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problems with building a crane


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i want to assemble a mun base, and i realized my pieces won't assemble themselves. i need some machine that can move around a bit, grab them from where they landed, and position them in the correct place. also, overturn one that got capsized in the landing.

basically, i need a crane. i tried to build one with actuators, and it sort of works. it certainly can move around its arm and grab stuff. but it has two problems.

one is, the arm is extremely wobbly. i tested it on kerbin, and it shakes a lot under its own weight. on mun it will be in lower gravity, but it will also be expected to have stuff attached

second, biggest problem is stability. of course i have this high structure that can extend out of the rover, it's going to make it unstable. of course i could fix it by adding weight on the base and adding a counterweight, but you can understand, i am extremely reluctant to add weight on something i want to launch in space. I considered using an empty fuel tank and filling it when i land on mun, too bad the whole ISRU complex that would produce the fuel needs the crane to be assembled.

is there a solution? do i have to send a crane with counterweights, or accept that the parts of my base will just stay wherever they are dropped, or can i do something smart about it?

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Use ore tanks for ballast- if you’re adding ISRUs to your base then you should already have drills to get ore, plus ore is very heavy and you can get a lot of mass in a pretty small tank. Launch them empty then fill them up when you’re on the Mun and then your crane will be more balanced.

The robotic parts are pretty flimsy, but you should be able to build something resembling a forklift truck with a klaw on the front to grab and then lift the modules of your base and move them around to where they need to go. Use the rotation parts to make your wheels pivot rather than steer for more precise driving and stick a probe core on top that rotates to the same angle as the wheels which will make it easier to drive.

Cranes will be flimsier and less useful even in lower gravity unless you plan to make something like those cranes that load and unload container ships with a huge and wide wheelbase for balance and where the grabber is right in the middle.

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