Remote Controlled - LEGO® Power Functions
Mining Truck
Mining Trucks - or Haul Trucks - are huge off-road heavy duty dump trucks, specifically engineered for earth movements in the mining industry. Given their size and payload capacity (up to ~500 tons) they are not legally allowed to drive on public roads.
This Mining Truck in LEGO® scale is fully remote controlled: steering, driving, dumping and switchable head & rear lights.
The fake V10 engine – powered by a XL motor – delivers a moderate driving speed being able to drive flawlessly indoor or outdoor on solid surfaces. Steering works as designed, although - due to the lack of Ackermann Steering - the Mining Truck reduces some driving speed when sharp turns are made. Suspension is stiff and can deal with a full cargo load.
Tipping of the dump-bed is powered by two synchronous Linear Actuators, both driven by their own medium motor; this reduced gearing generates enough ‘force’ to dump at least 1kg of load.
The front & rear lights do really add the finishing touch when driving in the dark.
The Mining Truck has no reference to a specific Caterpillar® vehicle, except for the general livery.
This Mining Truck in LEGO® scale is fully remote controlled: steering, driving, dumping and switchable head & rear lights.
The fake V10 engine – powered by a XL motor – delivers a moderate driving speed being able to drive flawlessly indoor or outdoor on solid surfaces. Steering works as designed, although - due to the lack of Ackermann Steering - the Mining Truck reduces some driving speed when sharp turns are made. Suspension is stiff and can deal with a full cargo load.
Tipping of the dump-bed is powered by two synchronous Linear Actuators, both driven by their own medium motor; this reduced gearing generates enough ‘force’ to dump at least 1kg of load.
The front & rear lights do really add the finishing touch when driving in the dark.
The Mining Truck has no reference to a specific Caterpillar® vehicle, except for the general livery.
Functions
Remote Controlled
LEGO Power Functions
Driving
Steering
Tipping dumpbed
LED head & rear lights
Driving
Steering
Tipping dumpbed
LED head & rear lights
Technical
Working V10 engine
Double differentials
Full independent suspension
Double differentials
Full independent suspension
Manual
Cabin door open & close
Coffee machine
Coffee machine
Specifications
Dimensions
Length - 37 cm
Width - 24 cm
Dumpbed 'down'
Height - 21 cm
Dumpbed 'up'
Height - 39 cm
Weight - 2,7 kg
Width - 24 cm
Dumpbed 'down'
Height - 21 cm
Dumpbed 'up'
Height - 39 cm
Weight - 2,7 kg
Parts
2.127
Building Info
Photo - Video shoot: Construction 'bicycle bridge' Amsterdam Rijnkanaal, Nigtevecht, The Netherlands
Development process
In 2014, LEGO® released the Volvo wheel loader #42030, having new yellow rims providing me the opportunity to design an authentic yellow Mining Truck able to operate nicely with the Dragline Crawler Crane model designed in H1-2014.
A quick model sketch I had in mind: remote controlled, working fake engine, full suspension and front/rear lights.
At first, I thought a model of this size would have enough chassis space to add all Power Functions equipment; but it turned out not being the case. Minimum chassis space between the front and rear wheels is available, because the dump bed does not lay ‘flat’ on the chassis in its ‘low’ position but under a significant angle. It became a challenge to store the Power Functions equipment, gears and the rear axle assembly based on a 'ball-joint' setup.
Even worse, during the design it became obvious a single medium motor could not lift the dump bed. A 'twin' medium motor setup solved this problem for dumping, each operating it’s own linear actuator. In short, space became an issue.
Secondly, the physical XL-motor position needed to be addressed. Given the independent suspension, the XL-motor did not fit on the rear axle assembly. Moving the XL-motor to the inner chassis implied the use of a 3L 'universal joint', applying the motor force towards the rear wheels assembly. A triple setup of 12/20 tooth gear reductions and a double differential setup resulted in a reduced stress on the 3L universal joint and the ‘fragile’ 12 tooth bevel gears within the differentials. I really had doubts about the 3L universal joint being used in the drivetrain, but surprisingly it works really well and never led to damage; even not when driving outdoor.
The front design (V10 engine, lights, steering) was a straight forward process, except for the suspension. The initial single spring for each wheel needed to be exchanged with dual springs.
A brick system design is chosen for the dump bed, to assure a completely smooth closed ‘wall-floor’ to avoid tiny loads to be stuck. For the first time I used the MLcad CAD/CAM program for designing instead building 'on the fly'.
Last but not least. Loading the Mining Truck with the Dragline is fun; although one can debate it their scale matches.
In 2014, LEGO® released the Volvo wheel loader #42030, having new yellow rims providing me the opportunity to design an authentic yellow Mining Truck able to operate nicely with the Dragline Crawler Crane model designed in H1-2014.
A quick model sketch I had in mind: remote controlled, working fake engine, full suspension and front/rear lights.
At first, I thought a model of this size would have enough chassis space to add all Power Functions equipment; but it turned out not being the case. Minimum chassis space between the front and rear wheels is available, because the dump bed does not lay ‘flat’ on the chassis in its ‘low’ position but under a significant angle. It became a challenge to store the Power Functions equipment, gears and the rear axle assembly based on a 'ball-joint' setup.
Even worse, during the design it became obvious a single medium motor could not lift the dump bed. A 'twin' medium motor setup solved this problem for dumping, each operating it’s own linear actuator. In short, space became an issue.
Secondly, the physical XL-motor position needed to be addressed. Given the independent suspension, the XL-motor did not fit on the rear axle assembly. Moving the XL-motor to the inner chassis implied the use of a 3L 'universal joint', applying the motor force towards the rear wheels assembly. A triple setup of 12/20 tooth gear reductions and a double differential setup resulted in a reduced stress on the 3L universal joint and the ‘fragile’ 12 tooth bevel gears within the differentials. I really had doubts about the 3L universal joint being used in the drivetrain, but surprisingly it works really well and never led to damage; even not when driving outdoor.
The front design (V10 engine, lights, steering) was a straight forward process, except for the suspension. The initial single spring for each wheel needed to be exchanged with dual springs.
A brick system design is chosen for the dump bed, to assure a completely smooth closed ‘wall-floor’ to avoid tiny loads to be stuck. For the first time I used the MLcad CAD/CAM program for designing instead building 'on the fly'.
Last but not least. Loading the Mining Truck with the Dragline is fun; although one can debate it their scale matches.
