1:10ish Reach Stacker for "conex" cargo containers

[dremu]

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Bit of background: I've been building things of many sizes for years, ranging from scale models to RC vehicles to a 1.5ton ride-on backhoe with working hydraulics. I hate hydraulic fluid.

I've done a number of 1:10 builds, starting with a Cross RC kit (nice, but kinda dry and boring cuz it's just assembling parts) to a partial scratch build HEMTT/PLS and then to full-on scratch builds. Historically my stuff isn't 100% accurate in terms of modelling, though I strive for a passable representation). I enjoy making the various moving parts move and the overall thing work as it should, so I take liberties with the design some to make arms move or cranes lift or whatever.

This build is far more representative than it is accurate; some because it's not modelled after any specific 1:1 and some because it had to be overly strong. (And I might have overengineer certain bits, but it won't drop anything, that's for sure =)) )

I had the one big conex from the PLS build, and a coupla small ones from later. Sure, I can move them onto the PLS' flat rack by hand, but it would be nice to have a matching(ish) RC to do it for me, right? I mean,



My usual Googling research brought me to doing something like this



So here's the regulatory teaser, not the end result but somewhere towards the end



It doesn't look so bad, but note it's about three feet long with the arm, ie the frame is like 28". Here's a set of the tires next to a Tamiya-type 1:14 tire:



For once I didn't have to use pool noodles; these tires came with foams that are ridculously stiff even by my standards.

Before the chassis, though, I actually started on the grabbing mechanism. I figured that if I couldn't make that work, there was no point in building anything to go under it.



There's a mockup using some scrap wood and an early drive system with gear motors and limit switches.

In the event, the lateral drive uses actuators on linear rods/bearings rather than the screw drives:





turquoise thing in the middle is the top surface of a conex; since I'm doing top-loaded I didn't bother modelling the rest of it since that didn't affect the loading.