Life Track II Build/Wheel Mount Construction Video Script

The LifeTrac Tractor wheel mount assembly is constructed from two wheel mount plates measuring 8 by 10 by 1/2 inches for the base plate which has already been attached to a flange bearing assembly and includes two 3/4 inch bolt holes at the top, the motor mount plate which measures 10 by 8 by 1/2 inches and has two 3/4 inch bolt holes and a 3 inch shaft hole, and the hydraulic motor assembly that includes a 6 by 8 by 1/2 inch steel plate called the quick attach plate or hydraulic motor interface plate and a coupler for the shaft with a female 6-spline, a wheel assembly including a T245/R16 wheel, a shaft 1 7/8 inches in diameter previously prepared including a bolt-hole at one end and male 6-spline at the other end, three double split lock collars, two large washers with 1 7/8 inch inner diameter, and six three-quarter inch bolts.

This video includes the most updated measurements and procedures for the LifeTrac III prototypes on the Factor e Farm. I will refer to the orientation of the pieces as if we were sitting in the drivers seat of the LifeTrac: north is to the front end where the loader will be attached, south is behind us at the back of the tractor, west is on our left hand side and east is on our right hand side. All lateral measurements are from left to right, all measurements of depth are from front to back, and all measurements of height are from top to bottom. Each hole center is measured from the left or top edge of the plate to accommodate for inaccurate material dimensions. Pay careful attention to only measure from the top and left reference point. Do not attempt to convert and measure locations from the right nor bottom, as even slight inaccuracies can prevent bolts from aligning properly between pieces and create overall alignment problems which can make the construction fail or lead to catastrophic failure during operation of the LifeTrac that could result not only in serious damage to the tractor, but injury to the operator. Construction of sub-assemblies in this video (such as preparation of the shaft itself, the mounting plates and the wheel assembly) will be covered in detail in other videos. CAD and CAM files are already available for these assemblies on the open+pario project-hosting website; check the "crash course" sections of Open Source Ecology's website for specific links.

The assembly process, at present, will involve some welding of mounting plates to the LifeTrac frame; however, the next iteration of the LifeTrac will have a fully modular wheel mount assembly that will be readily attachable and detachable with only four bolts, eliminating the welding in the current version that inhibits ready swappability and interchangeability of the wheel between different machines. This will greatly enhance the serviceability of the LifeTrac, allowing a wheel mount assembly to be readily swapped with another LifeTrac or another Global Village Construction Set machine that also uses wheel mount. This will readily align this component with the overall GVCS strategy of simplicity and ease of service through modular, easily-swapped components.

Mount the wheel mounting plates onto the frame by aligning the two bolt holes on the base plates of the wheel mount assemblies to the matching bolt holes at 13 and 17 inches for front wheels or 63 and 67 inches for the back wheels, as measured from the front of the north/south frame members. Attach the wheel mounting plates onto the frame with two 3/4 inch bolts.

Insert the prepared shaft through the wheel and the first wheel mount on the outer side of the outer lower north/south frame member; slide the two large washers onto the shaft as you pass it through the outer wheel mount and north/south frame member and keep the washers against the interior side of that outer north/south member. Continue inserting the shaft in through the inside wheel mount and frame member until the male 6-spline coupler at the end of the shaft is through the bolted motor mount plate.

Then take the hydraulic motor assembly and attach it to the motor mount plate by bolting together the quick attach plate at the end of the motor assembly and the motor mount plate's matching 3/4 inch bolt holes. Install the hydraulic motor's female 6-spline coupler onto the shaft's male 6-spline coupler.

Be very careful to keep the alignment between the shaft and hydraulic motor coupler tight, and tack weld the motor mount plate onto the vertical frame member in place to maintain sturdy alignment; be very thorough in welding along the edge of the plate onto the vertical frame member. As mentioned, this weld will be done away with in a future iteration of the LifeTrac to make the entire wheel assembly modular, but a previous built lacking a welded mount resulted in a broken shaft, so this iteration of the LifeTrac includes the weld to prevent this damage.

On the outside (wheel) end of the shaft, mount the wheel onto the shaft, rotate as necessary to align the bolt through-holes of the wheel assembly with the matching bolt hole at the end of the shaft and secure with a 3/4 inch bolt.