[GBC] The Akiyuki Project (2010 - 2020)

[Ankoku]

Not the best lighting, there isn't much difference between thw two, other than using the light on my phone for one of them.

I apologise for my lack of balls! Way back when I bought them from LEGO, I thought 30 was all I would ever need :P

The loop back is currently using @sawyer klegr mini loop wheel. The way I feed the wheel currently, can eject a ball, so it isn't reliable.

Some of the changes you see are from new versions of the Akiyuki Ball Factory. A couple of them are done by me to make it more reliable.

Bob I believe can drop the bucket perfectly every time. I just haven't adjusted where the arms sit on the horizontal axel.

Never had an issue with the ball droper. Seems to be rock solid.

One other thing I noticed, is that a bucket can raise slightly on the back when as it pushes against the yellow blocker at the end of the conveyor belt. Only seen it a few times and I think it can be fixed by changing the height of the blocker. Only seen it happen a few times.

 

 

[Frequenzberater]

Great work! 

[Ankoku]

I need to run it without the main wheel. As far as I can tell, it may be the only thing which makes the motor noise change.

When hand cranking it, it feels pretty consistent. Nothing is catching, nothing is flexing.

[plingboot]

I did some more work on the Invisible Lift this weekend.

First job was to move the power module - the XL motor now lives under the cam/lever mechanism on the right hand side.  

I carefully lubed everything with WD40 Specialist Dry PTFE lube - this make a HUGE difference everything runs much more smoothly.

The change also improves the aesthetics of the feed section and means a shorter feed ramp.

I have a separate motor powering the feed stepper which is now housed under the hopper.

It almost works correctly now. I reset all the timing - using The Rebrickers' youtube video as reference. I still have a couple of antennas that refuse to align correctly, but the hand crank means I can see much more clearly whats going as the mechanism moves. 

I've posted more high res pics to my Bricksafe page HERE hope they're of interest to someone.

Edited April 3, 2018 by plingboot

[Frequenzberater]

I really like your output ramp including the "waterfall" gadget. Maybe I will try to rebuild it one day. Adding a handcrank is also a nice touch :D

 

[Ankoku]

Been hand cranking the ball factory without the wheel and disconnecting various parts to see where the strain is.

As far as I can tell, the main offender is bring Bob back from the wheel to the bucket shifter.

This motion is done at the bottom point of this mechanism:

You can see the connector near the bottom of the vertical axle, obviously, it has far less favourable leverage when at the bottom.

The plastic doesn't strain, Bob moves very free and loose, but you can hear the slight strain on the motor when it is moving through the lower section of the axle.

I don't think this is avoidable. Just part of the design. it isn't much of a difference in torque, but you can feel it when hand cranking and you can hear in with the motor.

[sawyer klegr]

On 4/2/2018 at 3:44 PM, Ankoku said:

Not the best lighting, there isn't much difference between thw two, other than using the light on my phone for one of them.

I apologise for my lack of balls! Way back when I bought them from LEGO, I thought 30 was all I would ever need :P

The loop back is currently using @sawyer klegr mini loop wheel. The way I feed the wheel currently, can eject a ball, so it isn't reliable.

Some of the changes you see are from new versions of the Akiyuki Ball Factory. A couple of them are done by me to make it more reliable.

Bob I believe can drop the bucket perfectly every time. I just haven't adjusted where the arms sit on the horizontal axel.

Never had an issue with the ball droper. Seems to be rock solid.

One other thing I noticed, is that a bucket can raise slightly on the back when as it pushes against the yellow blocker at the end of the conveyor belt. Only seen it a few times and I think it can be fixed by changing the height of the blocker. Only seen it happen a few times.

 

 

Maybe if you slow the wheel down it would be more reliable? I found it more reliable when it was going slower in the miniloop.

[Ankoku]

It certainly helps. Managed to have a ball properly jam and rip part of the machine apart the other day.

There is nothing wrong with the design of the wheel. It is far more to do with how I am feeding it and the space and height restrictions I am working with.

So I am going back to the drawing board for the minute.

I am pondering trying the long arm of this:

It is amazing how differently some parts of the machine act at different speeds. Momentum being what it is, it is fairly obvious that it would occur, but it still surprises me at times. When it comes to the bucket ball dumper, I couldn't replicate what I was seeing in the video and it was only after all sorts of changes did I realise it was just a speed issue. Do it at full speed, it is identical. The only problem is, at full speed, it is hard to see it is moving so fast.

I do wonder whether the design above is going to start flinging balls, rather than dropping them at full speed :P

[Great Ball Pit]

15 hours ago, Ankoku said:

It certainly helps. Managed to have a ball properly jam and rip part of the machine apart the other day.

There is nothing wrong with the design of the wheel. It is far more to do with how I am feeding it and the space and height restrictions I am working with.

So I am going back to the drawing board for the minute.

I am pondering trying the long arm of this:

 

I do wonder whether the design above is going to start flinging balls, rather than dropping them at full speed :P

The appearance of the battery pack would have me believe that it is already running at full speed.

[Ankoku]

I mean within the Akiyuki machine, after it has gone through various gearing etc. I am sure it can go much faster than it is doing in that vid ;)

e.g. with the one in the vid, I suspect it is using a worm cog.

What is the white piece in front of the motor?

[AFOLegofan66]

I have all the parts set aside for this. After checking this out I’m going to try this. Let you know how it all works out!

[Ankoku]

@AFOLegofan66 What are you planning to try?

[bmerrill]

On 4/6/2018 at 12:55 PM, Ankoku said:

What is the white piece in front of the motor?

There’s a better view of it in this video, but I still can’t identify it:

 It looks useful, wherever it came from.

[Oliver 79]

Looks like one of efermans custom 3D printed parts to me. 

[Ankoku]

I could easily believe it is a Bionicle piece, but I suspect it is 3D printed, especially considering the colour.

Edited April 8, 2018 by Ankoku

[bmerrill]

22 minutes ago, Oliver 79 said:

Looks like one of efermans custom 3D printed parts to me. 

Found it, I think:

https://www.shapeways.com/product/WK3HCKVSK/wormgear-case-3x3x3

[Ankoku]

Yeah, that looks correct. Good spot.

[AFOLegofan66]

@Ankoku the full ball factory v2. I got all the parts when it was first published but never had the chance to put it together...it’s now or never!!

[Ankoku]

It is an easy build. The only daunting part is sorting out the timings. I found that was the case at first, but having fiddled with it so much, it doesn't worry me any more.

[doug72]

Akiyuki Train modules. Type 1 or Type 2 ?

I have started build this after hunting through my Lego spares for enough parts and so far have built the Type 1 motor module.
However I notice that the Type 2 motor module is radically different as are the other type 2 modules in how the motor unit engages with loaders, switches etc.

Which type is better to build and the more reliable ?

I hope to build a simple system first and the add to it in stages.

Also is there any info on how best to route PF cables to avoid snagging ?

Doug72

[Berthil]

9 minutes ago, Doug72 said:

Akiyuki Train modules. Type 1 or Type 2 ?
Which type is better to build and the more reliable ?

I did not build type 1 but heard / have seen on youtube it is not very reliable. I have build type 2 (with instuctions from Courbet) and ran it for a week every day for 7 hours without problems. I only made a modification to the train PF switch by taking it apart and cut away the very small notches so the switch had much less resistance when switching. Without it it wouldn't switch half of the time. For version 2 Akiyuki also made the instructions himself and it seems more loading/unloading modules will be published by him. So I think version 2 will be the better choice.

 

[doug72]

30 minutes ago, Berthil said:

For version 2 Akiyuki also made the instructions himself and it seems more loading/unloading modules will be published by him. So I think version 2 will be the better choice.

 

Thnaks for the advice and info. 

Correction:
My mistake -  I have built the Type 2 motor module so will continue following those instructions.
I don't have a lot of studded technic so will see if I am able to use studless technic beams / parts where possible.

 

[Jonas]

4 hours ago, Doug72 said:

Akiyuki Train modules. Type 1 or Type 2 ?

Which type is better to build and the more reliable ?
I hope to build a simple system first and the add to it in stages.

Also is there any info on how best to route PF cables to avoid snagging ?

 

Type 2, definitely, is more advanced and more reliable. 

I have built almost all modules already (recently I am building the last one - the rotating unloader) and it is a perfect and enjoyable build. The instructions - for the first time provided by Akiyuki himself - are clear. Just, follow them carefully, as every detail plays an important role. Akiyuki is a genius and when he uses a specific element he knows why he does it. Almost always, when I had tried some replacements, I found it problematic in later stages.

Some hints:

When building the cart, you need to use the new type of transparent panels (those with the reinforcement). The older panels do not fit the jaws of the unloader.  

Routing the cart PF cables is really tricky as the space is limited and you must avoid conflicts with the side liftarm levers. I spent tens of minutes to find the best way. Just try and test. And whenever you change batteries, you have do it again.

It is good to build 2 carts, definitely. The passing module is a must!

I recommend to start with the basic modules and if you like the system, you can add the more advanced ones. Or, even more, you can start to build your own modules that are compatible with the system. I just made a prototype of a train turntable:

 

Edited April 10, 2018 by Jonas

[doug72]

4 hours ago, Jonas said:

Type 2, definitely, is more advanced and more reliable. 

I have built almost all modules already (recently I am building the last one - the rotating unloader) and it is a perfect and enjoyable build. The instructions - for the first time provided by Akiyuki himself - are clear. Just, follow them carefully, as every detail plays an important role. Akiyuki is a genius and when he uses a specific element he knows why he does it. Almost always, when I had tried some replacements, I found it problematic in later stages.

Some hints:

When building the cart, you need to use the new type of transparent panels (those with the reinforcement). The older panels do not fit the jaws of the unloader.  

Routing the cart PF cables is really tricky as the space is limited and you must avoid conflicts with the side liftarm levers. I spent tens of minutes to find the best way. Just try and test. And whenever you change batteries, you have do it again.

It is good to build 2 carts, definitely. The passing module is a must!

I recommend to start with the basic modules and if you like the system, you can add the more advanced ones. Or, even more, you can start to build your own modules that are compatible with the system. I just made a prototype of a train turntable:

 

Many thanks fro the info & advice re trans panels - don't have any so I have used black 1 x 4 x 3 panels with side ribs from lego trains. Hope they work OK with the unloader.
Managed to build the motor module but don't have enough parts to build two motors yet.
Looks like I will need to source many other parts.
I like your turntable module and could use it in place of turn round track loop for the loader module.

Is there anywhere you can order a set of parts for each module ?

 

PS I can download the PDF instructions OK but not the individual instructions - I just get a load of code & my Mac OS asks for an app to open them.

Edited April 10, 2018 by Doug72

[RohanBeckett]

I built type 1.. and found it very weak, and fragile.. I made a few improvements, but it never got very reliable...  I have built the type2 cart + loader module, and they seem much better.. hope to build the rest soon (apart from the doublecrossover... way too expensive!)

@Jonas really like the turntable module! looks simple and effective!