Finally got onboard and did the Articulation mod!
 

With RadioShack selling the ZZMTs for such insanely cheap prices, I bought a few and was ready to do some modding!

Using the excellent tutorial posted by Clint (over at BitPimps). I went through and created my crawler/articulated Monster!

I already have victim #2 dismantled to do another one!

Here are some pics and a vid of it in action...

Any PuppetMaster fans?
http://static.flickr.com/78/165893884_c2035d56b0_m.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/61/165893809_50cb28784c_m.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/74/165893853_66ec78a7ac_m.jpg

http://static.flickr.com/73/165893801_0e12982873_m.jpg

And a short video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqJ4xx2Rbpw:)

Beautiful!
I love how you kept the PCB cover intact!

How is it climbing and stuff?

Any tendancy to spin the articulated part under torque??

Check out the video in the post, it gives a decent idea of how it's doing.

- Definitely needs the wheels to be weighted down to help it crawl though
- Even with the stock green gears/motor, it's too fast to be a crawler. I'm either going to do the additional gear mod (or maybe even the 5 gear mod) to slow it down...Or I might just take the BIG leap and swap an IWaver PCB in there instead
- I've got the next MT all ready to go and some ideas on how to do it better!

Not enough torque to twist the articulation by itself though, which is fine. I'd rather have the thing spin wheels instead of twisting or strippig the gears on the articulation.

Cool but What?
 

Seems smooth as can be from the video!
I might stock up on a couple more before I attempt it though. ;)

Do the additional gears! (THAT one I've done!)

Re: Cool but What?
 

Actually, the middle is already "broken". :)

You have the basic idea of the Mod, to give it the ability to twist/bend and move with much more ease.

If you get the chance to pick up an MT...DO IT! These things are a BLAST! Regular Zips and SEs need clean flat surfaces...You could run the MTs in grass! Not to mention if you watch that video, these things can drive over almost anything (try doing that with a regular zip or SE!).

Very nice! Love the video.
I've been putting parts in a tray for awhile now with the intention of doing this mod myself. I plan to use an SE PCB and gear the rear end down way low.
Problem is, the XMod bearings are just too expensive. Twenty bucks and I just need one of the two smallest ones. I'm coming up with a work around for this and I'll post when I get the thing working.
I have a few requirements that I feel are mandatory for a crawler.
1. proportional control.
2. very low gearing. 80/1 or lower.
3. absolutely no wobble
4. smooth articulation
5. fitting a stock charging pad (SE or MT)
6. four wheel steering. This one is probably not gonna happen unless I can get another MT chassis.
I've almost got everything I need to start, so I'll post soon.
Great work Namuna. You've inspired me even more to do this mod.

Man, I'm seriously HOOKED on moddin my MTs now!

I'm currently gathering the necessary info, then I'm going to order some iWaver PCB boards and swap em into my MT Crawlers for lovely propo-ness!

Az, did you know there's TWO Xmods ball bearing sets? The ones you were looking at are probably the 2 size sets for the $20...But there's another set (part #6008512) that's on clearance for $9.97 and it's only got the small bearings in it (14 total in set). I was lucky and bought a set during the extra 25% off on top of clearance pricing.

Hard to find though, it's not even listed on Radioshack's site anymore.

Good luck and keep your eyes peeled for my "MT Propo upgrade via iWaver PCB". :)

Hmmm.....
 

Re: Hmmm.....
 

Oh boy are you in for a rude awakening if you think this mod is only going to take 10min and that you'll only need an X-Acto knife (unless you were kidding?).

When I did this mod it took me about 3 hours!

I'd never completely taken apart an MT before so I wanted to make sure I remembered where everything was going to be put back and some fine soldering work (you'll need to de-solder the PCB in order to get at all the components and re-solder it all back in place after) is also needed.

Now that I've done this though the next time around I figure should only take about an hour or less.

Here's the link to that Tutorial (!Be warned, there's no language filters at BitPimps!):
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com/pages/ph...pic.php?t=6991

Yeah I was messing around not even a dual cell takes 10min. sorry I forgot to put the smiley in the previous post.:D

EDIT: I couln't ask for a better tutorial thanks Namuna for directing me to that :D

(oh yeah, off the subject, why is there a bit science and not a Zip Zap science and there should be like a place JUST for Tutorials you know what I mean, It would help on the searching)

Good points about the other areas for info Snake, I'll add that to my list of to-dos.

I've gone ahead and ordered 3 of the iWaver PCB boards. I'm very much psyched about this project now.

It does seem like the Articulation mod isn't compatible with making the MT full propo though (there's nowhere to put a servo if you shave everything down for the Articulation mod :( )

I did find a workaround where using a resistor across the servo pot allows you to continue using the generic MT motor driven steering. Credit goes to betty.k over at BitPimps for that one:
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com/pages/ph...pic.php?t=5176

Could you post a link to these boards please? I've looked around, but can't seem to find a site to order the things. That's an excellent idea to simplify things, but it's not what I had in mind. I really want to end up with at least SE steering steps. The IWaver board is looking better all the time though.
And, that is an outstanding tutorial. I've printed it out so I can refer to it as I work. I have some different things in mind, but the tutorial is invaluable for remembering where things go when reassembling. No I didn't. The RS I looked in ony had one set. I'll have to look around in the mall stores. But I hate the mall stores, lol. Anybody out there wanna sell/trade me a few of these bearings? I've got lots of bodies and spare parts.

Here's the link to the PCB at ToyEast:
http://www.toyeast.com/v3/pdtdetail.asp?pdt_id=AIW209

Got an order on the way. Thanks a bunch.

After screwing up one MT chassis I can't tell you how nervous I am to attempt this again.
I'm going to pick up some Xmod bearings and a dremmel set.

I really want to break down this barrier, because from the videos I've seen it really unlocks the potential of the platform.

-and heck, I've DONE the other mods already!!

It's embarassing. :o

Absolutely!

Probably the biggest fear with this Mod is because it's destructive. There's no turning back once you start chopping parts.

But the rewards (IMO) are worth the risk! I didn't even have the proper tools when chopping up the chassis (I lost the brand new hand saw I bought SPECIFICALLY for this mod and had to resort to using wire cutters!) and in the end it's still awesome!

The next MT I do this mod to is gonna be a LOT more well done!...I just need to find a store that sells hollow metal tubing that's big enough to allow the drive shaft, but small enough to fit snugly in an Xmods small bearing. This would be ideal (I think) for removing all slop between the segregated chassis.

I just glanced into the box of MT stuff I bought from my store.

With five MTs you think I'll get one articulation right? I screwed one up a while back doing something wrong.

I am really looking forward to making one that also combines all of the other MT mods I've done when it happens!

Summer's been busy. I got married June 29th.
(We've been together 16 years, just a formality.) ;)

Hey, congrats mt2k! It's about time you made it official huh? ;)

Something to keep in mind with doing multiple mods...After you do the Articulation Mod you've basically gutted the chassis case. So any Mods that needs to be encased is no longer viable.

As well, I wanted to do a PCB swap with an iWaver PCB to maky my Crawler MT propo...But the iWaver PCB is too long and stops the crawler from articulating properly! I learnt that lesson the hard way!

I really wanted to do this too. I've been racking my brain for ways to design the chassis so I can articulate and use the Iwaver board. But, it's a tough one.
Lately, I've been considering just dropping the Iwaver PCB into an SE. Been done and is pretty easy to do. I may just do this and get another Iwaver board for the MT and take a stab at it later.

Thanks for the well wishes! :D

I don't plan on swapping the PCB out.
That's taking it one step farther than I'm willing to go. ;)
(Of course that what I said about articulation at one point too!)

Once I get the articulation knocked out then I grab my MTs and my camera and head over to a nearby garden center to try some real rock climbing and take some photos/movies of the action.

I've seen a few pics of how it's come out for other folks.
It looks like MY biggest problem is where to hang TWO battery packs. (I like to parallel for longer run time)

I want this thing to climb (scale) rocks for real, so keeping the weight low and balanced is something I'll be keeping in mind.
Once I get the mod done I'll be able to see the new "framework" I have to work within.


There is SOMETHING about engineering at this scale that is compelling.

Sounds to me like you'll be wanting to do the following additional Mods (if it isn't already on your to-do list) for that Crawler you crave:

- Extra gears in the Gearbox:
http://www.gcrossett.com/zipzaps/mod...slow/index.htm

- Weigh the wheels down:
If you've got spare copper wire, wrap a bunch around the inner wheels and then put the tires on.

- Swap in a faster/torquier steering motor:
I hear a lot of recommendations for swapping in a ZipZaps Red motor.

Good luck!

Just did the mod, Not entirely pleased with the amount of slop. I did a good portion of this without revoving the wiring. (I get nervous with tiny solders)

I want a way to make rotation smooth and not have any sag. I also noticed that my steering sucks hard at times, and it has a hard time returning to zero. What do you guys do to keep the steering motor in place. Mine wants to jump out quite a bit.

thoughts?

Quick tip. Go to radioshack and buy one of thier replacement tele antenna (34" for 3.99) and use the second to last section. Great close fit and it didnt require a lot of work to get it to sit in the shaft groove. (clean it up mister)
It also comes with two tiny copper washers that were quite nice for this.

I also highly recommend a dremel.

Namuna, where did you attach your batteries on the lower section of the chasis? On top of the terminals? Mine are on the PCB and I dont like the fit and look.

My setup is far from fancy.

The battery pack sits basically where it was before the mod, I decided not to cut away the charging pods on the bottom.

For slop removal, I plan to do the following and have already gotten the parts:
Needed items:
- 6mm Ball Bearings (A good set is the ones at Radioshack, but they're discontinued so may be hard to find)
- 1/8" Brass tubing (a more specific fit, or use the telescoping antenna piece, whatever's cheaper or better for you).

Depending on the tolerances in the thickness, you might have to sand down the outter diameter of the tubing and also the drive axle in order to have everything fit.

The idea with the ball bearing is that you'll be gluing the outter surface to the segregated chassis (1 on each side), at the point where the articulation occurs. The tubing is then glued to the inside of the ball bearing. Doing this will remove the slop and still allow full articulation.

I had something pretty cool going last night. it was a simple nut, dont even know the size, it was from a box of nuts, but I grinded it at an angle kinda...hard to explain, but basically when it articulated, it always wanted to come back to center. Not dramatically so. Hard to explain. I ended up changing it because it wouldnt clear the charger.

I plan on spedning another 2 hours on it tonight...if it works out...Ill do it to my other one.

The last part is I want a better way to attach a body. Possibly centering the pcb and using the pcb cover to help it sit more steady.

All on the list!
Actually I want to make an articulated version of Project: XL-1

no wire cutting
 

I would just like to say that it's possibe to do this mod by cutting no wires if you dont saw.I used a utility knife and heated the blade to cut.Nice and clean worked well.Just have a steady hand lol.Hope I save someone some hassle.I did me cause i hate saudering!:D

its true i did it to without cutting any wires

I'm getting closer to setting up for this articulation thing.
We've been doing some home improvements so stuff like this gets pushed back.

The great thing is that the stuff is waiting there for me to get around to it.

In the meantime I'm keeping an eye on the great work everyone is posting here.