[GBC] Akiyuki Ball Factory

[Berthil]

Meanwhile there has been a Studio update to fix the crashing on BI export so new versions of part 2 and 3 are up, all small improvements. Thank you @Theo van Vroenhoven for all the feedback so far.

Edited August 9, 2019 by Berthil

[Ankoku]

Not currently.

I needed to learn Stud.IO for it, since I need to design the changes before buying the parts. Lifting the whole thing up requires more parts than I have to hand.

So things like The Sun, Cup-to-Cup have been keeping me busy of late. Once the instructions for Cup-to-Cup v1.1 is done, I will set about finishing off the Ball Factory v2. Will be nice to make it moveable.

[9v system]

@Ankoku im not sure if you noticed but in the 2012 video the ball picker has 8 stud axles with stoppers on them. i presume this is to stop the balls from dropping

[Ankoku]

This is how mine looked the last time I took photos of it. Apologies for the dust.

Never had an issue with the ball dropper. It had a lot of issues prior to reverting it back to the original Akiyuki design.

As you can see, I made some modifications, mainly to make it more rigid.

[9v system]

11 hours ago, Ankoku said:

This is how mine looked the last time I took photos of it. Apologies for the dust.

Never had an issue with the ball dropper. It had a lot of issues prior to reverting it back to the original Akiyuki design.

As you can see, I made some modifications, mainly to make it more rigid.

interesting mods, i also posted some pictures of the gearing for the spiral drive as well not sure if i posted them here

[rskamen]

@Berthil I have finally gotten back to work on the rebuild of Ver3 Ball Factory. It is now completed! 2 observations so far.....

1. The clutch gears in the drive unit seem to be slipping. Therefore the Factory does not run smoothly whether using the hand crank or switching to the motor. The motion is very jerky as the gears engage or slip. Turning the main drive axle by hand (disconnected from the drive unit) and all is well. Not too much friction as I had experienced earlier. The current gears are all new and never been used. So there is no wear on them.

2. The bucket emptier does NOT open all the way when it returns to the horizontal position. It will release the bucket and grab the next bucket, but the timing and tolerances are extremely tight. There is tension when I try to open it all the way by hand and it wants to spring back to about a 1/4 open position on it's own. I have rebuilt it thinking I might have misplaced an axle in the wrong spot on the technic bricks and beams. 

The timing seems to be about perfect, as I tried to set up each module as it was completed and connected to the next module. The entire Factory is extremely sturdy and looks amazing. I am awaiting an order of 3mm hose to finish the final ball delivery system. Any insights or help would be greatly appreciated

[t0mster]

On 5/25/2019 at 10:33 PM, Berthil said:

1/8 inch at McMaster Carr for U.S.A. 1/8 inch outer diameter (they don't ship to Europe),
Flexible Nylon Opaque Tubing on this page in different colors:
https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/125/168
e.g. black:
https://www.mcmaster.com/5548k81

and modular Germany 3,2mm outer diameter:
https://www.modulor.de/en/abs-round-tube-opaque-coloured.html
Brass insert from Modular, recommended to use with these rigid hoses otherwise they knick instead of bending as they are quite hard.
Very good for straight applications though.
https://www.modulor.de/en/round-rod-brass-oe-1-5-l-1000.html

@Berthil

I ordered a few of the tubes in germany. Thanks for the tip!

 

i decided to tear down my “black” version of the ball factory v3 to reassemble the invisable lift

iam now awaiting bricklink orders to do a replica in DBG.

i hope with all the tips it runs smoother then the first time i build it. I never got it running flawless

 

Do you think you are going to give this one a run at legoworld 2019?

[Berthil]

@t0mster thanks, I hope you can get it running okay next time.

I will try running it at LW2019, that was always my goal. I am confident that if it doesn't run okay it will be small problems which I can hopefully improve. Almost no GBC machine runs flawlessly but at least the buckets have to stay in place in this one. I don't like stress machines and put a lot of effort in making stress machines reliable for events like the Invisible Lift and my Turntable Cup to Cup. I intend to do the same with the Ball Factory.

@rskamen something is causing friction if the clutch gears slips as mine doesn't. It's a safety precaution and should be kept in to keep timing okay when a problem occurs. But if running at home you could just replace it with a normal 24t gear.
The timing of the bucket emptier is recognizable, it is the most critical part. Try adding and removing a plate between both grabbers until it works best for you.

Edited August 26, 2019 by Berthil
typos

[rskamen]

1 hour ago, Berthil said:

@t0mster thanks, I hope you can get it running okay next time.

I will try running it at LW2019, that was always my goal. I am confident that if it doesn't run okay it will be small problems which I can hopefully improve. Almost no GBC machine runs flawlessly but at least the buckets have to stay in place in this one. I don't like stress machines and put a lot of effort in making stress machines reliable for events like the Invisible Lift and my Turntable Cup to Cup. I intend to do the same with the Ball Factory.

@rskamen something is causing friction if the clutch gears slips as mine doesn't. It's a safety precaution and should be kept in to keep timing okay when a problem occurs. But if running at home you could just replace it with a normal 24t gear.
The timing of the bucket emptier is recognizable, it is the most critical part. Try adding and removing a plate between both grabbers until it works best for you.

@Berthil I have spent most of this stormy summer afternoon taking apart gears and axles, looking for friction, and carefully reassembling. It is running a lot smoother. Cranking by hand no longer produces any slip in the clutch. Running with the motor is still a little jerky, but I am using the battery box and batteries from my version2 build of last year. I will continue to isolate areas of possible friction and change the batteries for fresh AA batteries. Thank you for mentioning the 24T gear. I was wondering what might be a good replacement for the clutch.

I took apart and reassembled the bucket emptier. It is just a little better. I like your idea of adding or removing plates to try and get it properly balanced. I see how critical it is. Thank you for all you help and THANK YOU for redesigning the Ball Factory and making version 3. It is a masterpiece. It is also so much easier to work on gears, timing and modules. Truly a engineering marvel.

I will try to retro-fit my return conveyor from version2, but have ordered the 3mm tubing from McMaster as I am sure I will use it in future builds.

 

[rskamen]

My ver3 is running very smoothly now. Have every module and element timed perfectly. Bob, the bucket picker, the bucket lifter, etc are all working to the right amplitude and moving faultlessly. I just received my 3mm hose from McMaster, so I will make the ball return ramps. Other than that, I am done. I am thrilled with this build. It is unique, solid, and precise. @Berthil has created a wonderful version of the most iconic GBC. Well worth the time, effort and money. Tons of bricks left over from ver2. I will post pictures and maybe a short video once the ball return ramps are in place. Now what to build? I have the Grove GMK6400 Mobile Crane complete in a box ready to build. I sourced all those parts last summer - 2018. But I do want to build another GBC module. Is anyone working on a new or revised GBC? I have about half the parts needed for the invisible lift. I also like the fork-to-fork. Suggestions?????

 

[Berthil]

@rskamen glad to hear everything works fine and thanks for the compliment! :)
Good luck and fun with the next build.

[9v system]

not sure if anyone has seen this but i found this extended version of the ball factory a while ago and i think its worth sharing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBAAEnizWl4&fbclid=IwAR2gx0wWRj-9Ylrrk_tBSWQRWLKMmnBCNBECsJEl8n9xje8tIcP6TZtL3qk

[Ankoku]

I preferred his earlier version, it was better in terms of smoothness. Still somewhat variable speed. The one you posted makes you feel sorry for the motor. Looks nice though.

 

[rskamen]

@Berthil - slightly off topic. I have been accumulating parts for Akiyuki Invisible Lift. I have also looked at your Flickr photos of improvements. Did you follow Blakbirds pdf instructions, or Therebrickers video instructions? There are probably minor differences and I want to follow the most detailed BI. Thank you for any comments. Regards to you.

[Berthil]

@rskamen I used the PDF instructions from Blakbird, didn't use the video.

[rskamen]

1 hour ago, Berthil said:

@rskamen I used the PDF instructions from Blakbird, didn't use the video.

Thank you for the quick reply. That was my thinking as well. I may start the build in a week or two, depending on parts deliveries, but won't finish until very late November. We are going to Italy mid-October for a few weeks. Then taking a 15 day transatlantic cruise back home from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale. We'll be back home 3rd week of November.

[Ankoku]

Sounds good!

[9v system]

@Berthil i have finished your version of the ball factory but im having trouble with the bucket dumper, at certain speeds the dumper doesn't grab the buckets properly, i have not had this issue before so im curious as to weather you had this issue

[Berthil]

@9v system I didn't have that problem but moved 1 plate from the outer side grabber to the inner side grabber. May be you can move the plate back to the outer side and try again, some told me this was a solution for them. So bucket then gets grabbed 1 plate back.

[Berthil]

Prepping for LEGO World and ran it for a few hours. Decided to use 21 buckets (instead of 22) of have the second belt run faster.
Also exchanged the 8L axle in the Bucket Shifter left/right drive arm for a 9L putting the yellow connector on 8,5 L for a bit more amplitude and other yellow connector on 5L axle on axle end.
Also moved the 4L arm that pushes the Bucket onto Bob outwards on the shifter so Bob always gets a bucket as after longer running sometimes Bob did not get a bucket.

I will adjust the instructions accordingly together with other changes if necessary.

After LEGO World I will attempt to use my new Color Sorter in combination with the Ball factory to get a white and orange ball in the bucket as in V1 of Akiyuki but not sure how yet :)

[Innocity]

I built one more Ball factory ver.3.
It's 99% complete.
With the instructions updated by Berthil I could easily make it.
I tried to make this module as close as possible to the ball factory ver2 of akiyuki in November 2011.
In particular I created a Ramp without using a rigid hose, similar to original.

In addition, there are some modifications in this module.
And I also fixed the problem with Ramp moving in the previous module that Berthil pointed out.
When Ball factory ver3 (Classic edition) is completed, I will upload the video that the module is running. Thank you.

 

 

 

On 10/13/2019 at 11:45 PM, Berthil said:

Prepping for LEGO World and ran it for a few hours. Decided to use 21 buckets (instead of 22) of have the second belt run faster.
Also exchanged the 8L axle in the Bucket Shifter left/right drive arm for a 9L putting the yellow connector on 8,5 L for a bit more amplitude and other yellow connector on 5L axle on axle end.
Also moved the 4L arm that pushes the Bucket onto Bob outwards on the shifter so Bob always gets a bucket as after longer running sometimes Bob did not get a bucket.

I will adjust the instructions accordingly together with other changes if necessary.

After LEGO World I will attempt to use my new Color Sorter in combination with the Ball factory to get a white and orange ball in the bucket as in V1 of Akiyuki but not sure how yet :)

For the second belt run faster, I tried 21 buckets with a combination of 32270 (12 tooth gear) and 6589 (12 tooth gear) instead of the 32198 (20 tooth gear) and 6589 (12 tooth gear) combinations, and the timing is much more accurate.

[9v system]

@Innocity i have also been doing some changes to my ball factory.

i have been trying to change the spiral lift part do how akiyuki has it in his version as it can take a lot more balls with the large input.

[Innocity]

31 minutes ago, 9v system said:

@Innocity i have also been doing some changes to my ball factory.

i have been trying to change the spiral lift part do how akiyuki has it in his version as it can take a lot more balls with the large input.

You can expand the input space without affecting the spiral lift drive.  Of course not the same as original. You can do it like I modified the ramp part.

[Berthil]

5 hours ago, Innocity said:

I built one more Ball factory ver.3.

For the second belt run faster, I tried 21 buckets with a combination of 32270 (12 tooth gear) and 6589 (12 tooth gear) instead of the 32198 (20 tooth gear) and 6589 (12 tooth gear) combinations, and the timing is much more accurate.

Nice, two of them! :)

That's exactly what I also did to speed up the 2nd belt, It's an easy modification.

[9v system]

On 10/16/2019 at 6:48 PM, Innocity said:

You can expand the input space without affecting the spiral lift drive.  Of course not the same as original. You can do it like I modified the ramp part.

i tried doing that but i have to lower the spiral lift so large hopper part can be added