GBC General Discussion

[dr_spock]

The LEGO balls used for GBCs are 14mm in size. You can find 14mm Chinese beads on ebays for around 5 cents USD each.

The left and center balls are from LEGO Friends sets. They're around 30 cents USD on Bricklink. The one on the right is a chinese made jewelry bead. Somewhere I had a thread comparing them.

[Jim]

Merging with the GBC General Discussion topic:

http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=88296

[ALittleSlow]

Nice may I ask does it jam?

I ran it for over an hour with to 5 to 50 balls and the pump never jammed. The feed mechanism did jam (the balls stopped feeding) once when I had over 30 balls in the hopper, but it cleared itself in under 2 minutes.

[ALittleSlow]

I'd like to know where to get those balls from? Amazon?

H

If you are the member of a LEGO fan club that participates in LEGO's LUGBULK bulk order program, you might be able to get them in bulk. They are available in 2015 for, I believe, [edit] xxx USD each less than BrickLink prices. Oops. We're not supposed to publish LUGBULK prices. [/edit]

Edited January 7, 2015 by ALittleSlow

[system]

I was watching various GBC video with kids and decided to create something simple but new. Something that I haven't seen in any video before.

Here is prototype of vertical tower.

Pros:

- small width: only 3 stud radius, where one is used for wall

- fast

- vertical

- could work with a single or multiple balls

Cons:

- height limited by length of axle

TL;DR;

Before start I thought it would take one hour to make something workable... I was so wrong! :D

First it was hard to make it small. I tried various rotations, steppers and other technics, but radius always was 4 or more studs wide. After few hours of tinkering I start just going through all my technic parts and try to brainstorm how the could be used together.

When I made a first version, it was very simple: I have to rotate shaft and feed balls myself. Now with working model, it should take no more than half hour to attach motor and make full loop. Wrong again!

Building proper feeder took even more time. Ball stuck all the time. Balls was another problem. I have only one lego ball, and I was looking for more. I tried various beads and other balls. But none of them were suitable.

After several hours new version was ready: automated and working. Time to add more balls and show to kids? Wrong! In 30% of time 2 balls stuck with eachother. Again some time take to rebuild feeder for smooth operations.

Overall it was very fun and interesting experience :)

Edited January 19, 2015 by system

[DrJB]

Nicely done. You can make the contraption much longer with a 32L axle, but then that may be too flexible. 16L will work for sure (I think you're using a12L). Also, one of the major cons with these toothed parts is, they break easily. Two of the weakest technic parts TLG came up with in my opinion.

[ALittleSlow]

Very nice! Very compact mechanism. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[ALittleSlow]

Another way to get more height would be to use multiple stages.

Slowing it down should improve the feeding efficiency and might reduce jams. Normally we control speed using a 9V train controller, but use could make a reduction gear set. A standard great ball contraption module will output one ball per second, so your ideal rpm would be 60. It will probably have to be a little faster to compensate for missed feeds.

[dr_spock]

Good work. It has a nice flow of ball going upwards.

[Maico]

This weekend we have setup a GBC circuit at LEGO World 2015 in Copenhagen. Here is a video:

The circuit was setup containing 117 modules by five builders from Denmark and the Netherlands.

[DrJB]

Very nice, and thank you for sharing. At 17:25, one could see this part (below) in white whereas bricklink says it was released only in black and LBG.

[Maico]

Very nice, and thank you for sharing. At 17:25, one could see this part (below) in white whereas bricklink says it was released only in black and LBG.

As a matter of fact, these are not White. They seem white as they are moving and gathering white dust. They're LBG

[ALittleSlow]

Thanks for sharing! The ball flow seems really good. You must all be pretty experienced GBC builders. I noticed a lot less ambient noise in this video than in most other GBC videos. Did you use a directional microphone?

[9v system]

Thanks for sharing! The ball flow seems really good. You must all be pretty experienced GBC builders. I noticed a lot less ambient noise in this video than in most other GBC videos. Did you use a directional microphone?

do you have any more gbc instructions yet? because I need to get some more.

[Captainowie]

Here are some GBC instructions:

Step 1) Pick a module you'd like to build

Step 2) Study all published photos and videos

Step 3) Figure out how the mechanisms must work

Step 4) Recreate the mechanisms

Step 5) Recreate the aesthetics

As an added bonus, these instructions work for pretty much any of the wonderful creations you see on this forum (or any other, for that matter)!

Somewhat less facetiously, why don't you duplicate one of the modules you already have, and then change it a bit? Maybe convert something that uses small tread links into something that uses the larger newer ones. Maybe turn a wide stepper into two narrow steppers side-by-side - you could offset them 180 degrees from each other, which might look cool. You could even just change the colour scheme. Or make it look like more than just a mechanism - a cottage with a waterwheel, or a Roman aqueduct, whatever specialist pieces you have on hand.

It pains me to write this, but if you require step-by-step instructions for everything you build, then maybe GBC isn't for you - not least because when you come to connect modules together there's almost inevitably some jiggery-pokery needed, which won't be in the instructions. There are lots of ideas floating around, lots of completed modules you can draw inspiration from, and we can help you with any specific problems that you face, but you're going to need to do some experimenting yourself.

Kind regards,

Owen.

[Maico]

Thanks for sharing! The ball flow seems really good. You must all be pretty experienced GBC builders. I noticed a lot less ambient noise in this video than in most other GBC videos. Did you use a directional microphone?

My movies are made with my cell phone... A samsung Galaxy Mega Duos. I don't think this model is that spacial. So, I didn't use any directional microphone.

Here are some GBC instructions:

Step 1) Pick a module you'd like to build

Step 2) Study all published photos and videos

Step 3) Figure out how the mechanisms must work

Step 4) Recreate the mechanisms

Step 5) Recreate the aesthetics

As an added bonus, these instructions work for pretty much any of the wonderful creations you see on this forum (or any other, for that matter)!

Somewhat less facetiously, why don't you duplicate one of the modules you already have, and then change it a bit? Maybe convert something that uses small tread links into something that uses the larger newer ones. Maybe turn a wide stepper into two narrow steppers side-by-side - you could offset them 180 degrees from each other, which might look cool. You could even just change the colour scheme. Or make it look like more than just a mechanism - a cottage with a waterwheel, or a Roman aqueduct, whatever specialist pieces you have on hand.

It pains me to write this, but if you require step-by-step instructions for everything you build, then maybe GBC isn't for you - not least because when you come to connect modules together there's almost inevitably some jiggery-pokery needed, which won't be in the instructions. There are lots of ideas floating around, lots of completed modules you can draw inspiration from, and we can help you with any specific problems that you face, but you're going to need to do some experimenting yourself.

Kind regards,

Owen.

One addition to this: you can find several instructions on the web. Build a few of them and use this as inspiration to create your own and to get the hang of it.

Kind regards,

Maico Arts

[9v system]

It pains me to write this, but if you require step-by-step instructions for everything you build, then maybe GBC isn't for you -

why do you say that? just because I run out of ideas don't mean that I cant do GBC's. its just that I have very limited parts and I try to build modules that don't need as many parts like red or blue bricks.

[ALittleSlow]

I don't remember if I posted this back in 2013, but I have just remade the instructions for my Wheel Lift 12x12.

[ALittleSlow]

do you have any more gbc instructions yet? because I need to get some more.

It pains me to write this, but if you require step-by-step instructions for everything you build, then maybe GBC isn't for you

Owen, your advice is excellent, and I initially agreed with both the pain and sentiment of the above quoted statement. On reflection, though, I'm not so sure. Not everybody who buys LEGO sets builds something original with the parts. Sometimes they just enjoy the sets as they are. How much more true should this be for GBC modules, with their mesmerizing movements? You are right that nearly every GBC module will require some jiggering or tuning, but maybe that's enough for some people. Or maybe that's where they have to start.

9v system, I think one thing which would improve the responses you get here would be, in a word, reciprocity. Part of the idea underlying Owen's statement (if I can put words in his mouth), is that the GBC community, like most online communities, is built on the sharing of ideas and excitement. My observations of your posts here have been that you do lots of asking, but you haven't offered up anything yourself. Why not start by posting pictures of the GBCs you have built? I probably speak for all who have posted GBC instructions that we would be thrilled to see what others have done with our effort.

Peace,

Brian

[Captainowie]

why do you say that? just because I run out of ideas don't mean that I cant do GBC's. its just that I have very limited parts and I try to build modules that don't need as many parts like red or blue bricks.

Ideas are not your problem. You have been provided with plenty of ideas. There are hundreds of them in this thread alone. But ideas are not what you ask for - you ask for instructions, and that's different.

In fact, step-by-step instructions are probably exactly what you *don't* want if you have a limited parts selection. The smaller your collection the more chance there is that any given set of instructions requires a part that you don't have (or refuse to use). Then what do you do? Just ignore those and keep asking for more instructions? That gets very tiresome very quickly. You'll get far better mileage out of trying to figure out how to reproduce some mechanism using the parts you have. I say again, we'll help you do that, but you need to show that you've at least made an effort first.

Owen, your advice is excellent, and I initially agreed with both the pain and sentiment of the above quoted statement. On reflection, though, I'm not so sure. Not everybody who buys LEGO sets builds something original with the parts. Sometimes they just enjoy the sets as they are. How much more true should this be for GBC modules, with their mesmerizing movements? You are right that nearly every GBC module will require some jiggering or tuning, but maybe that's enough for some people. Or maybe that's where they have to start.

I hope your reflection was on the sentiment, rather than the pain :-)

The thing is, people are quite entitled to buy a set, and only build that set. That's fine. But GBC is an area of the hobby that doesn't have any sets (likely for the jiggering/tuning reasons discussed), so all instructions have to come from the community, and only a very small fraction of the community will be willing to devote time into creating instructions for what is a rather niche area. I have no problems at all with using some step-by-step instructions - it's a useful starting platform, but if someone has done half-a-dozen modules already (http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=103497) then I would expect they've learned enough to at least make an attempt at doing something with a little less hand-holding.

Compare to another niche technic field - trial trucks. I assume there are some instructions out there for a decent trial truck, but I don't think the trial truck community would react well to someone saying "My truck isn't good enough, I need instructions for a new one".

Owen.

[Maico]

This one can be found on the net. I just converted it and put it on Youtube:

[ALittleSlow]

This one can be found on the net. I just converted it and put it on Youtube:

That one is by Steve Hassenplug of Indiana, USA: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=178764

[Maico]

That one is by Steve Hassenplug of Indiana, USA: http://www.brickshel...ry.cgi?f=178764

yes, it is. I just forgot where I got the GBCube.mpd from. I haven't found it on brickshelf...

If Steve has a problem with this, I will remove it.

[ALittleSlow]

I'm sure it's fine. I think he posted it on this forum earlier. I just wanted to give him credit.

[9v system]

here's one of mine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enqDTUCo-Ok

photos

Edited February 18, 2015 by 9v system