Berthil

@Stereo That's quick and looks good! I will print one when another print (LEGO sorting trays) is done. With 'support for critical ereas only' enabled, there are only 3 extra supports on the 2nd opening of the 2 x 4 areas between the tracks (looking at it with the ends facing downwards). There seems to be a small irregularity between stud opening 2 and 3 when slicing the part, I can send a screenshot if you need one. The DBG filament is on order so will print them all soon. Thank you again! Edit, uploaded the screenshot with area marked here. I see these are probably caused by the radius indication as in your example.

That might well be and probably the best way to go. I've printed overhangs above openings of 2 cm without supports. I'm sure the antistud pattern would help there but of course have no use on the bend sections. The track end underside already has a high clutch power so adding more clutch power with the antistud pattern is not needed.

@Stereo I've printed two in basic PLA: The two pieces connect with some resistance and stay together well. The 'click' when connecting with standard LEGO tracks was NOT there at the start. After connecting about ten times the click started to appear. I can image that with PLA the resistance could become less when attaching and detaching the printed track pieces a lot. The printed pieces connect well with standard LEGO tracks, the connecting 'click' is present. There is NO clutch power on the studs! These are too small. There is good clutch power on the underside of the track ends (to connect with a 2 x 6 plate). The tracks need to be printed with supports according to Bambu Studio. This means there are a lot of supports to fill the cavities on the underside of the tracks. It is cumbersome to remove all the support from the printing plate. I can't imagine printing a lot of tracks like that. A solid underside would probably be best (except underside of the track ends), or some build in temporary support for the tracks ends to try to print the design without supports.

@Stereo I got the file, thank you! I'm waiting for Black Friday to order filament that resembles DBG and will print when I get it. I will let you know how the fitment is. Edit, I can print a few in black PLA tomorrow and will let you know, it's only 24 gr. per track with 4 wall loops and 15% Cross Hatch Infill.

That's a great effort! I don't have an Onshape account and am looking for standard curves but in the narrow track radius (not sure what the radius is). I'm using tracks within the narrow track curves for narrow radius in this GBC setups at shows but trains derail frequently at the connection points with standard tracks. If would be great if you would have an STL file available for me with a curve piece with a smaller radius that would fit exactly inside the R40 with a crossover pieces inside (or switch with a curve). I don't know what radius that is but maybe you can calculate please? I recently got a Bambu P1S and the print quality is great so would be very nice to be able to print and use on small tables at LEGO events.

Great module!

@Fyredog I really like the return and exit, nice job! Enjoy the show!

@Fyredog good idea! I''ll do the same but shift the 5L liftarm one hole up and use an axle pin and 3L pin with stop bush to give it a bit more rigidity.

Nice exit ramp instead of the 3mm hoses! And nice coverup of the 40t gear in the front. I see a jerky movement in the first small belt after the bucket lifter, and also the 2nd belt but less. It seems you have friction somewhere but I see the two universal joints to the first belt are not aligned so that is good. Check why that belt is not moving smoothly as it also may be the cause of other problems, everything is linked (spoiler )

Good suggestion! Always better to support axles on both sides. I like it when such things are mechanically locked so I will look into it and may be try to mechanically lock the axle end and add it to the list of improvements. Also a good suggestion. I'll run all the mods during two upcoming shows and try to make instructions during fall/winter.

Correct, I had updated the image but not the text, found a solution without the crank shaft.

Generally the blue 12t gears have less friction than the beveled 12t gears. But for esthetics I've kept the black beveled gears in my physical build and it runs fine.

@Fyredog Thank you for your kind words and happy to read it brings challenges and satisfaction :) Problem is that I can't update the original instructions without starting from scratch because Studio messes up all the steps after a change, a tremendous task. With the open wall sides the spiral lift works well for me but it can't handle a lot of balls at once well. I don't use the rubber band anymore on Bob because I run the BF at position three on the train controller at shows, not faster. I've made screen shots of the changes I made, these were tested in a 2h run without problems. Majority for less friction and keep parts in place at prolonged operation. Description below the image (click for a larger version on Flickr), parts involved are highlighted in the images. Less friction and lock for the 8t gear for the ball pusher via a 4 x 2 liftarm (32140). This will push the bucket on the Wheel back in place when Bob did not place it right. I've used a short 3mm yellow rigid hose but a 3L yellow bar should also work. At what makes Bob turn, two of the new 3386 parts (Brick, Round 1 x 1 x 2/3 Half Circle Extended with Stud on Side) and a 2 x 4 plate (instead of the 2 x 3 plate) to secure part 6192 (Slope, Curved 2 x 4 Double with Groove). Extra guides for the Bucket Lifter with 1 x 3 thin liftarms, sometimes it would not drop. Connector to keep the Bucket Emptier a little bit higher, sometimes it would not slide because of interference. Extra force to keep the connection in place, sometimes the 32L would pull out of the connector. Extra brace for Bob. Brace for the second bucket belt, sometimes this would come up. Extra connectors for the Ball Picker, sometimes this would come loose Extra support for the axle end to keep the 12t gear in place and reduce friction. The new part 5713 (Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Hub with 3L Axle) is used here. Enjoy!

@Fyredog nice work! I'm converting this FlipSwitch to a Ball Factory (BF) feed module. I plan to run the BF for a week at the upcoming LEGO World in Utrecht. https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-225753/Berthil/flipswitch-gbc/ A timed gate (by the BF) should let through two balls for the BF, excess of balls should go around the BF. There will be a switch to let all balls go around the BF when there are problems with it. I've done a few changes to BF, I'll document them when the feed module is ready. In winter I might update the building instruction.

@MikeTheBuilder Works, great effort!

@Fyredog It indeed matters when the balls go to the ball picker, but it is not that critical and can be adjusted with the 24t gear in building step 14 or turning the axle in step 13 a quarter.

@Fyredog No major stuff. Straight axles here and there and readjusting some amplitudes on a few of the 15 synchronised movements. A few additions on aligning the buckets on the wheel when Bob did not put them on straight. More guidance on the bucket lifter vertical axle so it lifts smoother. Have fun building it and when in trouble just ask and we'll help you, or at least I will.

I've just updated a few small things with the aim to also run it at a show for 7 days so it is certainly not forgotten. At the last show it developed a few issues after 1,5 day which I've solved. Just small adjustment stuff. It's still an amazing machine. @Fyredog have fun with your build!

Lately Studio is a nightmare when it comes to stability. When I work on a file and hit Ctrl+S to save, it seems like it is saving a file but it some cases it didn't. So after reopening the next day, nothing was saved and all the work lost, so I now check the timestamp of the file after every save. If it didn't save I have to save it as a new file. I'm using the Mac version and have done several fresh installations after removing the Studio App folder first. One other large file I have does not save anymore. It says it saves but generates the .backup file instead. After trying to save a second time Studio just crashes out. I've reported on the Studio forum but no solution other than send in my file which I don't want to do because it is a commercial design. You can remove the .backup extension and it should be a normal .io file. That doesn't mean the file was not damaged as described above. If you don't see .backup but Explorer reports it is a .backup file, probably Explorer is configured to hide file extensions for known file types. Disable that setting and the .backup extension should be visible to remove. Other problems I have is that custom parts will not load on a second opening of a file and show the null brick. Recently I discovered that this problem is caused by the Recent Items window that also shows the used part as a Null brick. When closing the Recent Items, restart Studio and re-opening the file, the custom parts show. And in the latest Mac version it produces scrambled PDF instructions. Items like parts list are placed randomly on pages where they don't belong. When using the same IO file on a windows system the PDF was generated correctly. You never know what the next update brings.

First post updated with the Flipswitch,

@Fyredog which unloader do you mean? The small one from Akiyuki that flips or the Rotary Dumper? I didn't document the changes for first, for the second I created a free building instruction of my version linked in the first topic.

I had frequent contact with Luca as I have build 15 of his historic F1 models with great fun but we have never met in person. Very sad to hear this has happened. I wish family and friends all the best in these dark days. All models are in my living room, I will remember Luca every day. Rest in peace.

I reasoned that the body in the tracks will follow undulations by balancing in the tracked circles but if it is the general consensus (or @Jim does not approve) that it does not behave like a tracked vehicle in the spirit of the competition than I will abandon the competition immediately and proceed with using the tracked circles for a GBC module.

The idea is to create a center for the two tracked circles that will keep itself balanced (level) when moving over uneven surfaces and slopes. For the longitudinal direction (Y-axis, pitching) I want to shift a weight forward and backward, either with the PU hub itself or other weights. For the rotational axis (X-axis, rolling) I want to create an active suspension. The vertical direction (yawing) will of course be the steering with rotational speed of the tracks. I have no idea if this is achievable but that is where the fun is for me. Apart from an engineering challenge, there is also a programming challenge. I was planning on adding a puppet for the movements, but since Penny-farther already has that and animals are not allowed, I have to rethink that idea. It might have a steam-punk vibe since I like that look. But I'll concentrate on the engineering and programming first and see if that works. Here the two tracked circles I made from almost 250 tracks. Next is to create a frame with active suspension that wil stay in the circles and will keep them upright while performing its balancing act. I will use the wheels for a new GBC design after the competition, or sooner when the balancing act fails.

I did smaller layouts for GBC with standard tracks in Studio but haven't tried bigger layouts. The big plus is that it's possible to combine with all LEGO elements including bricks under the tracks for elevation and baseplates, or even with the MILS standard. Possibly there are part packs for Studio of 3rd party tracks.