Search
Forum
Wiki
Images
Files
Member List
Help
This update is about a minor part, but one that is a major Quality of Life improvement.
One of the more troublesome aspects of working on LD-F1 is reinstalling the tracks after I've had to take them off for some reason.
The problem is not that it's intrinsically difficult, it's that you really need three hands or a second person to do it, neither of which I have handy (badum tish) when I typically have a need to take the tracks off.
The process looks like this: grab the links on the two disconnected ends of the track, pull those links together, hold them in the proper alignment so the internal holes match (which normally requires one hand on the inboard side and one on the outboard side), and while holding them there, insert the nylon filament connecting "pin" through said holes (which is where the third hand is needed).
It can be done solo (e.g. by putting the filament in the insertion hole for one section of the joint, aligning the links with two hands, then using your body to nudge the filament further in. If you can get it to go in through another section of the joint with that method, then that is probably enough to free up the hand nearest the filament insertion point, as the filament would keep the links in alignment on that end afterward. Then you can finish the process without need for the extra appendage. Occasionally this workaround goes smoothly, but mostly it's just frustrating.
No more. This is now my full set of tools for attaching and detaching the tracks:
![[Image: 20240410_185300-smaller.jpg]](https://niflheim.net/droidbuilding/images/LD-F1/20240410_185300-smaller.jpg)
The new Track Clips are the grey pieces in the photo above. They're very simple parts that fit around the inboard and outboard drive sprocket pins on the pair of detached links, holding them in roughly the correct position for inserting the filament. The only trick to them is not to let the clip fall off and cause the tracks to flop around freely (especially the rear portion, since the rear sprocket can freewheel).
The nylon filament in the brown clip is just a spare of the segments used as pins. I use it to push the inserted filament pin further in to seat it after the entire length is inside the insertion hole. The brown clip is just a part from thingiverse for attaching loose filament ends to spools -- its purpose here is merely so I can see this clear filament segment better, to avoid misplacing it. But the segment is not special - really any random piece of rigid 1.75mm filament would work just as well.
The safety pin is used when detaching the track sections. You push it into the (tiny) holes on the inboard side of the joint to shove the filament outward. I've also used a needle for this, but the safety pin is better. The tool doesn't actually need to be sharp (ideally it wouldn't be), but it does need to have a smaller diameter than your average paperclip and still be stiff.
Speaking of paperclips, the one here is also used when detaching. At the same time as you are pushing the filament out with the safety pin, you push the paperclip down into the vertical hole on the outboard side of the link, shoving the outboard end of the filament down toward the insertion/exit hole. I could use another safety pin for this, but this operation definitely works better with a blunt-ended poking tool since the filament is round.
(In theory I could use my spare filament pin "tool" to do that, but in practice the vertical holes came out slightly too small. On the other hand, I could just seat the inserted filament pins with this paperclip instead of the spare piece of filament - it doesn't really matter as I'll tend to have both the paperclip and some spare filament pins around either way.)
The photo below shows a track clip installed on the outboard drive sprocket pins of two track links. There was also one on the inboard end of the same pair of links. When I took this photo, the track clips were the only thing holding these two links together; I'd already taken the filament pin out of the connection on the left side of this pair.
![[Image: 20240410_185158-smaller.jpg]](https://niflheim.net/droidbuilding/images/LD-F1/20240410_185158-smaller.jpg)
One of the more troublesome aspects of working on LD-F1 is reinstalling the tracks after I've had to take them off for some reason.
The problem is not that it's intrinsically difficult, it's that you really need three hands or a second person to do it, neither of which I have handy (badum tish) when I typically have a need to take the tracks off.
The process looks like this: grab the links on the two disconnected ends of the track, pull those links together, hold them in the proper alignment so the internal holes match (which normally requires one hand on the inboard side and one on the outboard side), and while holding them there, insert the nylon filament connecting "pin" through said holes (which is where the third hand is needed).
It can be done solo (e.g. by putting the filament in the insertion hole for one section of the joint, aligning the links with two hands, then using your body to nudge the filament further in. If you can get it to go in through another section of the joint with that method, then that is probably enough to free up the hand nearest the filament insertion point, as the filament would keep the links in alignment on that end afterward. Then you can finish the process without need for the extra appendage. Occasionally this workaround goes smoothly, but mostly it's just frustrating.
No more. This is now my full set of tools for attaching and detaching the tracks:
The new Track Clips are the grey pieces in the photo above. They're very simple parts that fit around the inboard and outboard drive sprocket pins on the pair of detached links, holding them in roughly the correct position for inserting the filament. The only trick to them is not to let the clip fall off and cause the tracks to flop around freely (especially the rear portion, since the rear sprocket can freewheel).
The nylon filament in the brown clip is just a spare of the segments used as pins. I use it to push the inserted filament pin further in to seat it after the entire length is inside the insertion hole. The brown clip is just a part from thingiverse for attaching loose filament ends to spools -- its purpose here is merely so I can see this clear filament segment better, to avoid misplacing it. But the segment is not special - really any random piece of rigid 1.75mm filament would work just as well.
The safety pin is used when detaching the track sections. You push it into the (tiny) holes on the inboard side of the joint to shove the filament outward. I've also used a needle for this, but the safety pin is better. The tool doesn't actually need to be sharp (ideally it wouldn't be), but it does need to have a smaller diameter than your average paperclip and still be stiff.
Speaking of paperclips, the one here is also used when detaching. At the same time as you are pushing the filament out with the safety pin, you push the paperclip down into the vertical hole on the outboard side of the link, shoving the outboard end of the filament down toward the insertion/exit hole. I could use another safety pin for this, but this operation definitely works better with a blunt-ended poking tool since the filament is round.
(In theory I could use my spare filament pin "tool" to do that, but in practice the vertical holes came out slightly too small. On the other hand, I could just seat the inserted filament pins with this paperclip instead of the spare piece of filament - it doesn't really matter as I'll tend to have both the paperclip and some spare filament pins around either way.)
The photo below shows a track clip installed on the outboard drive sprocket pins of two track links. There was also one on the inboard end of the same pair of links. When I took this photo, the track clips were the only thing holding these two links together; I'd already taken the filament pin out of the connection on the left side of this pair.