I displayed this GBC at an event a few weekends ago in Adelaide, Australia.

The engine you see at ~48 seconds is a W16, but you can only see the top 8 cylinders because of the camera angle.

Some questions to anyone who has participated in those large group GBCs that you find on YouTube, the ones with a hundred modules. Do they run the whole weekend non-stop? Or periodically (like, for 10 minutes every hour)? Or just once, for half an hour or so once it's all been put together?

If it's not "just once", how do you manage modules that might not be quite as reliable as they should be? Or is it just me that has issues with reliability?

Conversely, if it's not "non-stop" how do you manage crowd expectations?

Is there one person who's in control, and can order a troublesome module to be removed from the Contraption? Or do all the builders need to be there the whole time in case something goes wrong with their module? Again, this is something of a moot point if making reliable modules is easier for everyone else than for me.

Owen.

We run non-stop. The display is modular to the GBC standards so modules can be taken out when they fail (to fix) and spare modules can be used fill in the gap. What works great at home may not at the event, kids could be touching, motor dies, etc. Not all builders have to be there the whole time. We do shifts, take breaks, chat with or hide from the crowds. As long as your modules are not too hard to troubleshoot, most GBC builders can keep it going if you're not around. Or you can leave instructions on what to do.

Great machine. where do you get those balls from?

H

Edited May 31, 201410 yr by Horace T

Last year we ran our small GBC 15-20minutes every hour and a little longer when crowd gathered(we did the expo at a shopping mall for two weeks). BUT, and this is a VERY important BUT(!) - all the modules were meticulously sprayed with silicon based spray oil at every friction/rotation point. The motors too. Did not have a single problem. And the parts were "shiny" and very well preserved.

BTW nice zamor GBC :)

Edited May 31, 201410 yr by Akeyzerr

We run non-stop.

Thanks for that dr_spock. I would very much like one day to participate in something of that magnitude. I have to admit, though, that it's much easier to just make it work in one way than to ensure that every module adheres to the standard so that they're all interchangeable. Having to turn corners while keeping the baseplates aligned while at the same time keeping the interesting part of the module on the outside of the loop was tricky.

How do you manage power supply? If each module follows the standard, then each module will need its own motor, which seems inefficient (I use a drive-shaft that provides motion to several modules at once). Do you have banks of battery chargers going to replace flat batteries? Or do you make use of mains power directly?

Great machine. where do you get those balls from?

H

H. They are, as Akeyzerr says, known as Zamor spheres, they seem to be LEGO's go-to projectile. I acquired through a program that rhymes with BugHulk. I would definitely recommend against using these balls in GBC, because they have a little divot that tends to be problematic - if a ball stops on the divot, it takes a fair bit to get it moving again.

Last year we ran our small GBC 15-20minutes every hour and a little longer when crowd gathered(we did the expo at a shopping mall for two weeks). BUT, and this is a VERY important BUT(!) - all the modules were meticulously sprayed with silicon based spray oil at every friction/rotation point. The motors too. Did not have a single problem. And the parts were "shiny" and very well preserved.

BTW nice zamor GBC :)

I used silicone spray on this one for the first time. I haven't yet unpacked the LEGO box from the trip, but first indications are that there is much less ABS dust than my previous display.

Thanks for that dr_spock. I would very much like one day to participate in something of that magnitude. I have to admit, though, that it's much easier to just make it work in one way than to ensure that every module adheres to the standard so that they're all interchangeable. Having to turn corners while keeping the baseplates aligned while at the same time keeping the interesting part of the module on the outside of the loop was tricky.

How do you manage power supply? If each module follows the standard, then each module will need its own motor, which seems inefficient (I use a drive-shaft that provides motion to several modules at once). Do you have banks of battery chargers going to replace flat batteries? Or do you make use of mains power directly?

Many GBCers use the 4548 transformer and speed regulator to run the GBC all day. I've converted some spare 8881 Power Functions AA battery boxes to run off a AC to 9V DC transformer.

Following standards is good if you plan to include your modules with others for much larger display at events like BrickWorld. You can have your one motor drive many as long as your complete module follow the input and output standards where you take in the balls from other person's module, do your GBC thing and send the balls out to the next person's module. The standard is balls comes in on the left and leave on the right. I did an event where the one guy had it going the other way. Fortunately, my modules were easy to flip around but the not so pretty side was now facing the audience.

Are these the standards you are referring to?

http://www.teamhassenplug.org/GBC/

Or was something released by TLG themselves (which I can't find reference to) and this is a derivative?

Cheers.

You can have your one motor drive many as long as your complete module follow the input and output standards where you take in the balls from other person's module, do your GBC thing and send the balls out to the next person's module.

This is exactly how I imagined it would work. It's nice to know I was on the right track!

Are these the standards you are referring to?

http://www.teamhassenplug.org/GBC/

Yep, them's the standards we're referring to. It was never released or endorsed by TLG, it's just something that Steve Hassenplug and friends made. Here is the LUGNET thread that kicked it off.

Thanks, good to know.

I like the blue wheel module. Very clever design. I don't like these huge GBC shows. They bought all the balls from BrickLink and have like 10,000 balls and they're flying around everywhere, and then you're wondering why they cost $1 a piece at best.

I like the blue wheel module. Very clever design. I don't like these huge GBC shows. They bought all the balls from BrickLink and have like 10,000 balls and they're flying around everywhere, and then you're wondering why they cost $1 a piece at best.

You can get the balls from the Friends sets for much less than $1 on BrickLink.

http://www.bricklink.com/search.asp?itemID=114515&colorID=4

http://www.bricklink.com/search.asp?itemID=114800&colorID=1

If you need lots, it is probably easier to order directly from LEGO.