DUPLO Early Simple Machines Models - Where to Start as a newbie?

[Nic]

Hi everyone,

i know this kind of posts are not liked very much, but I feel a little bit overwhelmed with all the tools and the possibilities.

Here is my Situation:

I want to create a model with parts from 9656 DUPLO Early Simple Machines
and be able to view it in Bricklink Studio 2.0.
I saw this screen-cap entry on Philo's brickshelf page
( https://brickshelf.com/gallery/Philo/misc2/capture.jpg ), and I want to recreate this myself.

I am working with this Set with my Kids and I want to
isolate the Functional Elements (like only the Worm-Gear) to be able to discuss them.

I played a bit with the different tools (LDView, LDCad, Bricklink Studio 2.0)
but I do not understand the necessary workflow.
As far as I understand, the necessary DUPLO .dat files are provided by LDraw (I can find them in the ..\LDraw\parts folder),
but I do not know how to use them to build a model, that can be displayed in Bricklink Studio 2.0.

Can anyone help?

Thank you a lot,
Nic

[Philippe Hurbain]

Hi Nic,
If you want to use LDraw parts not supported by Studio, you need to place them in CustomParts folder of Studio.

Many other people asked for the possibility of using Duplo parts in Studio, so I created this parts pack (including connectivity): https://drive.google.com/open?id=1A1gE522bMrcER3hYjqd0CLbGPrvSlvoE

To use it, unzip it and place its contents in your C:\Users\{your username}\AppData\Local\Stud.io . Duplo parts will then be available in Custom Parts palette of Studio. More details on custom parts in Studio forum: http://forum.bricklink.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=965&p=2615&hilit=customparts&sid=a0487a9d7213c77248f4ce56001e5072#p2615

Caveats:
- Many Duplo parts are missing here (and are not available in LDraw library anyway, though since I made this pack, a lot more Duplo parts were creted in Ldraw, but I have not yet updated the pack).
- Studio doesn't provide specific connectivity for Duplo, so I had to make do with simple stud or axle connexions.
- Compatibility with regular LEGO is limited (you can place bricks over Duplo, but Duplo on bricks doesn't position correctly and generate collisions).
- Some parts create unwanted collisions, eg. Duplo wheel on axle. Problem is that Studio part designer generate collision data automatically, I have no control on this. Turn collision detection off when this happens.