[TC23] Ferris Wheel GBC

[Berthil]

The idea is to create a Ferris Wheel GBC where the outer ring is held together by 128 strings of 41L. The wheel has a diameter of about 1 meter and has 64 pods that can hold a ball. I've build a small section and results are promising enough for me to continue. On the below picture at the left a Stud.io render of the full wheel. I expect that if the diameter of the wheel is correct it will create equal tension on the strings all around thus keeping the primarily brickbuild ring together. To help that I use 3mm rigid hoses on the inside. I know not all strings will have equal length for which I think I have a solution by twisting the string, and/or turning the string stud in the pinhole, or even add a 1 x 2 plate. It will be very fiddly to build and I expect a few tedious rebuilds but I think the end result will be worth it. A real eye catcher visible from far for my GBC lineup at events.

I know this is not so much an intricate Technic build but I plan to use new mechanisms for the ball preparation if time permits. I know of the Ferris Wheel by Tom Atkinson, this is a very different concept with the strings. The idea of the strings comes from the 3,5 meter Ferris Wheel by Tomas Kašpařík (not a GBC).

Next step is to complete the wheel and design the wheel supports. After that ball preparation and ball exit.

[Lasse D]

Wow! 

With that size, depending on how you create the mechanism after the wheel, it can even be used as a bridge, which is very nice to have at GBC exhibitions.

[Berthil]

1 hour ago, Lasse D said:

Wow! 

With that size, depending on how you create the mechanism after the wheel, it can even be used as a bridge, which is very nice to have at GBC exhibitions.

Exactly what I was thinking too, exit the balls on top onto a bridge, don’t have one at the moment.

[Berthil]

Added the support structure with ... support part 64448 with beams inside for structural locks. The linear actuator at the top is for creating a healthy and adjustable tension in the top triangle where the removable Ferris wheel rests on rotatable tires. Next step is creating the bottom frame suitable for Ferris wheel drive and ball preparation/entry. After that completing the Ferris wheel itself and test if the strings will work to keep it all together.

[Berthil]

All parts are in for the Ferris Wheel with 64 ball pods, I hope the actual build will go as planned i my head :)

Edited October 1, 2022 by Berthil
typos

[Berthil]

I love it when a plan comes together, that sweet spot where theory meets practice. The wheel has been build with real bricks and 128 strings and holds together very well! As expected the tension on the strings by adjusting the outer diameter is very important. What I did not expect was that this was just by 2 plates thickness! 2 plates more and the tension was too high causing the outer ring to warp, 2 plates less and not enough tension on the strings to hold everything together. Next step is building the wheel drive by placing 4 rubber wheels on the side of the Ferris wheel.

[Davidz90]

Wow, that is absolutely amazing! Awesome piece of engineering, adjusting the tension of 128 strings must have taken a while. I'm actually surprised that the regulation was as much as 2 plates, is the string length that inconsistent?

[Berthil]

6 minutes ago, Davidz90 said:

Wow, that is absolutely amazing! Awesome piece of engineering, adjusting the tension of 128 strings must have taken a while. I'm actually surprised that the regulation was as much as 2 plates, is the string length that inconsistent?

I was warned that string length would be very inconsistent but this is build with no adjustment, all strings are positioned the same, no twisting of strings or turning of string ends. I will do that in the fine tuning if needed but so far I'm impressed with what is possible with the strings as they are. I bought them in two batches with 3 years in between, this is not one batch but all of them I bought as new.

Edited October 3, 2022 by Berthil
typos

[Jurss]

Impressive.

[GerritvdG]

Really well thought out and made ! Can't wait to see this wheel in action...

[allanp]

That's really cool even without the GBC aspect, very well done 

[howitzer]

This is so cool! Looking forward to see it in action.

[langko]

This looks awesome so far! Very creative idea, look forward to seeing it in action. It looks quite big, what’s the rough diameter of the wheel?

[Berthil]

The Ball Supply is ready for the Ferris Wheel. For some years I wanted make a straight line mechanism based on several concept movements out there. So this is my adapted version (link to sources in  the video description).

 

Edited October 12, 2022 by Berthil
typos

[Frequenzberater]

Thats a pretty sweet mechanism 

[ord]

On 10/12/2022 at 10:25 PM, Berthil said:

The Ball Supply is ready for the Ferris Wheel

Nice . 

And your ferris wheel is a thing of beauty. Looking forward to see it work.

[Berthil]

Ball entry and exit also done, with this de Ferris wheel is finished. It works very well. When the TC23 entry topic opens up I will publish the video.

[Shiva]

Sweet!

ohh

It's made by Berthil, now I see that. earlier I just looked at the photos.

[ludov]

Holy smokes, that’s enormous. How big is it? Must be like a meter or so tall. 

Looking forward to the video!

 

(seems like there’s a basket missing at the bottom…?)

[Berthil]

Video ready;

 

It's over a meter tall. Below answers to some questions I had earlier;

1. No math done upfront, only first concept digitally in Stud.io but turned out the strings are shorter in real life, they are longer in Stud.io. I had planned 64 ball pods but there was room for 63 to keep the string tension correct. The correct string tension was a matter of only 2 plates of room in the wheel ring. 2 plates more and tension was too high causing warping of the ring, 2 plates less and strings were too loose to compose a perfect circle. I also expected the inner ring base must be wider to create enough stability for the ring but I started with a thin ring base in the middle. This was enough.
2. It took me a few days to build the ring with correct string tension while flat on the table. It was possible to lift it up flat from the table without the 3mm tubing, and tilt vertical. But it is a delicate equilibrium, it collapsed a few times on me when building the wheel base under it.
3. With the 3mm hose it is pretty stable, I can wobble it quite a bit (in video). It is possible to put it in upright position on a couch with no additional support. Also tilting to flat position is possible as mentioned earlier, even without the 3mm hose. That surprised me too.
4. I've had it together for three weeks now, the strings show no sign of stretching, probably because these are made of synthetic fiber and stress is not high enough to stretch them. Although I can say a large amount of force is needed to close the ring while assembling, really pushing the ring ends apart hard before it can be closed.

All it all it was a big gamble to invest a substantial sum of money in purchasing the strings on Bricklink before I even knew this was possible so I'm very happy with the result.

 

[GerritvdG]

Fantastic! Thanks for sharing the detailed video.

[The_Cook]

Elegantly monumental.

 

When looking at the dropped balls I don't see any gaps in the carriers so it must be something like two balls being delivered at once. Have you tried to slow down your video footage to see what's going on?

[Berthil]

1 hour ago, The_Cook said:

When looking at the dropped balls I don't see any gaps in the carriers so it must be something like two balls being delivered at once. Have you tried to slow down your video footage to see what's going on?

Correct, sometimes two balls got through when the first is bumped by the second. It was better after I added a weight on top of the stamp but it still happened.
I might build the stamp back in with some more weight on it because visually I also liked that one more.

[efferman]

This is a truly epic design.

[mdemerchant]

This is a really impressive creation and it works so well.  I'm amazed that the ball exit is so reliable as you're just dropping into a 2x2 hole with very little guiding it.  Obviously built and tuned to perfection, great job.