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Fordson Snow Tractor

February 11th, 2022 Leave a comment Go to comments

An amphibious screw-propelled tractor model powered and remotely controlled using Circuit Cubes.

Datasheet:

Completion date: 09/02/2022
Power: electric (Circuit Cubes)
Remote control: Circuit Cubes
Dimensions: length 30 studs / width 20 studs / height 20 studs
Weight: 0.446 kg
Suspension: none
Propulsion: 2 x small Circuit Cubes motor geared 5.25:1
Motors: 2 x small Circuit Cubes motor

I have previously built a vehicle propelled using 3D-printed screws, but it was too heavy to float on water. The issue was weight, so I’ve decided to build something drastically lighter using the same method of propulsion and see how it performs in water. My inspiration came from a vintage Fordson Snow Tractor, an early screw-propelled amphibious vehicle from roughly 100 years ago.

Because the weight of LEGO motors and power supplies was a huge issue, I’ve used Circuit Cubes central unit and motors instead. This made the tractor rather sluggish, but with enough torque to drive on loose material (cat litter, due to lack of snow) and with enough buoyancy to stay afloat. I was tempted to try adding a manual transmission that would allow to select lower gear for driving on ground and higher gear for operating in water, but weight issues prevented me from doing so.

The tractor was easy to control and performed reasonably well, and even at the slow rotational speed of the screws it was quite capable of moving around in water. Unfortunately there were buoyancy issues, as the material the screws were printed with kept absorbing more and more water, gradually providing less and less buoyancy, until eventually one of the screws sank (but without getting the electronics wet).

Photos:

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Video:

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