Berthil

Good start, that's going to be a big one looking at the scale of the container :) I looked at the 5972 too for inspiration as I don't have a lot of white or blue in Technic but have not enough concept ideas to come up with a model. Good luck with the progress!

This is a great tool to visualize complex gearing. Do you think you will add new gears like the 69778 please? I'm trying to visualize complex GBC gearing but the new 12t blue gear is not loaded from the .ldr file generated from Stud.io.

First post updated with a new machine called Push Ups based on the Serpentine by @@Akassin, runner-up in the TC23 GBC competition.

Import via Rebrickable csv export or Bricklink XML does not seem to be working. Or it must be that on Rebrickable I've registered a lot of MOCs as 'set' which is possible on Rebrickable but not on Bricklink. That said, adding the official sets I have on display manually to the list wil not be much work but I don't see the added value in that, also because it is not possible to have set lists like on Rebrickable. Also not working, adding parts via sets part out.

Since I really like the movement I had a go at putting it in a design that I normally work with and made a few renders; Next I plan to build it, improve where necessary and create free building instructions. Is that okay with you @Akassin?

Great model, interesting parts and mechanical concept brought together in a great way!

First post updated with a new machine, the 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, a masterpiece in engineering with 136 gears! This 'V3' version lifts these genius mechanics into a GBC frame. V3 because this my 3rd attempt, I expect this version will be reliable enough for events. Free building instructions on Rebrickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-133259/Berthil/container-transporter-v3-gbc/

@turbopolofr That's good although the article on the Rainbow Wave is outdated, that's why I ask to link to the original material and not make copies. You have copied the building instruction to your website, please don't do that and link to Rebrickable where the latest updates are.

You can but do not copy and rebrand building instructions and videos, only use links to the original content on Rebrickable and Youtube please.

I've updated the Ball Shooter Marble Run with a longer inbox to make the entry better reachable for the previous module. The exit is now centered, previously the rigid hoses ended from the side. The top ball gate that takes out the speed of the ball has been optimized. Sometimes the ball would bounce right back into the tubing to fall back to the spinning wheel causing congestions. The gate would also come apart because of the high velocity ball impact. It seems that after about 300 hours runtime on events the ball goes up faster and faster. Both problems have been solved with the update. By the way, the first tire is still being used, it shows little wear. The overview in the first post has been updated. The free building instruction is NOT updated. I use Stud.io and it is nearly impossible to bend all those rigid hoses in Stud.io. If time permits I might give it a try and create new building instructions including all the updates. The video before the update is here.

The two under carriages have studs to hold on with via 4 x 4 round brick and attached turntable so not only by weight of the boiler. Haven't tested that but inside the boiler is 4 studs wide so should fit. Instruction are free so it is easy to have a look or do a small tryout with real bricks.

With my Big Boy I had two M motors (and a City Hub) and the M motors did not have enough torque to let the locomotive drive slowly only with tender. My industrial train and tram run fine with the M motor. So depends a bit on what you want to do with the M motor. Another plus from PU is the fact that you can hook up a color sensor to program in stops. Did that with the tram an Pybricks and works fine, no telephone or tablet needed.

@OneMoreRobot Wow, 17! Excellent and thank you for letting me know. I make the machines and free instructions for feedback like yours, happy to read you enjoy them.

I'm using the holidays clean and check most of the machines listed. Some I further improve, like the Marble Run. That really needed a clean because the high spinning wheel is a dust magnet somehow, I guess it 'cleans' the balls with the wheel and the dust needs to go somewhere. I'm also extending the 'lime theme' to all the machines. The Marble Run got a longer inbox, the exit is now parallel with the machine and the ball catcher at the top has been modified to prevent balls shooting right back into the up shoot. Below a picture of a 24t gear that ran with PTFE (dry teflon) for about 30 event days as first drive gear against an 8t gear in the Marble Run. At the top a new gear. It didn't fail and I didn't clean it as you can see. The black fibers are from the black cloth that covers the exhibition tables and the black dust is from the balls that pick up dust going through the machines and black paint coming from the soccer ball prints. It shows gears have a hard life in GBC machines but mostly keep working.

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.

Here you go with free instructions, already did that :) https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-127323/Berthil/planetary-lift-gbc/

Thank you all that voted and have given support! At the moment I'm rebuilding the ball pod loading gate back to what it was (at the start of the video) but with a double gate to improve reliability. First results look very promising. This by the way shows the work of a GBC builder is never done :) I have a Stud.io file of the wheel and Planetary Lift ball feed, but not of everything else. I'm not sure if I will create instructions for the entire Ferris Wheel module because it will be a lot of work and not many will build it as it is both difficult and costly to build with the 128 strings.

@astyanax Great work! You would make many happy with sharing (after permission by @langko) including me! If you need help to create instructions from the Stud.io file just let me know, meanwhile I've got quite some experience in creating (free) instructions.

Thank you Jim for organizing and thank you to everybody who voted and of course also thank you and congratulations to the other contestants with their amazing machines which, no doubt, took al lot of engineering and time to create. No prize is not a problem for me, I'm very happy with the honour on itself, a big motiviation to be more active in future competitions.

Good that it works. In the last version of Stud.io on my iMac, all custom parts I had imported were gone. With Time Machine I got back the 'CustomParts' folder that resides in the ldraw folder on an iMac. Upon restart I had all custom parts back but the folder had been renamed to 'Custom Parts' by Stud.io (with space).

No answer from the topic poster. I suspect the new horse with 'posable' back legs is meant here. In general, these are treated as one part in Stud.io and individual parts can't be moved, e.g. all movable pneumatic components and 3L Technic joints. To be able to move individual parts these need to build up in Stud.io from their individual components. If the individual components are not available as official parts, most likely they are available in LDraw library. In the case of the horse they are. Download all .dat files (and their related files) and put them in the right location in your Stud.io folder and restart Stud.io, they should appear as Custom parts. If not, try opening the .dat files in Parts Designer and 'publish' to Stud.io from there. Note that custom parts are not transferred to Bricklink wanted lists on export, in the case of the horse it should be added manually to an exported wanted list.

3: 10 2: 6 5: 4 6: 3 4: 2 1: 1

I can't vote at all as I was (technical) captain helping Jim.

I also really like this module. As such the mechanics are not new and sliders have also been used before, but both have been combined into a new and attractive module so well done! Also thank you for the IO file.

No, because the ball pods trigger the ball load, it's not timed.