Braiding Machine

[Splat]

This model is my Lego Technic Braiding Machine which debuted at the 2015 Brickworld Lego Expo in Chicago (June 17 - 21 2015).

There are three bobbins of thread that travel in a figure eight (8) pattern, causing the threads to intertwine and create a braid. A spool then collects and slowly winds up the braid.

At Brickworld, once the collection spool was full, I cut the braids into lengths about 20cm (8 inches) long and handed them out to kids as friendship bracelets.

This model was well received, and was nominated in the 'Best Mechanical' division.

The toughest part of building this model was getting the timing of each mechanism just right. To keep everything in sync, only a single M-Motor is used.

The other challenge that I faced was keeping it running for extended periods of time. All of the moving parts of the model would slowly work themselves apart, and the worm gears wanted to force the model apart any time one of the bobbins jammed.

I hope you like my model, and all comments and feedback are welcome.

Special shout-out to Nico71 for inspiring me with his braiding machine and looms. If you haven't seen his models, you should check them out (Nico's Blog).

[Jurss]

It's not only good mechanism, it also looks good.

[oracid]

So good !

I was wondering. Is this a copy of an existing industrial process or is it in your design?

[KirTech LAB]

Cool machine! Very technical!

[aeh5040]

Wow - great work! I've seen a few of these (and it is on my list to try building one of my own), but I think yours is the most elegant I have seen.

I'd like to see more details of the mechanism. In particular, the reciprocal motion mechanism (to swipe the bobbins to and fro) looks interesting and unusual...

Edited September 13, 2015 by aeh5040

[Zerobricks]

The bobbing echange mechanism is just hypnotic! Only thing I'd suggest you to do is to use longer axles in the worm gear holders, maybe some 3L with stud at the end and a bush on the other end to keep the triangles from sliding apart.

Edited September 14, 2015 by Zblj

[Splat]

Thanks everyone for the comments.

I had the idea to build something that braids by myself, however after doing some research, I found that there are lots of other machines that also braid. The industrial machines usually have more bobbins.

You can see the reciprocal motion in this video: Lego Technic Worm Drive and Linkage Mechanism

Edited September 15, 2015 by Splat

[Blakbird]

Very nice machine! I've built Nico71's machine, but while it is called a "braiding machine" it does not actually braid. Rather it twists. Your machine does a real braid. Now can you make it work on my daughter's hair?

[aeh5040]

You can see the reciprocal motion in this video:

Lego Technic Worm Drive and Linkage Mechanism:

Very neat mechanism! I thought that was basically how it worked, but wasn't sure.

Besides Nico's (which as Blakbird said is not true braiding, although it's very impressive), other Lego examples include these:

There are also some interesting Meccano implementations with more than three strands. It would be good to see one of these in Lego...

[Splat]

@Blakbird - Hmm, you might have to cut your daughter's hair off first, then I could probably run it through the braiding machine.

@aeh5040 - Thanks for the videos - I had seen the first one before, but not the second. I had also seen some of the Meccano ones too.

I am looking to build a larger, more complex braiding machine with more bobbins, but I don't want to promise anything as I have a few other projects to work on first.