"Tri-Clops" Hot Racing MOA Build
 

Well its time to think about the 2009 season, and to keep up with the Jones' its going to have to be a MOA rig... took some time this weekend to research and think about the design... there are so many options between torsion and linked... I'm not much for being a follower, I like to think a bit outside the box but not so far out that I want to be reinventing the wheel... so the design will be what works, but with a twist....

Inspiration/Mascot
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3041/...22af72cf_m.jpg

After TONs of research and that a really good deal coming along, I will be using the "Hot Racing" MOA's... putting the deal a side, I looked at the internals of both the Berg and HR axles.... both of these are 99.9% the same thing on the inside, berg have a steel locker and HR using alum. there have been some people saying they stripped the HR alum locker, this was do to the inner axle walking out of the locker, Answer: a couple extra "O" rings, a piece fuel tubing or a small spring between the stub and the inner axle... problem solved. A couple pluses I had as many others that are AX10 axle users I already had the knuckles and stubs laying around and the fact that the axles are narrower I can reuse any of the wheels and tires I already have. the housing is a moot subject its alum. like the rest of them. so now the project will be moving forward with the mock-up of the chassis and axles... first on the list will be making a link mount, servo mount and battery tray for the axles... I'll have pics as the parts are made... this should be a fun build...

I removed the 3 link mount that came with the axles and made this 4 link mount from a piece if 1/4" flat stock alum. (I also made sure it was centered unlike the stock mount)
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3043/...4f62ddaa87.jpg

next was the servo mount, I took advantage of the stock mounting holes on the axle... and made this bracket.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3051/...e5a94be3e1.jpg

onto the back axle I made a battery tray out of a piece of angle alum.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3004/...df2315ba22.jpg

and last is a set of fubar straight axle adapters...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3135/...f3c44dd90b.jpg

the lower links in the rear are copies of Kami's links that I made from material between cutting board and delrin... its all a test if they will hold up....
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3066/...f5bfc98577.jpg

more to come....

looking good so far keep us updated

hummm... not much interest in this build I see??...lol

anyway, did a little more work on the rig....

mocked the motors in the axles...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3223/...37da7edff5.jpg

I also made the mount for the DIG servo and switches...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3051/...ed1ce34845.jpg
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3245/...3d3f190275.jpg

Looking good, can't wait to see more of the chassis!

Hmm me to, looks like to an Frankenstein Blackjack to me;-)



Ooh btw, that fab work is fantastic, better then all the people that never fab something and only buy their stuff."thumbsup"

good eye... and I hear ya on the fab angle, its the whole reason I even started building these things many moons ago... other then flying its the only hobbyists RC hobby left.... Thanks for comments :)

Looks like you've got some fabricating skills in your resume. The dig switch setup looks clean and compact. Looking good so far.

I've been looking at these axles as well. Right now I'm using a set of Raptor 1's I got in an Ebay deal, and I've got to say that they are a beautifully machined end-result of a completely piss-poor design. I've got more work into these than anything else I've ever tried, and I have yet to even run them for real. The gears were installed backwards which meant the pinion would'nt mate up with the spur properly (this could have been the fault of the guy I bought them from though) When I tried to take the cases apart to properly re-assemble the gears, I discovered that the axle is not a splined two-piece unit like you see in just about every other axle design in existance, but a solid one-piece axle. I managed to get the case halves far enough apart to flip the gears by removing the E-clips from the outer bearings, but just barely. The only alternative I saw was to drive out one of the drive pins so the axle would slide out through the tube. Since the drive pins are a notorious weak link in these axles I did'nt want to have to drive one out and re-set it unless there was no other way.
And when I do get them out on the rocks, everything I've read about them from others who have run them before me has me fully expecting for them to fail miserably. At the least I'm expecting them to be geared too high even if they don't break.

If you could post up a little feedback once you run these axles, I for one would be very interested in your findings. It looks like it's either these or Berg's, or filling some stock Clod cases with aftermarket parts...

Really nice work"thumbsup"

Nice work"thumbsup", i am interested in the 4 link mount, do you have a template for it, look much better than the 4 link mount on my moa axles.

I will be following this one closely as well. With my recent destruction of Axial axles, I might be moving on also. Just haven't seen enough info on these axles yet to pull the trigger!! I too, like the idea of being able to use most of the things I already have.

They are great option imho, i have 2 shaftie axials that don't get driven that much because of this axles, i love them, i was out saturday and was loving the simplicty and effectiveness of the dig on my moa while the shafties had some troubles, the lower cog and benefit of power of 2 motors are a win win for me.

Looks good, I really like the servo mount. The HR's have been good to me. I twisted a couple sets of inner axles even after using o-rings in the drive cups. I never actually broke one though. I replaced the lockers with Berg ones for good measure and cut down some Berg inner axles to fix the twisting problem. The gears are hardened sweetness and look brand new after a couple months of regular use. If you didnt already, locktight the axle tubes and locker bolts. They are notorious for backing out and ending your day.

everyone thanks for the kind words... I will keep everyone posted on what I find with these axles... looks like there has already been some great info already posted...
I would like to hear/see more on the difference between the berg inner axle and the HR ones... are the bergs fatter? ... better or different metal used??... can the AX10 stub axles still be used??... pics or links to pics comparing the two inner axles would be great also.... thanks

I love my shafty and consider myself a decent driver. I have gotten to the point in our last two comps that I was knocked out of contention because of breakage. I run a heavy rig and that is part of the problem. I have broken so many axle cases that it is not funny any more. I go through alot of dig parts due to the weight also. I would go Berg, but like said earlier I have all the axial stuff that will fit on the HR axles. Plus the electric dig is nice. I have seen the bergs take some abuse and keep on trucking, but have not seen that many of the HR axles run. Need to due something, our winter series starts in a month.

Ummm....so yeah...back on topic...SICK BUILD HAUNTS!!! Can't wait to drive it!! ;) "thumbsup"

Here is a Quote from reniorbud. He has used both for some time now so I consider his advise good.

also here is the inside comparrion you wanted POST #2 http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/showt...&highlight=MOA

From what I can tell the HR inners are made from a kina soft stainless steel and the Berg ones look like hardened carbon steel. The bergs are longer and requir trimming and re-machining the flat spots (pretty easy with some dremel work)

Looks good man, more pics so we can see the whole thing."thumbsup"

thanks for all that great info. on the axles... as soon as I twist these stockers up I will pick up a set of berg inner axles... I have a small mill I can use to put the new flats in....
I'll be working some of the wiring tonight.... and soon I'll get some shots of the elusive chassis...

So Last night I was looking over how I was going to wire this thing... one of thing that drives me nuts is messy wiring... and with two switches, two motors and the ESC I knew this might be a nightmare... after looking over my Mamba Max I decided to remove all the wires and start fresh... I also figured out where it was going to be mounted... after that I started replacing the wires in a much neater fashion.... when I was done I couldn't resist soldering the motors up so I could test the DIG switches... man it was cool to see it all work....

One other thing was how to protect the motors from the rocks... I seen people were using paint can lids and things like that... I was going to do the same... but I remembered I had some 1/16" thick lexan laying around so I cut a piece to size and got an old motor can... the lexan was to rigged to wrap around the can so I used a heat gun to get the lexan soft enough to wrap around the can and then hit it with some air to set the shape... this worked out perfect... now the the lexan cover naps right around the can.. I use a small piece of double sided tape to hold it in place.

new Mamba Max wiring...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3230/...751fdf8412.jpg