Westlake Publishing Forums

You are an engineer extraordinaire! Marvelous work going on here. The finished product will be a true work of fine art and craftsmanship.

Hi Bernard.
I love following this build, just a suggestion.
Do you have a simple general arrangement drawing,? It would help to be able to follow the bits with their actual location on the loader.
It is such a complex machine it is hard to follow along.
great work Cheers.

Thank you all for your interest!

Kim, at the moment I'm working on the front foot of the unloader, on which practically the whole machine stands and travels along the dock. The section is marked in colour in the following pictures.
At the moment I'm practically building the shell of the foot. The attached platforms and ladders are still missing.

Bernhard


(Foto: Library of Congress)

Your current undertaking unfolds as the first leg of an epic journey inspired by the heroic sagas of Homer, the strength of Hercules, and even (dare I say) the spirit of Don Quixote!

Seriously, this is afantastic project, and I look forward to each update.

Thank you, Bernard.
That picture is wonderful, and now I know exactly what you are building.
cheers Kim

Then if you have the drawings, photos, and tools ... why aren't you building faster? -- ssuR

I agree with Hauk, this is going to be a truly epic build! And with the high level of quality shown so far, it'll be a model worthy of a place in the Smithsonian!

Thanks Hauk, Kim, Russ and Ray.

QuoteThen if you have the drawings, photos, and tools ... why aren't you building faster? -- ssuR

Russ, that's a really good question. I actually invest about 40% of my working time in designing the 3D model. And a not insignificant part of the production time is spent on reproducing the countless rivets.

But perhaps this is just the right moment to show you the current status of the design.
You can see the status of the overall project above (Hulett 0167 and Hulett 0168).

The next assembly I'm going to build is the main girder.



The design is complete and the manufacturing drawings are also largely ready. At the moment I'm changing the thickness of the side and top plates from 0.4 to 0.5 mm so that I can have the parts laser-cut. That sounds like a small change, but it involves a lot of small detail corrections to other parts.

The disc-hopper has been designed, but the production drawings have not yet been made.



The same applies to the larry car.



The trolley is largely finished. A few parts are still missing, such as the walking beam bearings and a platform at the right rear.

The most important parts for the trolley drive mechanism are ready.



However, I'm still not sure how I should control the whole machine. Actually, I wanted to equip and control the drives with digital model railway technology, i.e. with decoders. However, I recently had the idea of using RC technology for this. The disadvantage of this solution is that I have no idea about the technology.
Let's see. I can only decide on the drive motors once I have a definitive solution.

The walking beam is also largely finished.



The roof of the machine house and the three drives that are housed in it are still missing (beam hoist, bucket rotating mechanism, bucket closing mechanism).

A lot has already been done on the bucket leg. Above all, the pivot bearings are still missing.



The bucket is still missing completely.

A few days ago, I received more scans from the library at Bowling Green State University. These scans are a really valuable help. I hope that I can use them to complete the missing parts in my design.

But back to the workbench now!

Bernhard

Quote from: Bernhard on December 16, 2023, 02:27:54 AMBut back to the workbench now!

Bernhard

Cant wait to see more of your beutiful metalwork!

Regarding RC, are you familiar with Giles Favells book, "Radio Control For Model Railways" published by Wild Swan?
 
He is mainly an model railroader, but he has built many RC-controlled lorries and cranes in addtion to RC controlled railway engines.

He is a professional stage Engineeering Designer, and has done some incredibel scale model work.
You can also find his work on Youtube (username GILESENGINEER) and some competing online forums like RMWeb, Narrow Guage Modelling Online and Western Thunder. And last, but not least, The Narrow Gauge & Industrial Modelling Review.

Here is a link to his homepage:
http://bygiles.com/

Thank you for pointing this out, Hauk. I will take a close look at it. Maybe I'll find the solution for my project there.
That's what I appreciate about this forum. You can find a good answer to (almost) any question.

Bernhard

Quote from: Bernhard on December 16, 2023, 02:27:54 AMHowever, I'm still not sure how I should control the whole machine. Actually, I wanted to equip and control the drives with digital model railway technology, i.e. with decoders. However, I recently had the idea of using RC technology for this. The disadvantage of this solution is that I have no idea about the technology.
Let's see. I can only decide on the drive motors once I have a definitive solution.

T

Can I suggest looking at Arduino control?  Considerable flexibility and very low cost, fully capable of integration with DCC if desired.  Considering you'll possibly want to drive servos, motors, speakers and take input from various sensors the Arduino seems ideally suited.

I'm no expert, having only taken some initial steps, but I have looked at what is possible.  I'll be using these units to control my layout.

An interesting idea and maybe, in some ways, analogous to Linux. I'd never heard of it before. -- Russ

Those drawings are an impressive accomplishment all on their own. So this will be a working model? Too cool!

Quote from: finescalerr on December 16, 2023, 08:26:55 PMAn interesting idea and maybe, in some ways, analogous to Linux. I'd never heard of it before. -- Russ

Just one thing that you can do is to build a stationary DCC decoder that will operate 10 servos for a few dollars.  And when I say 'build' it is not complex or time-consuming. You can also put together a DCC command station from one.
The arduino is basically a very small (but quite powerful) computer, with a huge family of optional I/O, control and sensor accessories that allow you to easily customise to suit your need.  Robot control is a typical application, which should suit a Hulett well.