[GBC] Akiyuki Ball Factory

[9v system]

On 8/14/2025 at 11:52 PM, Fyredog said:

@9v system Thank you, Not sure what you mean by timing change for the bucket placer?  What does this timing change do exactly?

if you use the timing set up from the v2 instructions the thin eclipse piece that lifts the bucket placer is turned 90 degrees forward i think which then allows all the parts to come into the bucket wheel at the same time, then you can remove the extra bucket once timed 

[Frequenzberater]

Just placed an order for the required parts. So excited finally building this beauty! 

Is there an overview or partlist for the additional parts I need for the modifications? 

[Fyredog]

My suggestion, is to just go through the posts and maybe put your own parts list together.  That's what I did.

[Fyredog]

So after 3 days of running approximately 21 hours, the Ball factory reared some problems that I was able to observe.  For the most part it ran rather well.  The first issue I had was the timing from the spiral lift to the pall pusher/picker was off.  It didn't cause an issue but every now an then. It was a big enough problem that I would have to stop the module and fix it. Once I figured out what it was I was able to adjust the timing that I had built in from the start.  So I am happy to have had it in there.  It provided precise timing and after I had made the adjustment that issue was resolved. The spiral lift worked pretty well, but every now and then a ball would jam between the vertical lift arms on either side.  Not very often, but often enough that I wanted to modify the spiral lift so I wouldn't have that issue happen again.  The first photos shows the vertical lift arms being pushed out by one stud, so no jamming is able to happen.  Next was Bob every now an then knocking a bucket off the bucket feeder on his way back to pick a bucket up.  I tried using the timing on the push rod, and was able to kind of get the timing so it would work the rest of the show.  Once I got home I adjusted Bob by I think 2 teeth on his gear drive up front.  Now he gets in position just before the bucket is pushed into his grasp.  That was a fairly easy adjustment.  I think my biggest issue was the bucket picker.  The problem was that I was not getting enough amplitude when it slides into the bucket prior to lifting.  Therefore the bucket was tilting towards the bucket wheel, sometimes dropping back on the wheel.  That will and did cause havoc.  The issue was that the linkage would rest against the bucket holder on the wheel, and not allow the full amplitude for the picker to center on the bucket before picking it up.  I modified the linkage in the second picture below and the picker so that it would clear the bucket wheel, which gave the amplitude needed to pick the bucket up in the center as seen in the 3rd picture.  So far the Factory now works flawlessly, although I have not done any long term testing.  I have a show on October 25 in Las Vegas called BricksVegas.  That's a 6 hour show which should be sufficient testing.  I will post video of the Factory running at that show afterwords.  I hope this info helps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 13 by Fyredog

[Frequenzberater]

On 10/13/2025 at 9:10 PM, Fyredog said:

My suggestion, is to just go through the posts and maybe put your own parts list together.  That's what I did.

I have not build the model yet. Therefore its very hard for me to identify the parts which has been added or exchanged. 

I think it would be the best for me to order the parts and implement the changes afterwards. 

[Frequenzberater]

Little update on my buildingattempt:

After three long evenings I am currently somewhere in the middle of instruction 3/4. What a journey so far!

Its the most challenging build in my almost four decades long experience as a Lego technic builder :) But I was mentally prepared for it and I am already in love with this module due to its sheer complexity, size and aesthetic appearance. 

At this point, thank you very much @Berthil for all your hard work redesigning this gem, preparing the instructions (even containing small explanations) and sharing your further updates! 

And thank you @Fyredog for sharing your experiences and modifications as well! 

This will help a lot when I am starting the fine tuning Phase. I am prepared for a lot of frustration and trial & error :D

From my point of view, the first big thing for me will be reducing the over all friction. I tried to keep it to a minimum during the build, but there are already some areas, which are not running as smooth I was hoping:

The 90° turning mechanism of bob is causing a recognizable resistance. It works, but I feel it could run smoother 

The timing chains made from small links placed around the 24t gears causing noticable friction too. Adding an additional link would make it too loose. 

Any suggestions from your side? 

I have already used an axle checker to find straight axles for all sliding mechanisms. I always double check all gears and axles not to be pressed to hard against each other...

I think I will continue my build and start handling friction issues when all structure is in place and overall rigidity is given. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Fyredog]

So I was testing one last time, and had another issue arise.  The ball picker would inconsistently drop the left ball or drop it late. so after observing for a few minutes, I determined that the left jaws were not getting enough movement when triggered.  So I modified it so that both jaws would get the same amount of movement. See the pic below, a rather easy mod.  The other issue I had was the balls were dropping a split second too soon, so I added a couple bushes to keep the bush that moves the ball picker back and forth from sliding down.  When this bush slides down it makes the amplitude shrink.  The pix below are the mods I did.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 29 by Fyredog

[Fyredog]

10 hours ago, Frequenzberater said:

Little update on my buildingattempt:

After three long evenings I am currently somewhere in the middle of instruction 3/4. What a journey so far!

Its the most challenging build in my almost four decades long experience as a Lego technic builder :) But I was mentally prepared for it and I am already in love with this module due to its sheer complexity, size and aesthetic appearance. 

At this point, thank you very much @Berthil for all your hard work redesigning this gem, preparing the instructions (even containing small explanations) and sharing your further updates! 

And thank you @Fyredog for sharing your experiences and modifications as well! 

This will help a lot when I am starting the fine tuning Phase. I am prepared for a lot of frustration and trial & error :D

From my point of view, the first big thing for me will be reducing the over all friction. I tried to keep it to a minimum during the build, but there are already some areas, which are not running as smooth I was hoping:

The 90° turning mechanism of bob is causing a recognizable resistance. It works, but I feel it could run smoother 

The timing chains made from small links placed around the 24t gears causing noticable friction too. Adding an additional link would make it too loose. 

Any suggestions from your side? 

I have already used an axle checker to find straight axles for all sliding mechanisms. I always double check all gears and axles not to be pressed to hard against each other...

I think I will continue my build and start handling friction issues when all structure is in place and overall rigidity is given. 

 

 

The 90° turning mechanism of bob is causing a recognizable resistance. It works, but I feel it could run smoother

Work with the guide structure by manipulating it a little, I was able to get Bob to move very well doing this.  I also lubricated that channel on both sides.

Be sure to lubricate everything as you build - It will only create less friction overall, and the need to go back later to problem solve.

The timing chains made from small links placed around the 24t gears causing noticable friction too. Adding an additional link would make it too loose.

I also had this issue, It seemed like the chains were popping in a couple areas and not running smoothly.  How I dealt with this was 2 things.  1st I took the chain drive and pulled it a bit to try and stretch it, but not too hard.  2nd I rotated until I found what links were binding and replaced them.  It takes time and patience, but I was able to finally get them to turn smoothly. Oh and I did add a tiny bit of lubrication to the gears to help the engagement between the chain and the gear.

 

I think I will continue my build and start handling friction issues when all structure is in place and overall rigidity is given. 

I would strongly NOT recommend this approach.  It is imperative that you work any resistance out as you go.  This module is too complex and the timing will be lost if your back tracking to solve resistance issues.

During the trouble shooting/fine tuning stage you will learn what affects what in the timing of each movement.  Be sure to set the amplitudes to exact movements.  don't over or under extend anything.  Once you get this module set up to run properly it is a thing of beauty and people love love love it at the shows.

 

 

 

 So Last weekend was my last show for a few months.  I took the BF, set it up, loaded it up and when the show started I turned it on and let it do it's thing.  It ran for 6.5 hours solid with not one issue.  I would every so often, turn it to manual operation and let fans turn the crank to operate it and they were amazed as too the ease of the operation of the module.  It is a huge fan favorite.  It had over 12,000 balls run through it.  I am completely satisfied, and encourage anyone that builds this thing to perfect it and enjoy it.  See it in action below.  My modules start at 1:03.  The BF is at 2:15. My modules end at 4:28.

 

 

Edited October 27 by Fyredog

[Frequenzberater]

Looking great! BF is really a beautiful mechanical piece when running smoothly... 

I have temporarily connected a motor to the current state of my build and recorded a short vid:

As you can see and (hear) there is a lot to do. But I am glad, everything is moving so far althoug nothing is lubricated yet. 

I had a few problems with sliding movement of the bucket lifter. Therefore I modified the guiding a bit and now it works much better:

Another issue is the bucket emptier. Obviously the locking slider does not move as supposed. I cant figure out why. I doublechecked the instructions and could not find any flaws. Maybe your trained eye finds more than mine. 

Spoiler

 

 

[Fyredog]

1 hour ago, Frequenzberater said:

Looking great! BF is really a beautiful mechanical piece when running smoothly... 

I have temporarily connected a motor to the current state of my build and recorded a short vid:

As you can see and (hear) there is a lot to do. But I am glad, everything is moving so far althoug nothing is lubricated yet. 

I had a few problems with sliding movement of the bucket lifter. Therefore I modified the guiding a bit and now it works much better:

Another issue is the bucket emptier. Obviously the locking slider does not move as supposed. I cant figure out why. I doublechecked the instructions and could not find any flaws. Maybe your trained eye finds more than mine. 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

So you have gotten this far and everything moves - so that is a good thing.  At this point I would consider disconnecting everything from the drive line but the spiral lift.  Make sure that when the motor is running you get a nice smooth sound from the motor and as you add in movements listen.  I did most of mine by hand crank.  Once you have determined that the spiral lift runs smooth, then connect the ball picker.  Your ball picker is not running as smoothly as it could.  It should have as nice and smooth movement back and forth as you can get it - there is some kind of resistance there. After you get the picker running smoother, then work on Bob by himself at the front of the module.  I pushed the push-rod back and forth until I felt it ran smoothly enough to add into the drive train.  I would get rid of the red band - This module likes to run on setting 3 on the transformer.  That band adds friction.  Spend good time understanding how Bob works and finesse  him any way you can to make him run nice and smooth. Your bucket picker looks to be running nice and smooth, and I'd be interested to see how exactly you constructed it.  This is one of the hardest movements to get to run smooth (at least on mine).  My only concerns are I see that when the Bucket picker is in place to drop the bucket, your arm collides with the grey tile beneath it not letting it drop completely (this also causes binding and binding is friction).  Also where you have added the 1 x 3 x 1/2 lift arms you lose amplitude sliding back and forth to the turn table - so I'm not sure how that's going to affect the lifting and dropping of the buckets.  I had the issue of that arm swing back and forth into the turn table which affected my lifter not lifting the buckets properly.  I'm not sure what you mean by the locking slider, maybe you can expand on that?  Over all you should be proud you made it this far.  Trust me that when you think you want to give up on this thing, just walk away from it and think on it.  You will, with an extreme amount of patience, work through it methodically and find your way through it.  Just remember to work on one issue at a time.  don't try to fix everything at once.  I started from one end and worked my way through it.  I couldn't be more pleased with my factory at the moment. I hope I explained everything clearly - if not ask and I will do my best.  Good luck and remember PATIENCE brings virtue!

Edited October 28 by Fyredog

[Fyredog]

So looking at your pictures, the 1x3 thin  lift arms will NOT work placed there.  You will not have enough travel in both directions for it to work properly.  However, I believe if you placed them on the other side of the 3L axle pin connectors That might work.  In fact I think using a modified bent 3x3 L thin lift arm would be even better. See pix below.  Also the locking slider - It has nothing for that pin to rest on, if you were to place your finger in place for that tan pin to rest on, you will see it close.  It is not meant to rest all the way down.  That structure will come later in the build.  I thought I had issues there as well.  You might also want to swap that out with an axle with a pin connector then put a bushings on that - you will get the full locking effect.  That is shown on one of Berthil's upgrades.  

 

 

 

[Frequenzberater]

14 hours ago, Fyredog said:

So you have gotten this far and everything moves - so that is a good thing.  At this point I would consider disconnecting everything from the drive line but the spiral lift.  Make sure that when the motor is running you get a nice smooth sound from the motor and as you add in movements listen.  I did most of mine by hand crank.  Once you have determined that the spiral lift runs smooth, then connect the ball picker.  Your ball picker is not running as smoothly as it could.  It should have as nice and smooth movement back and forth as you can get it - there is some kind of resistance there. After you get the picker running smoother, then work on Bob by himself at the front of the module.  I pushed the push-rod back and forth until I felt it ran smoothly enough to add into the drive train.  I would get rid of the red band - This module likes to run on setting 3 on the transformer.  That band adds friction.  Spend good time understanding how Bob works and finesse  him any way you can to make him run nice and smooth. 

Thank you for your motivating words! I will proceed as you suggested. But first of all, I am going to order some parts to implement all the modifications suggested by you and Berthil so far. According to your experience, how important is it to use completely straight axles, even for simple torque transferring mechanisms? Does it affect the overall “smoothness” and friction in a noticeable way?

And how do you usually proceed when lubricating? Do you use PTFE spray for that purpose and if so, how and in which amount do you apply it?

I remember Berthil explaining, that he just uses those tissue sticks for ear cleaning to bring on the lubrication spotwise.

Your bucket picker looks to be running nice and smooth, and I'd be interested to see how exactly you constructed it.  This is one of the hardest movements to get to run smooth (at least on mine).  My only concerns are I see that when the Bucket picker is in place to drop the bucket, your arm collides with the grey tile beneath it not letting it drop completely (this also causes binding and binding is friction).  Also where you have added the 1 x 3 x 1/2 lift arms you lose amplitude sliding back and forth to the turn table - so I'm not sure how that's going to affect the lifting and dropping of the buckets. 

I am happy to share more details once I am confident that its working well in the finalized machine! Yes, there is a slight collision as you mentioned. I will try to get rid of it.

From my understanding, the length of the swinging arm is 4L. This will result in a max travel of 6L (3L to each side) which is still given even with the added 1x3 liftarms. I need to test it at the running module.

I had the issue of that arm swing back and forth into the turn table which affected my lifter not lifting the buckets properly.  I'm not sure what you mean by the locking slider, maybe you can expand on that? 

The bucket lifter device performs two motions in parallel: Swinging the carrier up and down and moving the slider back and forth in order to grab and release the buckets.  I was complaining about the barely nonexistence of the movement of my slider, but I just realized that I have not installed the blocking piece at the left end yet.

Over all you should be proud you made it this far.  Trust me that when you think you want to give up on this thing, just walk away from it and think on it.  You will, with an extreme amount of patience, work through it methodically and find your way through it.  Just remember to work on one issue at a time.  don't try to fix everything at once.  I started from one end and worked my way through it.  I couldn't be more pleased with my factory at the moment. I hope I explained everything clearly - if not ask and I will do my best.  Good luck and remember PATIENCE brings virtue!

Due to my professional career as an engineer and being a Lego Technic fan for almost four decades, I think I have a good understanding in the mechanical logic behind this module. I just need to learn the behavior of this system and find a lot of patience. And that is what I usually have the least of 😃 But I will take it as a personal test.

Editing such an amount of text on the smartphone is a punishment :D

9 hours ago, Fyredog said:

So looking at your pictures, the 1x3 thin  lift arms will NOT work placed there.  You will not have enough travel in both directions for it to work properly.  However, I believe if you placed them on the other side of the 3L axle pin connectors That might work.  In fact I think using a modified bent 3x3 L thin lift arm would be even better. See pix below. 

As explained above, from my point of view 6L travel should be sufficient because it’s a fixed value determined by the 4L of the swinging arm. Let me know if I miss something.

Also the locking slider - It has nothing for that pin to rest on, if you were to place your finger in place for that tan pin to rest on, you will see it close.  It is not meant to rest all the way down.  That structure will come later in the build.  I thought I had issues there as well.  You might also want to swap that out with an axle with a pin connector then put a bushings on that - you will get the full locking effect.  That is shown on one of Berthil's upgrades.  

Yes, Thanks for pointing that out. I already noticed that

 

 

Edited October 29 by Frequenzberater

[Fyredog]

3 hours ago, Frequenzberater said:

Editing such an amount of text on the smartphone is a punishment :D

 

According to your experience, how important is it to use completely straight axles, even for simple torque transferring mechanisms? Does it affect the overall “smoothness” and friction in a noticeable way?

With so many movements on this module I chose to use the axle checker on every axle I used on this module just to take any unforeseen issues out of the equation.  In fact I will never build a module without checking any axle for straightness.

And how do you usually proceed when lubricating? Do you use PTFE spray for that purpose and if so, how and in which amount do you apply it?

I use RC Car shock oil.  I apply with a q-tip.  I usually just slip the q-tip through the hole or holes that hold the axle.  I used it sparingly so it doesn't drip everywhere.

From my understanding, the length of the swinging arm is 4L. This will result in a max travel of 6L (3L to each side) which is still given even with the added 1x3 liftarms. I need to test it at the running module.

I would encourage you to watch Berthil's video of his V3 and mine, and closely observe the movement of the bucket Lifter.  As I said in one of my recent posts that I had issues with the Lifter travel and not picking buckets properly.  This was due to the arm colliding with the turn table and not creating enough travel or amplitude.  Once I modified the arm to clear the turntable, I was able to get enough travel to get an even grab on the bucket.  That required full travel where you have your 1x3 thin lift arms placed.  

[Frequenzberater]

Ok thx so far! I will keep this topic updated showing my progress. 

Another thing I noticed in your build:

Do I spot a differential here? I expect its purpose is for timing the spiral lift? 

Could you maybe show some details? 

[Fyredog]

3 minutes ago, Frequenzberater said:

Ok thx so far! I will keep this topic updated showing my progress. 

Another thing I noticed in your build:

Do I spot a differential here? I expect its purpose is for timing the spiral lift? 

Could you maybe show some details? 

I had posted this on Page 16.  I am very happy that I added this into the build.  It comes in handy more than once.  Yes to adjust spiral lift timing to ball picker.  How are you coming along with yours?

[Frequenzberater]

Oh thx, I obviously missed that. Will implement it in my spiral lift as well. 

Unfortunately I havent found any time to continue building yet. But I Iam confident there will be some opportunities over the weekend :) 

[Fyredog]

I'm planning to make a Mod that moves the motor to a place that can be easily removed and replaced.  I have 30 hours on this motor and during a show I want to be able to swap motors rather quickly.  I'll post pictures once I complete this MOD.

[9v system]

nice to see more people building this monster of a module, i just completed my tower 2 build which took 2 years. how reliable is the pole dancing quartet module?

[Fyredog]

22 hours ago, 9v system said:

nice to see more people building this monster of a module, i just completed my tower 2 build which took 2 years. how reliable is the pole dancing quartet module?

Pole Dancer is reliable....BUT needs serious work on the motor clutch system.  The stopper on the differential makes for some serious binding.  Also needs technic bricks added to the intake to keep the steppers aligned properly.  Once that is all figured out the pole dancer can be a rather reliable module.

Just now, Fyredog said:

Pole Dancer is reliable....BUT needs serious work on the motor clutch system.  The stopper on the differential makes for some serious binding.  Also needs technic bricks added to the intake to keep the steppers aligned properly.  Once that is all figured out the pole dancer can be a rather reliable module.

Congrats on your behemoth module!!  I think I have seen the videos of it.  Great job.  How on earth do you transport that sucker?

[9v system]

48 minutes ago, Fyredog said:

Pole Dancer is reliable....BUT needs serious work on the motor clutch system.  The stopper on the differential makes for some serious binding.  Also needs technic bricks added to the intake to keep the steppers aligned properly.  Once that is all figured out the pole dancer can be a rather reliable module.

Congrats on your behemoth module!!  I think I have seen the videos of it.  Great job.  How on earth do you transport that sucker?

thanks, it all comes apart into each module, then you just restack it all when you set it up again

[Frequenzberater]

I have ordered a proper amount of parts to implement all modifications and beeing able to fiddling around a bit. Should have arrived all by the end of the week. 

In the meantime I have seperated the Spiral lift and Ball picker section from the rest of the module in order to bring in the timing differential and to work out a most frictionless operation. 

In addition I redesigned the sled of the bucketlifter again. Functionality has to be proven in operation yet.