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A new topic to attempt to centralize information, improvements and discussions about the most iconic Great Ball Contraption made by Kawaguchi Akiyuki, The Ball Factory GBC Version 0, July 2008 by Superbird28. Akiyuki stated himself he was inspired by Superbird28 when designing and building the Ball Factory. Why can be clearly seen in this video dating back to the pre-digital age. Thanks @Jonas for noticing. Version 1, June 2011: with color sorter as input: Version 2, november 2011: picker for 2 balls and optimized for higher speeds (1.3 balls/s) Februari 2016, @Blakbird and @TheRebricker reverse engineered the Ball Factory over a period of two years and posted the below: Video instructions by The Rebricker PDF instructions by Blakbird 4428 parts MOC Review by Blakbird LEGO Digital Designer file by @TheMagician The Akiyuki Project topic by Blakbird April 2019: Ball Factory New Style GBC compliant, reliable and easy to move: A big thank you to Blakbird and TheRebricker for all their hard work! This reverse engineered version adds the option to circle balls within the ball factory, here my build from December 2016 Many have build the Ball factory in various colors and versions. Below an overview of suggested and quoted improvements with pictures out of the 77 pages in The Akiyuki Project topic, up to you what changes you want to make. Feel free to add your builds, improvements or questions about The Ball Factory to this topic. ___________________________________________________ Spiral Lift platform improvement by Jonas: used a SNOT technique to get a stronger platform. It allowed me to remove the gap and to fix the superstructure to the studs. Moreover, I used the remaining stud of the 30414 brick to stabilize the tower column by a vertical 1x6 tile. Now, each column is fixed from 3 sides and the tower is really stable. It will survive even an accidental kick.  And, I added another (third) black pin to strengthen the vertical support (shown on page 186 in Blakbird's manual) ___________________________________________________ Ball picker improvement by Jonas: I have also made a small improvement of the ball picker - the part that picks a pair of balls and puts them into a bucket. It happened quite often that the right ball dropped before it reached the bucket. When I analyzed the construction of the picker, I noticed that the rightmost axle is significantly looser than the other ones. While the other two rear axles are attached to the rail construction, this one is not and cannot be attached. In my version, I fastened this axle to the rest of the assembly by replacing a 3L liftarm by an L-shape liftarm (not necessarily in yellow color). -> Since that time I have not observed any earlier drop. ___________________________________________________ Back pivot point by @Ankoku I have used the 5.5L Axel with Stop just like the original. You could probably get away with a 5L, but the connection may be hanging off slightly. The main piston rod has been changed from 20L to 19L in complete length. I used the "Technic, Plate 1 x 5 with Smooth Ends, 4 Studs and Center Axle Hole" which Akiyuki used, just because I did have them kicking around spare. A 6L Plate would be fine. I have gone with a 11L and 7L lift arm. Akiyuki went for a 15L and 3L, thus far, I haven't seen any reason for using those particular lengths. One bonus with using the plate to connect the two lift arms, is that the connection is rock solid, so you no longer have the wobble of the altered version. As you can see on the right, the connect on the end of the 8L axel is flipped. In the ReBricker instruction video, he has it this way round and then adds a later correction to show it the other way around. This way round is the way it is in the Akiyuki video and it is required to make this pivot point work. ___________________________________________________ Bucket shift timing mechanism by Ankoku Here is the piston itself. I have changed it to the original format. This is obviously the left one of the two in the video, as you can tell by the connector end, but other than that, the two pistons are identical. The crucial change is Technic Beam 1x3 Thin between the two year 1x5 Technic Beam Thick. The reverse engineered solution doesn't have that. That provided the extra travel I was looking for. As you can see, the connections for the yellow beam on the right aren't as pretty and you lose the symmetry. That said, the new motion is as smooth as butter, which is immensely pleasing in comparison to trying to make the other method work. ___________________________________________________ Bob improvements by Ankoku The initial changes to the height didn't do much to improve smoothness and I found that the paddle seemed to now be an issue. It was also the source of quite a bit of friction. As you can see in the image, the paddle is 3 deep in total. You can tell this from the light grey 3L axel. The bottom part of the paddle is a Technic Beam 3 x 3 L-Shape Thin. Using that piece makes a lot of sense and seems far better than using 3x Technic Beam 1 x 3 Thin, where the 1st of those completes the light grey 3L axel length and the other two are at 90° to create the L shape. Unsurprisingly, this approach is smoother as there is less friction. ___________________________________________________ Bucket unloader by Ankoku So I was playing with it and it didn't seem to work very well and certainly didn't reflect the motion I was seeing in the Akiyuki video. Having watched the video more times than I care to remember, I noticed that the lift motion seemed to be in a single motion, not two. I also noticed that the lift arm used seemed shorter than the one in the instructions. So in the end, I changed it from a Technic Beam 1 x 5 Thin with Axle Holes on Ends, to a Technic Beam 1 x 4 Thin with Axle Holes on Ends, using yellow ones to reflect those in the video. This seemed to work well and reflect the video. Then I checked on Bricklink and it seems that Technic Beam 1 x 5 Thin with Axle Holes on Ends don't come in Yellow. So yeah, that bit needs to be a 4L not a 5L. ___________________________________________________ Back slider by Ankoku, There is definitely these two beams there, length unknown. Below I am using 2x Technic Brick 1 x 15. You can see both in the Akiyuki video, although only 1 at any one time. This also explains why the bottom Technic Axle and Pin Connector Perpendicular is attached differently to the two above it. For the forward back motion you see in the video, this is not possible with the use of a pin instead of an axle. The axle you can see here, allows full motion in one direction, but slightly limited in the other, which is exactly what you see in the video. It is only possible to put the top Technic Brick 1 x 15 in there if you remove the plates from the bottom of the slider. If you look in the Akiyuki video, those plates are not there. I still don't know how either piston connects to the slider exactly. I am still hoping to hear back on that. That said, these two beams seem to be correct and answers a few questions. ___________________________________________________ Bucket slide by Ankoku The area that the buckets slide along for the shifter is actually offset by half a stud in the Akiyuki version. This is not reflected in the instructions. This answers why the shifter itself is half a stud over the sliding area at maximum backwards reach. I always thought the shifter didn't do full travel, but it does, it is just the sliding area which is misplaced. Here you can see how the sliding shelf is connected to the conveyor with a Technic Brick 1 x 2 [2 Holes]  Anyway, changed the length of the slider my one, so that is now correct. Removed the plate from the bucket stopper just before the slider, so that is now working correctly and is the same as the video. Bob now actually aligns correctly with the buckets at maximum reach. ___________________________________________________ Shifter changes by Ankoku This removes the need for any universal joints and thus removes the variable speed of the conveyor. ___________________________________________________ Shifter changes by Ankoku It seems Akiyuki has reworked the pivot mechanism and beam length. This new approach removes any potential bend in what would have been an 8L axle. The new approach requires a shorter piston beam, a longer beam under the shifter. The brace is 2x Technic Beam 1 x 6 Thin. Here, you can see the positioning of the pivot point, the indentation in the conveyor tower, which is 2 bricks deep to allow the pivot arm to travel that far. You can also see the black axle instead of the grey one, as it requires that extra 1L for the back and forth arm to pivot one. At the top, you can see where the slider platform connects and how it is moved 0.5L across. Shifter Changes in action: ___________________________________________________ Ball dumper by Ankoku It sits at the right height, the ball router works well and the axle housing is aligned correctly. As you can see above and below, I have added blockers to either side, which means that a renegade ball can't escape up hill. Balls can only pass when the router is in the correct position for that route. Inside is only 2 wide now and doesn't have any pins etc. ___________________________________________________ Ball unloader by @smdzucladoc After seeing Ankoku's mods as well as his detail photos of the bucket shifter, My ball factory has been much improved. I was still having a lot of friction in the ball loader until I add these mods. Now the ball loaders is very smooth. I add a 1x3 liftarm in between the two Axle and Pin Connector Perpendicular Triple and it seems that the loader doesn't bind to the axles anymore and it is very smooth. I also added some additional bracing to the back of the ball loader. I added two additional Technic, Brick 1 x 2 with Hole and a 1/2 bush to the bottom axle. I also change the axle 3L to 4L and added 2 Axle and Pin Connector Angled #1 and then a 6L axle perpendicular to try to brace the 12T and 40T gear as perpendicular as possible. ___________________________________________________ For inspiration, this extended version by @Jonas and black version by @Thunderthumbs And Steampunk version by @OneMoreRobot

Below an overview of all my GBC machines with correct links and background information with newest on top. All image thumbnails link to the Youtube video. Green title means the GBC is present in my collection, with red title is demolished and no longer exists. Bold text is the Mould King set, all licensed. All machines are 100% LEGO and 100% mechanical. If a machine has a building instruction it is for free and linked below the video. About 25 machines survived as I only keep the reliable modules that are suitable for events. When put after each other the length would be about 16 meters. I will be updating this post when I create new machines (or demolish one). Some machines have a dedicated topic on Eurobricks but most of them not. Feel free to comment or ask questions about any module. This Youtube Playlist will show all GBC machine videos. I started eight years ago with building GBC machines when I saw a big circle of machines at LEGO World Utrecht while being an exhibitor myself with a modular squash center and RoscoPC F1 models. After that I started building the more difficult Akiyuki machines, for fun and to learn from them. This would not have been possible without the Akiyuki project thread here on Eurobricks! It wasn't long before I designed my own GBC and actually that first one has been the most successful one to date (Rainbow Wave). Since then I've build over 30 machines and exhibited all of them on several events, mainly LEGO World Utrecht. A highlight was the invitation to show 3 machines to Eva Longoria in a very popular Spanish live TV show called El Hormiguero. Flipswitch The Flipswitch from GBC Rat redesigned to fit in a frame and the motor inline with the frame. This is a fun GBC module that can run all day. Build te be modified as a feed for the Ball Factory including emergency loop. Length 36 cm 690 parts Building Instructions Snake Circle The best of two GBCs with lots of ball action. The Snake (redesigned Serpentine by Fernando) from the Logarithmic Counter and the Circles from the Wall Wave. The module can be run by hand (without PowerFunctions motor) and can return to its own Inbox. 18 balls will make a nice continuous loop. Length 34 cm 1842 parts Building Instructions Speeder Bike Ball Pump Brick build Speeder Bike and a Ball Pump ‘powered’ by the Storm Trooper. Inspired by Scout Trooper Speeder Bike but no parts are the same. The tree was inspired by 10236 Ewok Village. I know a Scout Trooper is commonly seen on a Speeder Bike but I had a 75114 Storm Trooper lying around. Length 45 cm 3106 parts Building Instructions Crane Loader Type 2 Re-design and modernisation of the Akiyuki Train Loader for the Type 2 train. Many modifications were needed to run the bigger Type 2 train. Drive and timing system replaced by a long gear rack and a clutch switch. Length 99 cm (with three train tracks) 3298 parts Building Instruction Wall Wave A Wave up a Wall. This LEGO Great Ball Contraption has a switch to drive by hand and an option to re-route the balls into the inbox. Length 34 cm 1945 parts Building Instruction Rollercoaster Fully mechanical Rollercoaster with 24 Carts and one Power Functions XL motor. Only Light Bluish Gray tracks were used, tracks gaps to align the tracks correctly are filled with rigid hoses. Length 119 cm 5011 parts Building instruction not available. Inception Machine with three flipping cubes and steppers create a never ending ball path for four balls. Based on the Penrose Stairs from Yosuke Ikeda. The machine is operated by hand and needs a soft touch to let it work well. Technically not a GBC but the intention was/is there to create one with the same concept. For this version the x45 GBC balls were too light so the 18mm steel balls from Mindstorms were used. It took wo years of trail and error to create this machine. 1707 parts Building Instruction Push Ups Based on the Serpentine by Akassin, runner-up in the Eurobricks TC23 GBC contest. This compact machine has an option to switch to hand crank and has a reroute to the inbox. With this it is possible to run it by hand as a stand alone machine. Length 35 cm 1670 parts Building Instruction Container Transporter V3 'Akiyukification' of the Container Transposer by Geoff. The original Container Transporter by Akiyuki was controlled by a NXT, three motors and three touch sensors. The version from Geoff is 100% mechanical and timed via differentials and a timing disc, a masterpiece in engineering with 136 gears! This 'V3' version lifts these genius mechanics into a GBC frame. Length 97 cm 3686 parts Building Instruction Ferris Wheel Entrant and winner of the TC23 GBC Competition. The wheel is held together by 128 strings and has 63 ball pods. 64 were planned but the strings had too much tension with 64. Currently eight strings have been replaced by axles to make transport in a flat position to events possible. Length 84 cm Building Instruction not available. TC23 entry topic Planetary Lift This is the feed module of the Ferris Wheel but as a stand alone GBC module. It has a straight line mechanism based on the idea of ord and others. The stepper ball feed timing has a fine-adjustment through a differential. Length 37 cm 687 parts Building Instruction Mould King 26015 Parallel Steppers A mix of my Rainbow Stepper and the Switchback idea by John Sherman. A reliable module suitable to use as a corner module and including a build-in recycle gate. Length 29 cm 1350 parts Building Instruction Rimo Buckets Original design by Rimo Yaona, reverse engineered and build together with NDL-GBC. Main principle is locking the tower turn movement which initiates the bucket turn, after the bucket turn, the tower turn movement is unlocked. Length 76 cm 1796 parts Building Instruction 26011 Mould King Logarithmic Ball Counter Original design by JK Brickworks through a ball clock which is based on the wooden ball clock by Harley Mayenschein. Ball feed idea based on the double Serpent by Fernando Quintara but rebuild to a studless back frame. Every 10th ball on the ramp is passed on to the ramp below. Length 52 cm 881 parts Building Instruction Eurobricks topic 26012 Mould King Shoot the Loop Entry for the 2021 Great Ball Pit height challenge on Discord (runner-up). A rollercoaster GBC attempt to loop at very high speed, only six weeks of (allowed) development time! The rollercoaster cart is loaded with one ball and launched by high speed spinning wheels. The ball is unloaded at the top. All within about one second! Length ? Module has been demolished as it was not reliable enough for events but a great learning moment to may be create another rollercoaster GBC in the future. Building Instruction not available. Staggered Lift Series of ramps that lift to move balls from left to right onto other ramps. Length 43 cm 1541 parts Building Instruction Akiyuki Five Tilted Rings Rings with pods placed under an angle pass on ball to the upper Ring. Blackout version, inbox turned 90 degrees, Lime accents. Length 63 cm 2966 parts Free building instruction not available because original building instruction is sold by Akiyuki under copyright. The Zebra Entry for the 2021 Great Ball Pit Spring Into GBC Contest on Discord (runner-up). In this contest the trapezoid flag (44676) and Technic crank shaft (2853) had to be used, preferably functional. Build in 3 days from stock parts and uses 66 of the mandatory elements in a functional way. This module has been featured by TLG. Length 59 cm Module has been demolished to make room for other modules. Building Instruction not available. Framed Robot Dreams My version of the very attractive Robot Dreams, 1st GBC by JK Brickworks. This version is using normal gears instead of splat gears, has six robots and is build on a frame. Module has been demolished as I unfortunately after many attempts could not get it reliable enough for events. Length 88 cm 3353 parts Building Instruction Mechanical Container Transporter Original design by Akiyuki which is controlled by a Mindstorms NXT, three motors and three touch switches. This version has one XL motor and a mechanical gearbox controlled by gears and clutches only. Length 85 cm Eurobricks topic Module has been demolished as it was not reliable enough for events. A new attempt based on the Container Transposer by Geoff will be ready soon. Building Instruction of this version not available. Tensegrity Based on the Tensegrity concept by JK Brickworks. The balls going down create unbalance in the Tensegrity structure but not enough to let them collapse. Module has been demolished, it was reliable but for events it took up a lot of space and (by design) could not be moved without collapsing of the ramps. Length 92 cm 2156 parts Building Instruction 26006 Mould King Akiyuki Hockey Stick Lift XXL Original design by Akiyuki. This version has almost triple the amount of pass points to get the ball higher for purposes shown in the video. Length 35 cm Free building instruction not available because original building instruction is sold by Akiyuki under copyright. Bling Color Sorter Geneva drive ball feed with manual ball color switch through Power Functions remote and servo motor. Module has been demolished because the ball exit with colored hoses was too cramped and too many balls dropped. Also kids tend to overpush the PF remote, a remote lasted only one event day! Length 76 cm 1964 parts Building Instruction (by 9V System) Akiyuki Peanuts Original design by Akiyuki, changes to the original design are turning the upper part 45 degrees and adding a frame for sturdiness. Length 60 cm Free building instruction not available because original building instruction is sold by Akiyuki under copyright. Turntable Cup to Cup My version of a Cup to Cup module using six 60 teeth turntables. It took a few years to get this module reliable for events. Length 67 cm 1153 parts Building Instruction Eurobricks topic Rainbow Stepper At most GBC events there are many modules with steppers (and belts) as main mechanism. This is my attempt to make an attractive but simple stepper GBC. Length 52 cm 946 parts Building Instruction 26004 Mould King Akiyuki Ball Factory V3 Original design by Akiyuki. Without doubt one of the the most iconic LEGO Great Ball Contraptions which has drawn me into building GBCs. With 15 synchronized components the Ball Factory is also one of the most complex LEGO GBC ever designed. Originally placed on two big baseplates, it was hard to relocate and reliability was a concern with balls dropping into the complex mechanisms causing jams and need for time consuming resynchronizing. This version is an attempt to make it more reliable and easier to relocate. Length 73 cm 4381 parts Building Instruction Centipede Original design by Great Ball Pit making good use of the well known Brick Separator. Length 60 cm Module has been demolished as it was not reliable enough for events. Building Instruction not available. Vertical Train Loader Unit Vertical Train Loader for the Akiyuki Type 2 Great Ball Contraption train system. This is a compact and reliable GBC to work together with any Type 2 Train Unloader. Length 38 cm 1234 parts Building Instruction Pneumatic Scissor Lift Unit with compact Akiyuki train layout Module to lift the balls over the train tracks with pneumatics. Inspired by the Akiyuki train layout but made much compacter to be able to run on events on a single table. Length 70 cm, complete circuit minimum of 280 cm Building Instruction not available, building instruction for the Compressor is available. Rotary Dumper &Train Elevator Original design by Akiyuki, heavily modified with a new timing system by Doug72 and counterweights to save battery and speed up the cycle. My version uses the original and faster lift but with a lock at the bottom to be able to make full use of the counterweights which in turn saves battery power of the train. Length 80 cm (with 1 track) 2640 parts Building Instruction Train Loader Unit Original design by Akiyuki. Modified (more open) version of the train loader working with V2 Akiyuki train system. Length 58 cm (with 1 track) Building Instruction (by Akiyuki). Train Unloader Unit Original design by Akiyuki. Modified version of the train loader working with V2 Akiyuki train system. Length 49 cm (with 1 track) Building Instruction (by Akiyuki). Train Unit V2 (rechargeable) Original design by Akiyuki. Modified version of the train designed around the rechargeable 8878 LiPo battery. 234 parts Building Instruction Roulette 100% LEGO version of a Roulette wheel with full set of 37 numbers (European style). This GBC is a buffer at the start of a full GBC circuit dispensing two balls per two seconds. The spring loaded shooters have been replaced by weights for reliability (see below). Length 80 cm Building Instruction not available. Hammers Feed module for the above Roulette with a vary large Inbox to hold many balls. Weights (part 73090b) are dropped and shoot the balls in the Roulette. Building Instruction not available. Ball Counter 100% mechanical counter based on the 1 to 10 ratio design by Parax77. This module has been featured by TLG. Length 57 cm Module has been demolished after a few events where the counter mechanism jammed repeatedly. Building Instruction not available. Eurobricks Topic Ball Shooter Marble Run V2 Complete re-design to make this module GBC compliant. The balls are launched by a rotating wheel at 3000 rpm. A first version with two spinning wheels (video here) was not reliable enough. Improvement over the V1 after more than 300 hours of running; Elimination of half plate offset in the drive line, one L motor (M motor gone), longer inbox, centered exit and optimized ball gate with return lock at the top. 2362 parts V2 Building Instruction Building Instruction (by Dunes) without the improvements 26002 Mould King (uses flexible hoses) Solaire Original design by Great Ball Pit. The module uses the 40385 skateboard ramps as pathways. Length 30 cm Module has been demolished as it was not reliable enough for events. Building Instruction (by 9V System) Ball Catcher Platform together with the Paternoster and Ball splitter. In de video is a mouse as Ball Catcher. The mouse is controlled by Power Functions. The mouse has been replaced by a motorized Wall·E of set 21303 (not in the video). Future plans are to convert this platform to the robot pathways of the Pixar movie. Length 90 cm Building Instruction not available. Paternoster Designed after the Paternoster in the Pixar Wall·E movie. Length 33 cm 2357 parts Building Instruction (by 9V system) Double Bucket Wheel Having bought two 42055 Excavators for parts to get started with GBC, this module was to see if I could put the buckets to work. It worked. Module has been demolished, basically because it did not get much interest during events and I needed the storage room for other modules. Length 44 cm 999 parts Building Instruction (by 9V System) Ball Shooter Marble Run Original design by Akiyuki. First attempt to transform the Marble Run to a stand alone GBC compliant module with two high speed spinning wheels.. Building Instruction not available (for V2 available). Demolished as it was not reliable enough, especially the ball intake and uncontrollable ball speed at the top. Rainbow Wave My first GBC. Balls are surfing on a wave of 38 Lego colors. This GBC has app. 1150 moving parts! 1988 parts Length 93 cm Building Instruction (first version by Courbet). Eurobricks Topic Akiyuki Invisible Lift Original design by Akiyuki. I have modified this GBC up to a point where it is reliable and transportable enough to take to events. All modifications are listed here on Flickr. After about 7 days of running on event days the Power Functions XL motor breaks down and needs replacing. Where possible the red axles and blue pins were replaced by black ones. Length 68 cm Building Instruction (without my modifications) available in the Akiyuki topic. Akiyuki Ball Factory Original design by Akiyuki. First GBC build for me, for fun and to learn from. It was hard to relocate and got out of sync when balls dropped. Module has been demolished and replaced by my V3 re-design (building instruction available). Building Instruction available in the Akiyuki Topic.

Update: Information regarding modules from 2018 onwards are represented after @Blakbird's original post. I want to keep BlakBird's section of the post as he left it, to honour the immense amount of work he put into it. ( @Ankoku @9v system) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Original Post Start ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- G%$ #@&% it. Thanks to Akiyuki, The Rebricker, and the rest of you &%$*ers, I've now caught the GBC bug and it is going to cost me a lot of time and money. It all started with Akiyuki. Well, GBC didn't start with Akiyuki, but I was more or less "meh" on the whole concept until he came along. His ingenious mechanical solutions are mesmerizing, perplexing, and wonderful. Although I admired them from the start, I figured there was more or less no chance of me replicating them from the videos, especially since the one I was most interested in was also the most complicated: the ball factory. My involvement therefore remained stagnant (and non-existent) for a couple of years until The ReBricker showed up and proved that you really could reverse engineer the Ball Factory and then went one step further and posted video instructions for the whole thing. "Fine", I thought, "I'll just build that one." A few months of LDraw modeling, part collecting, building, testing, and display case building later I was hooked. It was one of the greatest building experiences I've ever had. This forum has repeatedly wished for a comprehensive set of instructions for the GBC modules of Akiyuki, and I've decided it is my responsibility to help make your dreams come true. With that in mind, I've compiled a list of all of Akiyuki's 31 non-Mindstorms modules with the goal of creating and/or finding complete PDF instructions for as many of them as possible and compiling the resources here. I've made a lot of progress already. Here is the list along with whatever I know about building material available. (currently 31 of 31 complete) Pinball PDF instructions available from Blakbird and Courbet 992 parts Presentation Topic IO file Zigzag Stairs PDF instructions available from Courbet 481 parts Presentation Topic IO file Cup to Cup - Type 1 v1 PDF instructions available from djm v2 PDF instructions available from Blakbird 1089 parts Presentation Topic Cup to Cup - Type 2 PDF instructions available from Courbet 1222 Parts Presentation topic IO file Elevator Module PDF instructions available from Blakbird and Courbet 1621 parts Presentation Topic IO file Marble Run PDF instructions available from Blakbird and legolijtje 1140 parts Presentation Topic IO file Catch and Release PDF instructions available from Blakbird and jesuskyr 711 parts Presentation topic IO file Ball Factory Video instructions available from The Rebricker PDF instructions available from Blakbird 4428 parts Detailed review by Blakbird Spiral Lift Short Version 876 parts PDF instructions available from Blakbird Presentation Topic IO file Tall Version 1455 parts PDF instructions available from Blakbird and 9V System Presentation Topic Pneumatic Module PDF instructions available from Blakbird and jesuskyr 543 parts Presentation Topic IO file Archimedes Screw - Type 1 PDF instructions available from Blakbird and Courbet 995 parts Presentation Topic IO file Archimedes Screw - Type 2 PDF instructions available from Blakbird and Courbet 739 parts Presentation Topic IO file Archimedes Screw - Type 3 PDF instructions available from Blakbird and Courbet 768 parts Presentation Topic IO file Zig-Zag Lift PDF instructions available from Blakbird and jesuskyr 800 parts Presentation Topic IO file Basket Shooter V1 PDF instructions available from Blakbird and djm V2 file from 9v system 2226 Parts Presentation Topic Train Module - Type 1 PDF instructions available from Blakbird and Courbet Motor (157 parts) Switch (167 parts) Unloader (324 parts) Siding (106 parts) Loader (603 parts) Crane (3046 parts) Complete Set (4569 parts) Presentation Topic IO file of full layout Train Module - Type 2 PDF instructions available from Courbet Motor (160 parts) Unloader (751 parts) Siding (178 parts) Loader (835 parts) Presentation Topic Wheel and Steps PDF instructions available from Blakbird and Courbet 1198 parts Presentation Topic IO file Step Module V1PDF instructions available from Blakbird and jesuskyr V2PDF instructions available from Ankoku and 9v system 1785 parts Presentation Topic IO file Fork PDF instructions available from Blakbird 878 parts Presentation Topic IO file Six Heads PDF instructions available from Blakbird 1696 parts Presentation Topic IO file Bucket Wheel Tower PDF instructions available from Blakbird 1415 parts Presentation topic IO file for 8 bucket version Lifter Triggered by a Stuck Ball Video instructions available from The Rebricker PDF instructions available from Blakbird 1068 parts Presentation topic IO file Spiral Staircase PDF instructions available from Blakbird and jesuskyr 1923 parts Presentation topic IO file Tilted Rotors PDF instructions available from Blakbird 1223 parts Presentation topic IO file Invisible Lift Video instructions available from The Rebricker PDF instructions available from Blakbird 3203 parts Presentation topic IO file Cycloidal Drive PDF instructions available from Blakbird and jesuskyr 2081 parts Presentation topic IO file Fork to Fork PDF instructions available from Blakbird and jesuskyr 1743 parts Presentation topic IO file Planets PDF instructions available from Blakbird and Courbet 1558 Parts Presentation topic IO file Strain Wave Gearing PDF instructions available from Blakbird and Courbet 2789 Parts Presentation topic IO file Zig Zag stairs V1 PDF instructions available from 9v system 469 parts IO file Here's a montage of some of the LDraw work I've done so far which also gives you an idea of the relative scale of the modules: I'm not going to post any actual instruction files until I (or someone else) has tested them by physically building the model and proving that it works. I'm a stickler for accuracy, so I'm trying to get as close to Akiyuki's originals as possible. I already have PDF instructions ready for 4 of them and just need to test them out. As I build each model, I'll post a mini review about what I've learned and then I'll post links to the instructions and parts lists so anyone else can build them too. (Update: See bulleted list above for which instruction files are currently available.) As always, help is welcome. If you have successfully built any of these modules and are willing to share your information, please let me know here. In particular, I need LDraw files to make instructions. In a pinch, I can make them myself if you have detailed photos. In an even tighter pinch, I'm making everything myself from the videos, but it is slow going. Enjoy! Akiyuki GBC modules with instructions available to buy from the man himself ( In 2018, Akiyuki started to create instructions for some of his modules. Some for free, some require payment. For anyone who has tried to reverse engineer one of his modules, the price he charges is more than worth it. ) Hockey Stick Lift (2018) https://akiyuki.jp/en/works/1234 Catch and Spin Robots (2019) https://akiyuki.jp/en/works/1423 Heart Chain (2019) https://akiyuki.jp/en/works/1509 Peanut (2019) https://akiyuki.jp/en/works/1587 Akiyuki GBC modules with free instructions Cars with adaptive cruise control (2019) https://akiyuki.jp/en/works/1667 Spiral Lift GBC module compact type (2020) instructions by @FernandoQ https://akiyuki.jp/en/works/1841 New modules which currently don't have instructions available there are currently no new Akiyuki modules that need instructions Modules that were inspired or modified from this project Modules by @FernandoQ Serpentine PDF Instructions 1356 parts Pasillos/ Tilting ladder PDF Instructions 1140 Parts Modules by @Berthil Related threads Train System @Doug72 has created a dedicated thread for the Train System here: It contains many improvements, mods, additions etc. which anyone interested in the train system should check out! EV3 @9v system has created a dedicated thread for Akiyuki's EV3 modules: A thread dedicated to modules like the Ball Cleaner, Container Transporter and Fast Ball Sorter Robot.

Well, I was amazed by this GBC, when I first saw it last year, and decided to try to reverse engineer it. Thanks to a few good pictures from the creator: ykuramata05, I started work on it... That was over 6 months ago.. and I got stumped on a few bits.. so it got put aside Finally had a clear workbench the other week, so decided to get back to it, and managed to finish it off.. funnily enough - 2 other builders - @alanburchill and @Courbet had decided to tackle it at the same time! I will say it is 95% true to the original creation.. I only needed to change a few minor things - I added a Clutch gear in, just before the pot-stirrer, as I had a couple of times where balls jammed in there I also believe that I don't have something right, as the 'shutter' rising up and down the picker column, hits the output chute from the ball input.. it touches it slightly.. but so far, doesn't seem to affect the machine too much it seems to be quite reliable too - 1 ball dropped every few hundred, maybe? and sometimes, it doesn't pick up a ball.. but the next arm around will get it, and any build-up of balls will be cleared very quickly the input bin doesn't seem to like a full dump of 30 balls.. but is fine with 10-20 in there I also took this opportunity to have a good play with Bricklink's Stud.io editor.. and have enjoyed using it.. Therefore, there is now a digital file of this GBC: Stud.io Format: http://bricksafe.com/files/rbeckett/gbc-stuff/eggprocessgbc/GBC Egg Process Machine.io LDraw: (export from Stud.io - hope it's OK!) http://bricksafe.com/files/rbeckett/gbc-stuff/eggprocessgbc/GBC Egg Process Machine.ldr @Courbet has generously offered to create instructions for this - so hopefully he will add to this thread, when done! :) Stud.io reports that this model uses 635 bricks, and apparently will cost $75USD to build! I should probably buy a few Angry Birds Lego sets to decorate it!!! :D

welcome to the mindstorm section of the Akiyuki project, this topic is for the modules of Akiyuki that have mindstorms in them or use mindstorms in any way. as always I would appreciate any information (pictures/videos) of these modules working or built here's what I know so far: Ball Cleaner EV3( in progress by @Juroen) program by Akiyuki (stud.io file available instructions coming soon) Container Transporter NXT instructions available here by @Courbet program by @9v system available here Fast Ball Sorter EV3 instructions by Courbet, built by Courbet and Mogwai, program also by Courbet and Mogwai, Render by Blakbird(instructions available) building instructions, program for the ev3 any help would be good to get these modules made into instructions (programs will also need to be made) 9v system

Hi eurobrickers! My name is Vinc, I also use 20100 as nickname, I'm 34 IT ingeneer in health care and live in France. As many 30s AFOL, I played Lego when I was young with system (city now), space and technic sets. I remember two sets of my childhood, ModelTeam #5541 blue ferry and the Technic Front Loader #8459 which was incredible with its air tank pneumatic system ! A long dark age and then passion si growing since 6 years. I'm found of building architecture in the early 1920s, so I have several modular but I don't spend time to MOC in this theme. I mainly build technic and GBC. Before the "covid age", I use to join friends on french exibitions where we have plenty of RC handling equipement or vehicle to carrier fake rocks. Here is a list of my main MOCs (all are full rc with SBrick or Control+): - Compact Forklift - Front loader - Telehandler - Tipper Grab Truck - 2 Hooklift Trucks - Tipper trailer with previous hooklift trucks I often challenge myself in these creations with combined mecanism, as an example with a 4 channels hub I find a way to have 6 to 9 functions On the GBC side my main creation is a writing text GBC (EV3 WRIT3R can be found on Youtube) where I use my IT skills to succeed. Happy to see you in EB topics !

Hello everybody, In this topic I'll put the different things I have in progress, (if any of them becomes consistent I'll open its own topic), and this way I won't put unfinished things in the general gbc thread. At the moment I'm experimenting with GBC, with the parts I have (mostly technic). As a sample, a test of Akiyuki's fork to fork mechanism, The truth is that I'm surprised that it manages to move balls. The conclusion for the moment : - recording with the mobile phone, turning the crank at the same time and catching the falling balls is difficult. -I need to register on youtube or instagram or something where I can post videos and not abuse gif files. I will continue with the trial and error to see what comes out. Regards

further development of my endless ball track to a gbc loop

My GBC Loops Here I would like to present you my GBC Loops. Technic GBC Small Technic GBC Mini GBC Loop First of all I want to show you my Technic GBC Loop. Other loops will come later. Technic GBC Loop It has three different ways to transport the balls forward: an arm that lifts the balls, with a separator in front of it (like in my small GBC (I will present it here soon)): a conveyor belt: and three small rotating arms: This MOC is already for a while on Rebrickable. Here is a video: More photos, instructions, parts list, and some 3D files are available here. Thank you for reading! I hope you like it.

Hi everyone! I have a big question. from the 7th of may to the 15th of may (26th of february to the 6th of march was the old date) we will do our next "phaenoBRICKS" exhibition. We, means the "Steineland Harz + Heide" RLUG which is a part of the "Stein Hanse", a big LUG in the Northern Germany. The phaeno (www.phaeno.de) is a very famous science-museum and we are glad und proud to have the possibility to do our LEGO(R)-exhibition in it again. The last one was in the year 2020, one week before the great pandemic had forced us to stop holding exhibitions. It was a great success, over 13K people visited the phaenoBRICKs on it´s playtime. Now I started planing for 2022 and here is the reason I came to you. The phaeno is a museum to do experiments, learn physics, mechanics, chemistry .. and many more. The perfect area to present a nice GBC-project. The last time we only had a small circle with only about 20 GBC-elements. This time I hope to make it larger und bigger. It fits perfect to the phaneo, how you can imagine. I hope .. no it will be great, if it were possible to find and build a community here in this forum that would have the time and desire to carry out this project together with us. I am sure, the phaeno will support you and us, with paying the hotel and getting here for example. The details we can clear up personally later. At first I would be happy to hear from you, we all are very dear and nice AFOLs with familiar atmosphere. We always try to accomodate international guests, last year from France and Austria, next year from Denmark and France again. It would be nice to create a recurring GBC-attraction at the phaenoBRICKS. Greetings from Wolfsburg! llap Olli picture from: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phæno Von Richard Bartz - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25934991

Built another module using a new mechanism, it has two arms that extend half way through the motion to pick up the ball before lifting it to the next module. It is quite reliable and runs better at slightly higher speeds. Would be cool to have two forks on each side, kind of like a "cup to cup" module, however I did not want to do it as it would be much less reliable. Instructions on Rebrickable. Flicker.

I rarely post but I check this site and other Lego Technic sites like Sariel's and GBC websites and I am stumped on a way to mechanically make this work. I am trying to use the Lego differential in a way that I have not seen others use it, at least in the searches I have performed. Limitations: Input motor needs to constantly run I would like to do this purely mechanically. Cannot use Mindstorms. Would prefer to not use switches unless necessary. Problem: I am trying to use a Lego differential to power two separate sections of my build. I don't have access to easy pictures so please see the simple diagram below. I have power on one axle and the two other axles will drive separate sections. I would like Section A to run constantly (or could potentially stop when Section B is running). Section B is currently being held up by a ratchet that completely stops the gear from turning until it is released, When released, Section B will run one full revolution then stop again until the ratchet is released again. The ratchet release is not on a pattern. It can be released 20 times in a minute then not released again for an hour. The issue that I am running into is that Section B currently has a higher load than Section A; therefore, when Section B's ratchet is released for the gear to run one full revolution, the load is heavier than Section A and Section B does not move. Solutions I can think of: Make the load on Section A larger than that on Section B so that when the ratchet releases, Section B will be easier to move than Section A and the differential will transfer power to Section B and it will work. I would rather not arbitrarily add to Section A's load unless that is the only way. Otherwise, maybe engage a ratchet on Section A to stop that section completely but then disengage exactly after Section B has completed one revolution and at the same time, stop Section B from running. I would think this is more difficult since at least one Section will need to run at a time so the motor and differential don't break but I could be wrong. I'm currently using the 28-tooth differential with 3 - 12-tooth bevel gears (BL: 62821b) inside a 5x7 technic frame Simple diagram: Section B ----------|---------- Section A -----| Differential |----- Input Motor Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Have you seen or made a cool gbc model? Have you modded an existing one? Feel free to share here.

For some time I have been trying to develop a mechanism to allow intermittent rotation for various GBC modules I have built or plan to build. A Geneva mechanism would be ideal but its not easy to build using Lego, and some solutions are quite large. I have developed a fairly small version which uses a rotating arm to intermittently turn the black gear with 4 rollers. Indexing is acheived by using a 24T gear with four blue pin/axles. As the wheel rotates and drive arm disengages the 24T gear & wheel is held stationary by an arm kept in contact with two of the blue pins by a shock absorber with a soft spring. I tried using knob gears but due to them being slighty smaller diameter the indexing is no longer exactly 0, 90, 180, 270, degs. The two black 36T gears are only used to hold the rollers and drive arm as along with the 24T gear as they are the only lego parts which 4 equally space holes in line with the axle hole. At the moment the output axle stops every 90 degs but could be made to stop at 180 degs if use a 12T gear meshed the the 24T indexing gear to give a1:2 step up. (An alternative would be to use a 20T meshing with a 40T gear holding the drive rollers.) Hope that makes sense. Timings should be adjustable via varying the drive input / output gear ratios and choice of PF motors. Video will make it clearer how it works. Next step to try and make it more compact and see if I can use it for my build of DaFokka's Ballkirk Wheel GBC Lift.

The Ballkirk Wheel is a GBC based on the Falkirk Wheel ship lift near Falkirk, Scotland. If you want to see it in action, go straight to the video: Conception I love the concept of GBC and I wanted to build an original GBC module. Ten years ago I got the idea of using the Falkirk wheel. Its continuous mechanism should be just as good at lifting balls as it is at is at lifting ships. Unfortunately back then the inner hole of a large turntable was not large enough to accommodate a 14mm ball plus lane. The only alternative was to use Hailfire Droid wheels but since I was not quite ready to sell a kidney to support my hobby, I dropped the idea. Fast forward ten years and I revisited the idea. @jojoguy10 built a LEGO version of the Falkirk wheel, but noone had made a GBC module out of it yet. The new large studless turntables have no gears in the centre hole, which means that it's (just) large enough to fit through a lane with balls. So I ordered six of them from Bricklink and started building. Building Process When prototyping I tend to use a mix of colors. This limits search time and makes it easier to discern individual bricks. Once a module is finalised, I recreate it in Stud.io so I know how to rebuild it when my BrickLink orders arrive. This is the first time I used a CAD program during the building process. I had no experience with MLCad or LDD and I started out with the newest kid on the block, Stud.io. There are still a few kinks to iron out but I think Stud.io has a great balance of simplicity and power. Gondola orientation The orienting mechanism makes sure that both gondolas stay upright during the entire rotation. This prevents balls and boats from being spilled. The principle is demonstrated by this video: LEGO was actually used by the designers to demonstrate the mechanism for the Fallkirk Wheel. My implementation is very straightforward. The center turntable gear stays stationary. As the wheel revolves, the smaller gears between the center turntable and the outer turntables cancel out the rotation of the gondola, thus keeping it upright: Retarding Mechanism The most challenging part of the build was the intermittent rotation mechanism. The wheel needs to pause shortly to load and unload the balls. Initially, I wanted to use a mechanical solution for this. I have experimented with many different solutions, none of them satisfactory. I started out using a rotating cam that would temporarily block the rotation of the wheel. This did work but it was very imprecise and jerky: In movie projectors and watches something called a Geneva Drive is used, but I did not succeed in creating a version with sufficient angular precision to reliable loading of the balls. Another possibility involves a sliding mechanism on a piston driver, thus first converting rotating motion into intermittent linear motion and then back to intermittent rotating motion. Although motion was smoother than with the cam mechanism or the Geneva drive, it was even less precise and more bulky. Eventually I caved and just used a Mindstorms NXT to drive the wheel. The program is exceedingly simple: Rotate 900 degrees at 80% power Wait for 1500ms Repeat I'd be really interested if someone comes up with a mechanical mechanism, because using software to solve this issue feels like cheating to me. Loading Hopper Since the mechanism completes one cycle every three seconds, on average three balls should be lifted during each cycle to comply with the capacity of 1 ball per second which is required by the standard. For this, a pusher is located at the bottom of the hopper like in Akiyuki's Ball Cleaner. For the mechanism, I took my inspiration from @Lasse D's ball pump. A counterweight on the back of the hopper smooths pusher movement. I currently feel the pusher is the weak point in the contraption. Because it is driven by the same motor as the wheel, it spends half the time not loading any balls, thus limiting capacity. Since 5 balls fit on the piston simultaneously, theoretical maximum capacity is 1.66 balls per second. But when multiple balls are stacked in the hopper, the pusher loads less balls per cycle, limiting capacity. One solution would be to use a second motor to continuously drive the pusher but I prefer the contraption to be driven by a single motor. Controlling Ball Flow The balls move through the wheel because the entire assembly is tilted. The incline is 1 brick per 15 studs, or 1 plate per 5 studs. This corresponds to an angle of 8% or about 5°. The balls should only move when the wheel runs are oriented with the input and output runs. For this both the input run and the gondola runs are equipped with gates that are closed when the wheel is in transit: As usual, the simplest solution turned out to be the most reliable. A sliding gate is held town by gravity. The input gate is opened by two 42610c02 wheels [LINK] mounted at the end of the arms, which sadly are not available in Stud.IO. The output gates are opened by the gears of the orienting mechanism, as illustrated in the following image: Reliability The biggest challenge of a GBC is making it reliable. Those little balls have a mind of their own and tend to find every nook and cranny of your contraption to escape it, jam it or even break it altogether. I tested the contraption with beads with large holes which get stuck easier than the standard balls. The Ballkirk Wheel has gone through several revisions to improve reliability: Incread the incline to prevent balls from stopping in the middle of a run Like 7 versions of the input and output gates Enlarged the hopper and the pusher for greater capacity Several modifications to the pusher to reduce friction and increase reliability Addition of a counterweight to the pusher for smoother operation Added a shield to prevent ball spillage at the exit lane Added a bumper at the foot of the back support to push back balls that have missed the exit Together, these improvements have resulted in a fairly reliable GBC. I have tested the Ballkirk Wheel for an hour of continuous operation with no blockages and only one ball spilled. Maximum throughput is about 1.4 balls per second. Summary Thanks for reading this far, I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think! I haven't gotten around to creating instructions and I'm not sure I ever will. However, if you'd like to recreate this contraption, you can download the stud.io file: Ballkirk Wheel.io - Stud.io file.

My old red GBC wheel has been repurposed as a hamster wheel. This was only natural since kids kept referring to the hamsterless wheel as a hamster wheel at LEGO World a some years ago (2011). I really liked the module since it captured balls and mysteriously delivered them somewhere else. However. It was not very interesting for the audience because it was difficult to relate to, and hid the balls from view. Kids who were following a ball around the layout would thus lose interest when the ball came to this module. This upgrade should change this! I go through the details of the module in the video, but here are some additional pictures: Here you can see both the mechanism for pushing balls in from the side, the non-geared XL motor and the water bottle. It is quite exhausting to run, so water is necessary: The inbox is completely standard for GBC and this module should fit into a layout just well: A better picture of the Sarie... hamster: She really likes to run :) The old wheel can be seen in this video at 6:46: Here is a picture of the old wheel for comparison:

PV Productions now have instructions for a C model LEGO GBC 15 – 7 Modules – 42055. Looks good. http://pv-productions.com/product/lego-gbc-15-42055-building-instructions/

I've designed the below GBC called Rainbow Wave. It has 38 Lego colors and about 1150 moving parts. It is powered by a single motor, with each of the colored pistons sitting on an 8-tooth gear. Each piston’s gear is exactly 1 tooth offset from its neighbors making one wave 8 colors. The GBC is level so the balls are moved by the waving surface. Free building instruction for version 2 and parts list is available on Rebrickable with a thank you @Courbet for the improvements and creating the digital model! https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-7456/Berthil/rainbow-wave-gbc-v2/

Hi gbc fans, i have noticed over the past few months that quite a few gbc topics have been created, I have been finding it hard to find them in amongst all the model team stuff. Do you think we should have our own gbc subtopic so it is easier to find everything relating to gbc? thoughts?

The pump and anti-jamming mechanism of the Yellow Submarine worked so well that I had to make a module just focusing on these parts: Here are the building instructions: http://c-mt.dk/instructions/lxf/gbc_pump.lxf Here is the thread for the Yellow Submarine module: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/146542-gbc-yellow-submarine/ It is fun making GBC modules. Now I just need a good idea for the next module :)

Here is a GBC mod of the LEGO Ideas set 21306 Yellow Submarine with The Beatles! The XL motor runs on speed 1 or 2 (both will do, but speed 2 is better at handling batches of 50+ balls) A closeup of the mechanism from outside: I'm quite satisfied with how well the "anti-jamming" mechanism works. I intend on making a separate module with all themechanism exposed so it's easier to see. But for now. Enjoy the Beatles :)

Hey everyone, here is a sideways conveyor I've made using 25 brick separators. It is quite a simple build, and has some input restrictions. It can handle a fast stream of 1-2 balls but would fail the 30 batch standard rule. I think it looks great even when turned off. Some people have said it looks like an insect, and I think it has that nice baggage carousel effect when it's turned on. Please enjoy the video.

This is my take on Tom Atkinsons‘s „Perpetual Prototype“ module in classic GBC style. Often seen in Beyond the Brick GBC videos,

Hello, I present you my "washing machine" Two drums turn in opposite directions, inside each of them there are guides to advance the balls. In the 2nd there are small skips that go up the balls until the exit. The two drums rotate on tires then allows sufficient grip and allow stalls in case of jamming ball. This also makes it possible, compared to the sprockets, not to synchronize the rotation of the two rows of tires. The frame is rigid to hold the two drums in place. Here are the pictures: IMG_20190113_192558 by alex peraux, sur Flickr IMG_20190113_193734 by alex peraux, sur Flickr IMG_20190113_193728 by alex peraux, sur Flickr The frame: IMG_20190113_193700 by alex peraux, sur Flickr IMG_20190113_193710 by alex peraux, sur Flickr the 1st drum: IMG_20190113_193645 by alex peraux, sur Flickr 2nd: IMG_20190113_193653 by alex peraux, sur Flickr and the vidéo: VID_20190113_192920 by alex peraux, sur Flickr comment are welcome :)

Well, I spend a little bit of time experimenting with the tracks from the tracked racer... and I came up with this It works better with marbles but because of purism reasons i did not use marbles Turns out that it works surprisingly well, it has a ramp that allows balls that miss to come out, but it is rare they miss.