doug72

I used a 3D printed turntable ring by Efferman when I built a Mobile Material Handler in 2018 It makes the rotation much more stable.

Train GBC Swing Loader Update. Whilst showing the video to a friend he remarked that the video seemed a little bit shaky. On checking found the video was OK and that it was the swing arms that were shaking slightly as they swung up & over. I initially put this down to the use of knob gears for the right angle drive which is know to cause uneven rotation. Also noted there was a broken half bush on one of the worm gears. IMG-2021 In order to fit a new half bush I decided to also replace the knob gears with 12T double bevel gears. IMG_8300 Tested but some slight shaking still exists, probably caused by stiction in the two turntables.

Fast Swing Loader for GBC Train System Completed. Now speeded up and trip cycle time is 46 secs with 33 balls. and EV3 program for Motor A set at 100% Other speeds are possible by changing the 3 gears that drive the the two turntables & Swing Arms. IMG_8251 EV3 Motor A speed to alter to obtain desired trip time. Some small adjustments made to input box to ensure all balls roll into the train hopper. Short Video showing trip time of 46 secs between train arriving & departing.

Hop over to the Lego Train Tech forum to see more examples of circuit cube use.

Train GBC Swing Loader (WIP) Improved trip cycle time. Trip times hard to consistently achieve as train car batteries run down. As the EV3 drive motor A was set at 100% I could not increase this to reduce the loading cycle time to meet the 1 ball per sec. GBC requirement. So a mechanical solution was required. This was fairly easy without a major re-build. The drive unit to the swinging arms had a gear reduction of 3:1 to turn the worm gears that turned the two turntables that swing the arms. Original drive 3:1 using two 24T clutch gears driven by an 8T gear. Clutch gears possible slipping. IMG_8244 New drive: 1.66 : 1 using two 20T double bevel gears driven by a a single 12T double bevel gear. IMG_8243 This meant the EV3 program had to be revised. Ball input box can hold & empty 33 balls and Overall trip cycle time now well below 60 seconds.

Many thanks,

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This works for both blue gear and red gear. The gear racks have to be mounted on an 8 x 1 plate. Blue Gear - axle ball as the spacer. Red gear - 1/2 pin as the spacer. IMG_8238 This is shown on page 12 of this book, which has many solutions for problem builds there is 2nd book for cars and contraptions

GBC Train Swing Loader - Update The module was found to be running too slow to be GBC compliant. The video shows the coding for EV3 operation is set at 75% for Motor A which is too slow to reach the 1 ball per second. EV3 coding adjusted so that Motor A now runs at 100% speed. Dwell time for loading balls reduced from 6 secs to 2secs. Input Box is able to hold 33 balls and can empty into the train ball carrier during the shorten dwell time. Freshly recharged batteries put into EV3 hub and module tested. From Train docking to undocking is 58 seconds and now more than meets GBC standards of one ball per sec. New video to be made and will be posted later.

Lego Con:- There was a 10 min gap in the middle of the live show due “Technical Problems” Items discussed as far as I can recall. The Full size lego House / Full size LEGO Technic 42115 Lamborghini Sian FKP/ DOTS / Flowers / Hogwarts / Star Wars / Space shuttle / Friends, / Lego ideas /Mindstorms / other non Technic themes.

Lego Con is well named, be prepared to be disappointed !! It's 2 hours long and the first & only mention of a Technic product is for the Volvo 6 x 6 Dumper truck !!! NO MENTION OF ANY FORTH COMING NEW TECHNIC MODELS.

Watching it now in the UK.

Thanks for the info, those parts might be usefull for GBC use if they are strong enough.

Can anyone advise is the part number and how long is it ? Does it come with the “nut”, & part number.

Now built a Left Hand version of the @HRU_Bricks Train Reverser module. It was relatively easy to do the conversion. Main change was to position the trip rotor section to line up with the middle of the trip beam on the train car. The gear ratchet lever to assist train departing is in the same position as on the Akiyuki version. Each 24T gear has an output (Red 2L axle connector) to drive to other modules IMG_8212

If the PF switch has the small pole reverser switch it is an easy fix. If a PF switch without the pole switch is used then only way to make the train work correctly to move the train side beam would have to done by changing the final bevel gear on both axles to the opposite side I managed to buy two of the old type PF switch with pole reverser recently for spares.

Now built your improved version of the Train Reverser module. Instructions were easy to follow up to page 38 / 39 / 40 which are all identical and had me baffled for awhile. Pages 41 to 63 all OK. Testing:- without rubber bands in place and train reversed by hand. Train arriving & departing OK and is much smoother. Testing with rubber bands in place on reverser: Trains would not depart, tried with all my train carts with same result. Had me puzzled for a while then came the eureka moment. Your version is Right Handed whereas the Akiyuki version is Left handed. Solution changed the small black pole reverser switch to other position on the PF switch and now reverser working correctly. Therefore all the train reverser in a set up have to be either RH or LH. As I have several LH reverser modules I will adapt your build to make it LH. IMG_8209

Great - thanks for your comment. Only time you really need a four arm trip rotor is when using it as a Vee module to change over the track switch. With a single trip arm you can double the time before train is released.

Re trip rotor:- Saves 3 x 3 L thin beams as I found they tended to crack at the axle holes after a lot of use. The cam that stops the train motor as it docks can be tricky to set up for working with train cart in both orientations.

Nice build & instructions and thanks for the free instructions. I will add a link this to the GBC Train Forum Index later. I like your train reverser unit which seems easier to build and note the double 24T gears for the 8T train gears to engage with which gives a stronger connection to drive the module and saves damaging 8T gears when under heavy load. I note that the trip rotor has only 2 lobes but constructed as per Akiyuki version with 4 arms but only 2 rollers. I use a simpler & stronger trip rotor with 2 arms, see image. IMG_8208 @HRU_Bricks said:- This is a really great concept. I think I'll do something like this with the new Mindstorms unit. Thanks for the comment, it has taken me many attempts to get this working reliable but satisfied with it now. Using EV3 you can precisely set the movements. It proved impossible to use mechanical solutions due to dwell as module reverses. I have no idea how to make instructions so when you build it if you need any advice or photos please ask. The lift unit is the most complex part of the module. The extra 4L gear racks on the entry tack just before the reverser module helps push the train car fully into place. Once the train docks the train motor stops until ball box is back on the train.

Looks a complex circuit layout that runs well. ------------------------------------------ I have now improved my GBC Train Crane loader to run faster:- The lifting & lowering was too slow with a trip cycle of 90 seconds. Tried adding step up gearing from the large EV3 motor but it proved impossible to mount it along with the two step up gears within the existing framework. Changed the lift drive to a Medium EV3 motor which has increased RPM and simpler to mount. Trip cycle from empty train arriving to loaded train departing is now 52 secs with a 30 ball load. EV3 Program re-written.

@Berthil could you provide a sketch of your proposed idea as suggested. I have built several new modules during lockdown using both mechanical & EV3 controled and improved some earlier modules. I have plenty of time now and looking for new ideas for GBC Train modules to build.

Depends on how rigid you want the them I would suggest using 3L axles through each axle hole (8) with two 2L axle joiners either side & a 11L axle to connect to the next ring. See photo. IMG_8193

Train GBC Swing Loader EV3 Version. Finally have got this working after a long struggle. The biggest problem in the end was finding a way for the inbox to load balls onto the train car hopper. Space was very tight on the base plate so I had narrow down the ball exit to 6L to prevent balls escaping. Trip to release balls actuated by the swing arm as it nears loading point. EV3 code blocks:- Video:-

Well done an awesome build - how many parts ? Take a look at the Worlds largest Ring Crane currently building a nuclear pwer station in England. It also runs on parallel tracks between reactor sites. https://www.edfenergy.com/energy/nuclear-new-build-projects/hinkley-point-c/news-views/worlds-largest-crane-goes-on-show