Courbet

When I did the reverse-engineering and modelization to the Wheel and Step module, I could not work on a proper presentation video. I had only about twenty seconds of video footage (Japan Brickfest 2015) to work with, and no one even knew the name of the module at that time. So obviously approximation and guesses were a big part of the process and I don't claim I reached a 100% true copy of Akiyuki's work. But I did run the modules I provided modelization for. You can see them on my Youtube channel. BTW The drive of the wheel of the Wheel and Step module is different from the one on the Fork to Fork module, even if the wheel is by all accounts the same.

By the way, the bill of material IS automatically generated so a missing part there is improbable (unless it's a custom part or a generated one - a flex hose or rubber band for example). It's more common to get parts that are not needed - duplicate parts (copy/paste is used a lot in MLCad) are sometimes hard to spot.

I can give you tips but I don't make building instructions of models that I have not built physically.

Great update @Doug72 ! Although you may have obliterated my contributions to the rotary dumper in its final form (Akiyuki Base adaptation, reduced length trigger). On the other hand it's true I haven't made any to the Elevator. I still have to build the worm gear version.

Someone else have problem to download the pdf file?

May I ask what specific part you need and why?

MLCad then LPub3D

For anyone who wants to easily try Doug's version of Akiyuki's Rotary Dumper, I have made building instructions of my own version, which is basically @Doug72 's rotary part (as modelized by @dunes ) mated with an adapted Akiyuki base. Comparing to the inventory of the original Rotary Dumper, apart from a small bunch of common Technic parts 8 more yellow curved gear racks and 8 more 20t gears are needed and above all a 56t Turntable (60t is not an option!). https://bricksafe.com/files/Courbet/akiyuki-project/gbc-train-est/GBC_Rotary_Dumper_Akiyuki_Doug.pdf

Those axles are the two 2L present in the BOM window, but you can't see them because they are 1/2L recessed in the Technic brick. This part was my design, not Akiyuki one and it's true I should have found a better way to show how it's made.

Thank you @Berthil! Have you decided the configuration you will present at Lego World ? It was before the Blu-Tack application. I thought it would be fun to add some bloopers at the end of the boring video, but in fact there was not many. Indeed! This afternoon, I have made a small demonstration for my family and guess what: a malfunctionning elevator ruined the demo! Your design is great @Doug72 ! It made it very easy to move the rotary unit from your base to my reworked Akiyuki base. I can try for the one I have now: your rotary unit (as in the LDD file) along with Akiyuki's base modified to fit your unit, so 100% compatible with Akiyuki's Elevator.

Here is my take on Akiyuki's Railway System. I wanted to copy his final layout with all the units he designed for his system so I built them all and tested them individually before the final assembly, while keeping an eye on this topic. Running all of them reliably was not an easy task as a lot of things went wrong during the test process. In the end, I believe I succeed raisonably enough (as the video below can testify) but it’s really not a layout to run for hours at a GBC event. As it might be of some help, here is all the changes I made, starting with… - The motor unit. Apart from the switch issue already discussed here, replacing the 2 axles with stop with one single 9L (also discussed here) really improves things. I also replaced one 1x5 liftarm (#11478) by two 1x2 liftarms (#41677) which leaves a cut below the battery box to nicely rout the PF motor cable. I have also cheated a bit, adding a small amount of Blu-tack (patafix) to fix the 1x2 Technic bricks beneath the bucket as I kept scattering them on the floor during my tests. - Reverse Unit, Through Unit, Loader, Unloader, Passing module and Ballon Loop all worked well without any change. It was also true for the Reverse module V type until it suddenly got stuck. I had to remove the half-bushes around the worm gears to make it work again. - Passing Module Double Crossover : This one is my favorite design-wise, but it’s not trouble free. The train with the longest ride can get stuck while entering or leaving the unit. Modifying the rack assembly exchanging the 1x2 tile by a 1x1 (as it can be seen right at the beginning of Akiyuki’s Japan brickfest 2018 video) make it better but does not solve the issue completely. I added one rack part on a hinge and it seems to work ok since although I’m still not 100% satisfied. As discussed here, I also exchanged the red rubber belt for a blue one. - Elevator module was a bit hard to tune but I did not make any change in the design and it performed quite well overall (well, except one time…). - Rotary module : Reliability wise, Akiyuki’s version was quite a nightmare really! So I built Doug’s version (Thank you @Doug72 !) with Dunes lxf file (Thank you @dunes !). Doug’s design was easy to set up. What’s more, when you get the right timing, it can’t go wrong again. I did not use his base though, I wanted to match the module to Akiyuki’s Elevator with the added bridge section. Fortunately, it was quite easy to mate Doug’s rotary unit to a slightly modified Akiyuki’s base (only the back part was altered to accomodate the mount for the yellow ring - I even kept Akiyuki’s original exit ramp as is). I have also found the trigger to be a bit too long to push the switch bar every time, and sometimes the train kept rolling… @Berthil limited the amplitude of the train switch to address this problem. I chose to reduce the trigger lenght by 1/2L. It worked very well but I had to increase the rubber belt tension a bit.

So that the arm is triggered while there is no ball to pick? I never experienced that. On the opposite, sometimes a football ball didn't trigger the arm - maybe because the sensor was directly facing a black spot on the ball. It should work ok with fully white/orange balls though.

As far as I know he didn't provide any, which is a pity since it is so easy to generate one once you have your model in LDraw form.

The inventory files I provided matched the instructions I did last year for Akiyuki's latest train. The shock is there in the loader inventory. It is described as a soft one (as all black are). Now all this is of course obsolete thanks to Akiyuki's own instructions.

Hi everyone, For those interested, here are the building instructions and inventory files for Akiyuki's mechanical timer demonstrator: http://bricksafe.com/files/Courbet/akiyuki-project/Akiyuki_Mechanical_Timer.pdf http://bricksafe.com/files/Courbet/akiyuki-project/Akiyuki_Mechanical_Timer.bsx Enjoy! Laurent

If i had Akiyuki's skills, i would try to rework his Container Transporter module to make it work without Mindstorm. With mechanical timers, it might be possible.

Hi everyone, I have built a faithful (bar some colors) replica of Akiyuki's mechanical timer demonstrator. It's very fun to watch but a bit of a pain to hear - the clutch squeaks on every end course. Since it's only a demonstrator, quite crude by Akiyuki's own standard I don't think it deserves full building instructions. But it's not a lot of work, I might end up doing it anyway... What do you think, is it worth it? Laurent

Try using 12 non-friction pins to fix the vertical axles on one side of the stepper. Look at Strain Wave Gearing building instructions, the stepper is the same.

I was never gonna built it anyway, as I don't own an EV3 neither the necessary pneumatic equipment. You should still post detailed photos of your work for those (like maybe @Hocki) who might be tempted to complete it.

You're right I checked your Flickr gallery :) Your pictures are very informative, you should edit your post to add the link (and make more photos!) About the necessary offset between turntables, did you try a studless frame using part 64179 (which you must have in large quantities now!) with only a 1/2 offset between the turntables?

Neat as always, Berthil, but not cheap to replicate! The way the turntables are fixed to the frame is very original.

Although Akiyuki used two extra-hard and ultra-expensive shocks, one hard and one extra-hard were all I had at hand when I built my replica. It's obviously better to use two of the same kind but not that crucial. The unloader will also work with 2 soft ones (black or dark grey, much cheaper than yellow ones) - it still works without any shock at all actually! Using shorter shocks might be possible although I don't see a way to do this easily.

@RohanBeckett, thanks for your feedback on the Steering Cup module. I have made the changes you suggest (the first option) on one arm of my module and have tested it in a small loop of two modules with 60 balls to make sure there were around 30 balls to scoop at all time. It did not jammed a lot but when it happened it was always from the unmodified arm so it is clear than your modification is a big improvement and I will modify the building instructions accordingly. https://bricksafe.com/files/Courbet/akiyuki-project/GBC_Steering_Cup_par_Superfin619.pdf

Nothing at the moment. Regarding Superfin, I thought it was your turn to present us how to build the Step Tower module. Maybe I missed it? By the way I second Boulderer's question, what cup part did you use in your Cup to Cup module?

As I understand it, the gap is there to stop the balls drop a little while before the switch is triggered, to avoid any risk of a ball falling outside of the wagon. It works because the conveyor will always advance of exactly 24 links each cycle. It replaces the more complicated clutch system on the loader of his first GBC train, where trigger and conveyor belt were not synchronized. I can send it to you if you PM me.