and two screws up front.

One would put the cab on slightly forward of the intended position, slide it back to engage the rear catch and then put in a screws in each of the wheel wells. I dont expect ill really be taking it on and off that often when its finally done so it should be alright.

Still gotta figure out how the roof attaches, probably a catch beneath the windscreen going in under the hood and something else in the back, not screws though as i want the battery easily accessible, its going to leave a join line on the back wall of the cab but that area will be mostly covered by the front wall of the bed so should be okay, at least for me.

The friend that kicked this 1/16 rc stuff back onto the rails for me wants to make his WPL B16 a wrecker so ive been modifying this printable FCX24 Power Wagon Wrecker Truck mod https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6111750 to be 1/16, to fit onto the bed of his truck as well as adding in n20 gear motors to control the two winches.
His car has the two speed gearbox which is controlled by a button on TX which switches a channel/servo output on the RX between high and low.
The v3 wpl tx/rx combo is set up with a fourth channel which rests neutral and can go high or low, causing none, a positive or negative current to be output from two pins on the RX, advertised as intended for a winch.

Adding a momentary switch where it will be triggered by the motion of the gearshift servo i should be able to make it do double duty as the high/low gear switch and selecting between the two different winches, one to raise or lower the boom, the other to reel in or out the line with the hook on it. That will of course preclude using either function in low and high gear but i dont think its going to matter as most winching operations would be unlikely to be used while driving anyway.
I intend to twin the high range gear with boom up/down and low range with hook reel in/out as i think reeling in/out is the most likely use while driving in low gear.

Ive been remixing/modelling in the file with my 1/16 Maultier to get a sense of scale and because i think i will also want one


Though i might remodel it a bit for my own to look like the one documented as being used by Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 210.

[ziddan]

A bit of a tangential update: Ive figured out how to get the function switching tied to gear shift working on my friends B16, ive seen some other post about the B16 so i thought id share it on here and in this topic as i will be doing essentially the same thing electronically on my Mule.

The idea of using the gear shift to access another function might be useful to others as WPL electronics are cheap and readily available.

In the process i also made a different place for the battery and a place for the switchable auxiliary device connector:
WPL B14/16 battery relocator and 2 function external device port selected by gear shift.

[ziddan]

Got the WPL treads, modelled up the parts to fit them and gave it a test drive.

As suspected it doesnt really turn so i guess its onto redoing it as a proportional 2 motor setup.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

I will be interested in just how you set up the front steering and coordinate it with the differential steering of the tracks. I had nearly a year's expense and nerve-wracking trouble with this problem on the Asiatam FAMO.

[jhamm]

I will be interested in just how you set up the front steering and coordinate it with the differential steering of the tracks. I had nearly a year's expense and nerve-wracking trouble with this problem on the Asiatam FAMO.

OhoNooo Herr Dr. Professor....
The Opel mule had no differential steering!
Because the "normal" Opel lorry rear axle was used.
Steering was rudimentarily assisted by braking via the brake drums.
The whole thing only worked badly because the brake pads had to be adjusted constantly....
and if they were wet or muddy, then nothing worked again