Newsgroups: alt.toys.lego,comp.robotics
Path: brunix!news.Brown.EDU!noc.near.net!uunet!pipex!uknet!dcl-cs!davei
From: davei@comp.lancs.ac.uk (Mr D Ingles)
Subject: Re: Legos building legos
Message-ID: <1993Jun28.184642.18125@comp.lancs.ac.uk>
Organization: Department of Computing at Lancaster University, UK.
References: <C91r8H.7L2@cs.uiuc.edu> <20mjor$5pf@techbook.techbook.com>
Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1993 18:46:42 GMT
Lines: 42

In article <20mjor$5pf@techbook.techbook.com> szabo@techbook.techbook.com (Nick Szabo) writes:
>Has anybody tried building machines out of Lego-Technic that
>can put together other lego structures by joining bricks?
>I'm starting to explore this possibility.  I'm starting with
>just joining pairs of bricks in various ways, then I will progress 
>to simple 1-plane assembly (eg the projects in preschool
>lego kits), then go for 2-plane, etc. as far as I can go.

Sounds like an interesting project to me.

>Here are some questions that have come to mind:
>
>* Can I achieve a force sufficient to join bricks, via
>multiplying force with high gear or belt ratios?   Should
>I use electric motors or pneumo?  My current joining
>machines are hand-driven, but it's hard to do this
>without subtly cheating against the goal that only the
>lego machine's shape controls the orientation 
>the bricks to be joined.

Well i don't know about lego but in fischertechnik you can get hydraulics. 
Using hydraulics should give you more than enough force to join bricks
together.

>* what are good ways to convert continuous to intermittent
>motion (especially transmitting high force?)

How about winding up a load on a crane type structure then dropping the load.
Or rotate a flyweel up to speed then engage it's output shaft when you require 
the energy. 
Pnematics and hydraulics may be easier to implement though. With Fischertechnik
you get compressed air storage tanks and control valves. I don't know what
sort of force you can get from them though.

>* how can I integrate compression springs into
>Lego Technic?

I thought they were already available - don't they use them for car suspension?

Davei


