[GBC] The Akiyuki Project (2010 - 2020)

[Ankoku]

haha. I don't think I have ever gotten through a set of LEGO instructions without making a mistake.

When I made the 42054 - Claas Xerion 5000 Tractor, I managed to miss putting in a gear, right in the belly of the beast. That was a nightmare fix.

[rskamen]

9 hours ago, Doug72 said:

Found you do have to check & double check each stage before moving on.
I had to rebuild both robots twice before I was sure they were built correct.
Difficult at times to determine exactly how parts connected.

Also had to rob older MOCs for some parts to co-ordinate colours etc !!!

Even with an engineering background - still hard to figure out how it works !!!

Made a small MOD as did not like how the ball input was only attached on one side, plus 

Added support legs to keep it stable. see image below.

@Doug72 I have a question about step 2, on page 60 of the pdf instructions. It shows a blue pin/axle holding a 8T gear in place against another 8T gear held in place with a brown 3T axle with stop. With the blue pin, it does not turn very freely at all. Is it meant to be hard to turn (so it does not spin too freely)? I was thinking of substituting a light tan frictionless pin/axle so that the gear turns easier. Sorry I don't have any pictures to post. I have been building very slowly and carefully, constantly checking the appendix for alignment and "phasing", as Akiyuki puts it.

[doug72]

24 minutes ago, rskamen said:

@Doug72 I have a question about step 2, on page 60 of the pdf instructions. It shows a blue pin/axle holding a 8T gear in place against another 8T gear held in place with a brown 3T axle with stop. With the blue pin, it does not turn very freely at all. Is it meant to be hard to turn (so it does not spin too freely)? I was thinking of substituting a light tan frictionless pin/axle so that the gear turns easier. Sorry I don't have any pictures to post. I have been building very slowly and carefully, constantly checking the appendix for alignment and "phasing", as Akiyuki puts it.

Blue axle / pin is correct - it for friction resistance - that gear only needs to turn a little bit using the 12T double bevel gear by hand to adjust the grip of the robot arms.
 

I'm not entirely sure how it does that !!
Maybe someone else can explain better.

 

[rskamen]

@Doug72, thank you for that quick reply and explanation. Makes perfect sense to me. 

[Ankoku]

Does anyone actually have the LDraw files or equivalent of the Akiyuki modules? I was going to edit the Catch & Release one with my mods. There doesn't seem to be files for it though. e.g. Blakbird did the instructions and renders etc. but someone else did the LDraw file and the site they hosted that on is now gone.

Feel as though we should be storing all of them somewhere.

[Ankoku]

New Akiyuki module:
 

 

[Ankoku]

Not sure I am going to bother with this one. I like a few of the mechanisms, but it is going to be over £60 just for the train bits from LEGO. I did a BrickLinks costing and it was over £300 :P Obviously, you can do it for way cheaper than that.

[dunes]

3 minutes ago, Ankoku said:

Not sure I am going to bother with this one. I like a few of the mechanisms, but it is going to be over £60 just for the train bits from LEGO. I did a BrickLinks costing and it was over £300 :P Obviously, you can do it for way cheaper than that.

thats the reasen why I skip it. and he mentioned its not reliable in long runs

[Ankoku]

Sounds like you can destroy it in a single day! :P

Been fiddling with colours. Finally replaced the net at the bottom with the old style one and swapped the red 2L axle with a black one. Also swapped the brown Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Triple with a black one round the back.

I still needed to add a lot of white tiles and I think I will replace the red Technic, Liftarm 3 x 5 L-Shape Thick with an orange one and replace the hoop ring at the bottom with an orange one too.

Makes it all a bit more coordinated.

[Ankoku]

Currently sorting out parts for the Ball Triggered module.

Some of the piece colour choices are interesting.

So here, we have two elements.

One is the Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Toggle Joint Smooth in Black.

The other is Technic, Liftarm 1 x 7 Thin in Light Bluish Grey.

The black one makes sense. If you want it in Light Bluish Grey, it costs over £3 in the UK on Bricklink.

That said, the light bluish grey element, is over £2 in the UK.

So it feels weird that one piece is changed due to cost, but the other isn't.

The last date for both pieces was around the 2012-2013 time and the instructions were 2015.

Edited April 23, 2019 by Ankoku
Got one bit wrong.

[Ankoku]

Are the springs in the Invisible Lift old ones. e.g. on the LEGO site, all the soft springs seems to be Yellow. Or is it a labelling thing? Is Hard on LEGO site the same as Medium on BrickLink?

[Berthil]

I've used new soft springs but LBG, not yellow. Yellow ones should be always hard(er) springs and not suitable for the IL.
Someone reported a difference in old and new LBG soft springs causing problems so to be sure I bought all new, don't know how to spot what's different.

[Ankoku]

This is my issue:

I think it goes like this:

Bricklink -> LEGO

Soft = Hard

Hard = Extra Hard

Normal = Pre 2002 Shock Absorber.

[Ankoku]

So, I am busy trying to fix the Cup-to-cup module. No so much fix in terms of reverting to the original design, but more dealing with the issues that the original design had.

I am left wondering whether to try and improve version 1 or try and reverse engineer version 2 of his cup-to-cup type 1.

So, the gearing mechanism for the cups seems to be the main issue. This:

It produces a 4:1 ratio. This is not a ratio which is easy to replicate. You can do it with 2x 8 to 16 gear cogs, but it isn't very realistic getting them to sit next to each other.

I have shored up the frame which holds them, as it would move around, which was not visually pleasing and not good for the movements.

The issue is, having the 12 and 24 tooth gears connected like that produces a lot of friction, which is why, along with other things, it can cause the clutch gear to slip a little bit.

I am having trouble working out how to get a 4:1 ratio some other way.

This is his redesign:

I think the rework of the red lever is a bonus, as the old version gets very close to the threshold of flipping.

The gearing with this version is an 8 to 24 and 12 to 20. Which move far more freely.

Although it is difficult to see, the red lever no longer connects directly to the 40 tooth gear. There is a 24 tooth gear which sits behind the 40 tooth and powers them somehow.

The whole assembly is a lot more rigid and robust and clear resolves the gearing issue and the flip point.

He has also gone with 2x Universal Joint, rather than a single one. I have also made that change on the original version, as it gets rid of the issues which a single universal joint brings with it.

Thoughts people?

[Ankoku]

This does actually get you there.

It is done via 6 gears, rather than the 8 shown here.

It does provide a smoother drive chain. Not convinced on the idea though.

I think the main issue is that the whole system is right at the edge of the slip threshold of the clutch. That said, doubling up the clutch seems like a bad idea.

[colin brown]

Hi Blakbird, I'd like to build this gbc but am unable to open the parts list. Do you have it in any other format?

Regards Colin (England) 

It would help if I mentioned the module, it's Catch And Release.

Update: I figured it out. Now all I've got to do is buy the bricks!

 

Edited April 27, 2019 by colin brown

[Juroen]

It took me almost 6 months to build and today I have finished the Akiyuki ballcleaner.

[doug72]

3 hours ago, colin brown said:

Hi Blakbird, I'd like to build this gbc but am unable to open the parts list. Do you have it in any other format?

Regards Colin (England) 

It would help if I mentioned the module, it's Catch And Release.

Update: I figured it out. Now all I've got to do is buy the bricks!

 

Try this link:_ just click the A18050P(pdf) -  part not the (bsx) part

A18050P(pdf) A18050P(bsx)

Edited April 27, 2019 by Doug72

[colin brown]

Hi Blakbird, I'd like to build this gbc but am unable to open the parts list. Do you have it in any other format?

Regards Colin (England) 

 

 

Many thanks Doug72.

[Lawrence74]

 

1 hour ago, Juroen said:

It took me almost 6 months to build and today I have finished the Akiyuki ballcleaner.

Congratulations for this wonderful achievement! I would like so much to build it but it is far beyond my possibility a reverse build of this great module without building instructions! I dream that sooner or later you will be able to share some building instructions for the newbies like me :) Again congratulations!!

[HRU_Bricks]

2 hours ago, Juroen said:

It took me almost 6 months to build and today I have finished the Akiyuki ballcleaner.

Looks really good. A mirror image...the Technic 40 year is a nice touch.

do the balls run down the center line or is the ball path more towards the the front?

[Juroen]

19 minutes ago, HRU_Bricks said:

Looks really good. A mirror image...the Technic 40 year is a nice touch.

Thanks! Indeed a mirror image. I doubted for a long time to add any mini-figures.  I thought that might be too much. Technic 40 years is much more subtle in my eyes.

24 minutes ago, HRU_Bricks said:

do the balls run down the center line or is the ball path more towards the the front?

Ball path is 2 studs off center towards the back.

[Ankoku]

I have started doing some GBC models in Stud.io and I have to admit, it is quicker and easier than I expected.

You might want to look into it @Juroen. Obviously, not at the moment, as you are probably sick of the thing in that regard. Obviously, I would never to the tubing in a program like that though :P

Fantastic achievement and it is nice to know there are a few Ball Cleaners out there in the wild now!

Now all we need is a video of it running!

Oh and you may want to take some photos from all angles. I am sure there must have been a few photo angles you wish you had access to whilst building it!

[Juroen]

42 minutes ago, Ankoku said:

Now all we need is a video of it running!

A video will be available once I have built or bought a compressor.

[Ankoku]

There is already one Heart Chain out in the wild.

Looks like a slight adjustment to the drop off box is required, but other than that, it seems to work quite well.

Still not going to build it, but it seems to run quite smoothly!