Recommended Posts

ahh.. another on my to-build list! such a simple/interesting mechanism.. should be easy enough to copy from the video! :)

by the looks of it, I can't see why this wouldn't work on a slight incline up?

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
9 hours ago, RohanBeckett said:

ahh.. another on my to-build list! such a simple/interesting mechanism.. should be easy enough to copy from the video! :)

by the looks of it, I can't see why this wouldn't work on a slight incline up?

 

Have studied the video many times, sorted out parts required & now building this to suit my requirements.
Once built will test to see the maximum angle it will function at.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

What is the minimum angle for a slope so that balls will never stop on it?

Edited by DaFokka
grammar

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
3 minutes ago, DaFokka said:

What is the minimum angle for a slope so that balls will never stop on it?

Balls are evil. 90 degrees. :classic:

My rule of thumb in to go no less than one plate drop per six studs. One plate per four studs is probably the number you're looking for, though. Most balls have a small pit. Rest a ball on this pit on a level surface. Now tip the surface until the ball starts rolling. The angle of the surface when the ball starts rolling is your minimum.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
8 minutes ago, ALittleSlow said:

Balls are evil. 90 degrees. :classic:

My rule of thumb in to go no less than one plate drop per six studs. One plate per four studs is probably the number you're looking for, though. Most balls have a small pit. Rest a ball on this pit on a level surface. Now tip the surface until the ball starts rolling. The angle of the surface when the ball starts rolling is your minimum.

 

Thanks! I am working on a module with a 1 plate drop per 16 studs, which would seem to be enough. Single balls never manage to stay put with this angle. However, if there are multiple balls in single file become stationary, the angle alone is not enough to get them moving again. I am currently testing with 14mm beads which have fairly small holes so I'm hoping the Quercetti marbles I've just received will perform better.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
48 minutes ago, DaFokka said:

Thanks! I am working on a module with a 1 plate drop per 16 studs,

For a slope of 1 in 16 you need to support the balls by their sides (i.e. at 5 & 7 o'clock) so that the hole in the ball does not run on a surface.
I use 16L straight Lego rail track to achieve this, studded beams with smooth plates over the studs or studded beams turned upside down.
Lego roofing bricks also make good ball runs.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
4 minutes ago, Doug72 said:

For a slope of 1 in 16 you need to support the balls by their sides (i.e. at 5 & 7 o'clock) so that the hole in the ball does not run on a surface.
I use 16L straight Lego rail track to achieve this, studded beams with smooth plates over the studs or studded beams turned upside down.
Lego roofing bricks also make good ball runs.

Oops, I actually meant 1 brick per 16 studs, so that is 3 plates per 16 studs. I use the sloped tiles too, they look really nice.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
19 hours ago, RohanBeckett said:

by the looks of it, I can't see why this wouldn't work on a slight incline up?

 

Now built the ball transfer section and it doesn't like any sort of incline, highest it worked at was a slope of 1:32. Any higher balls don't transfer and jam.
There is alot of backlash in the gears. Have had to set it up so the M motor runs in one direction only. Took awhile to figure out the ball holders as I had used the wrong part causing balls to stick in the holders. hard to see from the video as most ball holder parts are black.
Used a cross block 90 deg - 1 x 2 axle / pin instead of a 1 x 2 axle / pin or 2 x 0.5 with axle holes.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Now built the Nxtstep101  GBC Mechanical Chain module using the original design for ball transfer arms driven by 10 x 16T gears.
Found that excessive gear backlash caused problems with the timing and settings for the ball arms and can only run OK with M motor running in one direction. With motor reversed balls failed to transfer properly.
 
Original drive system:-

32925636721_d97d974553_z.jpgIMG_4357 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr

 
Set out to improve the drive system and eliminate the 16T gears, modified drive system uses 12T bevel gears.
Result runs much smoother with no gearing backlash.
M motor with 8:1 reduction for slighly faster running than original design with 9:1 reduction and more compact.
The image shows how.
 
32925638241_d3d0d67ed9_z.jpgIMG_4359 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr
 
Next step is to build the ball loading and unloading mechanisms.
Edited by Doug72

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 2/22/2017 at 2:02 PM, Doug72 said:
Next step is to build the ball loading and unloading mechanisms.
Further modifications made.
 
Gearing:
Now uses only 12T double bevel gears.
 
Ball loading:
Uses the same arrangement as I developed for my Bucket Wheel GBC lift and is operated by trip levers.
 
Unloading balls:
As the original design of this GBC module discharges balls at a low level it was not possible to connect up to a return runway or to another GBC module.
 
Therefore have made the last ball transfer arm longer and it is now able to lift balls up to the return runway at 11L height ( possible longer arms would also work).
M motor drives the last arm then the other 3 short arms via the eight 12T double bevel gears.
 
I had trouble with some balls getting stuck in the transfer arms so changed the pin/ball pins to blue pin/axle and now works well.
 

32243018044_77a28ff1d0.jpgIMG_4369 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr

 
 
32243019164_5e799ed3d3.jpgIMG_4372 by Doug Ridgway, on Flickr

 

Video:
 
Edited by Doug72
video link.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Nice. I do like to see independent modules with a common driveshaft! I also particularly liked the Friends slide Archimedes screw, that was pretty neat. Pity about the spill rate on that one though.

 

Owen.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

At around 7:00 until 8:30 the two towers are driven by 8 XL motors on top of each individual stack.

At around 4:00 until 5:00 one XL motor is driving 10 of these modules. The last one is driven by one M motor.

At around 13:40 until 14:00 there are 3 conveyors being driven by one L motor.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

can you give me a pointer which black module you are refering to? If it is mine, I can...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
11 minutes ago, Maico said:

can you give me a pointer which black module you are refering to? If it is mine, I can...

There's a photo on the Facebook group which I posted.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 26/2/2017 at 9:12 AM, 9v system said:

Der er et foto på den Facebook-gruppe, som jeg udstationeret.

Facebook link?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Good catch. However. The molding indentation seems rather large and might make these balls become stuck more easily. Has anyone tried them out?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Zamor spheres and the balls that come with Mindstorms have that large indentation. You _can_ make a GBC out of them, but it's trickier.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.