Berthil

They are indeed to keep speed contant as much as possible because the ball flip at the top takes more force. But you haven't missed it the first time because in the Ferris wheel ball supply there are no steel balls, only in the stand alone Planetary Lift. The Ferris wheel itself is the mass that ensures smooth movement and in fact does a better job so no steel balls needed there. For who does not know, the steel balls are from EV3 sets so 100% LEGO.

Ferris Wheel GBC App. 1 meter diameter Ferris wheel held together by 128 x127c41 41L strings with 63 ball pods. Detachable planetary geared straight line mechanism ball feed. Ball feed has 'on the fly' timing adjustment through a differential.

Nice slow-motion from Brick Engineering of the Planetary Lift ball supply of the Ferris wheel, should have done that in my video :)

I have build a pneumatic scissor lift for GBC with compressor (free instructions). The timing is done by the train. Worked like a charm on events so far.

I got used to it but that doesn't mean I like it of course. They even use my foto and video material to sell a bag of clone bricks together with my original building instruction. The only one that behaves well is Mould King to whom I licensed out a few designs. Although even these Mould King sets are copied too. I'm a believer of karma, 'do good for others and ...'. That's why I keep my instructions free despite these clone copiers. Why should many 'suffer' from a few rotten apples.

Ik really like the design and GBC potential it has, too bad it didn't work out. I also see potential in a setup where there are unexpected situations the three motor system has to react to because it is flexible/dynamic in its movements, probably more flexible than GBC needs as in GBC situation is always the same unless randomness is build in.

@DrJB the wider center was the backup plan in case the wheel would not be strong enough but turns out it is with the current structure, it's not a bicycle wheel :). I can lift it up from the table horizontally and put upright, even without the rigid hose reinforcement. The wheel needs to be assembled flat on a table without hose reinforcement so that's how I know.

Spin-off from the Ferris wheel, Planetary Lift module with free instructions:

Nice work! It seems to run slower than 1 ball per second, can it run faster?

The strings are 41L LEGO strings x127c41 which have studs on each end, no knots needed. It's visible in the video.

Correct, sometimes two balls got through when the first is bumped by the second. It was better after I added a weight on top of the stamp but it still happened. I might build the stamp back in with some more weight on it because visually I also liked that one more.

Video ready; It's over a meter tall. Below answers to some questions I had earlier; No math done upfront, only first concept digitally in Stud.io but turned out the strings are shorter in real life, they are longer in Stud.io. I had planned 64 ball pods but there was room for 63 to keep the string tension correct. The correct string tension was a matter of only 2 plates of room in the wheel ring. 2 plates more and tension was too high causing warping of the ring, 2 plates less and strings were too loose to compose a perfect circle. I also expected the inner ring base must be wider to create enough stability for the ring but I started with a thin ring base in the middle. This was enough. It took me a few days to build the ring with correct string tension while flat on the table. It was possible to lift it up flat from the table without the 3mm tubing, and tilt vertical. But it is a delicate equilibrium, it collapsed a few times on me when building the wheel base under it. With the 3mm hose it is pretty stable, I can wobble it quite a bit (in video). It is possible to put it in upright position on a couch with no additional support. Also tilting to flat position is possible as mentioned earlier, even without the 3mm hose. That surprised me too. I've had it together for three weeks now, the strings show no sign of stretching, probably because these are made of synthetic fiber and stress is not high enough to stretch them. Although I can say a large amount of force is needed to close the ring while assembling, really pushing the ring ends apart hard before it can be closed. All it all it was a big gamble to invest a substantial sum of money in purchasing the strings on Bricklink before I even knew this was possible so I'm very happy with the result.

I remember an interview or presentation during the online AFOL day from the LEGO House in 2021, where it was stated by wording the color vomit is for instruction clarity AND pleasing AFOLs who want parts in (odd or new) colors. Or it was another online meeting with LUG Ambassadors, not sure.

Ball entry and exit also done, with this de Ferris wheel is finished. It works very well. When the TC23 entry topic opens up I will publish the video.

Looks interesting! There are pushers out there but not at this scale and not with this pattern so definitely something new. Good luck with finishing it.

Always anti clockwise, left to right viewing as visitor, right to left as exhibitor behind the modules.

The Ball Supply is ready for the Ferris Wheel. For some years I wanted make a straight line mechanism based on several concept movements out there. So this is my adapted version (link to sources in the video description).

I was warned that string length would be very inconsistent but this is build with no adjustment, all strings are positioned the same, no twisting of strings or turning of string ends. I will do that in the fine tuning if needed but so far I'm impressed with what is possible with the strings as they are. I bought them in two batches with 3 years in between, this is not one batch but all of them I bought as new.

I love it when a plan comes together, that sweet spot where theory meets practice. The wheel has been build with real bricks and 128 strings and holds together very well! As expected the tension on the strings by adjusting the outer diameter is very important. What I did not expect was that this was just by 2 plates thickness! 2 plates more and the tension was too high causing the outer ring to warp, 2 plates less and not enough tension on the strings to hold everything together. Next step is building the wheel drive by placing 4 rubber wheels on the side of the Ferris wheel.

All parts are in for the Ferris Wheel with 64 ball pods, I hope the actual build will go as planned i my head :)

Added the support structure with ... support part 64448 with beams inside for structural locks. The linear actuator at the top is for creating a healthy and adjustable tension in the top triangle where the removable Ferris wheel rests on rotatable tires. Next step is creating the bottom frame suitable for Ferris wheel drive and ball preparation/entry. After that completing the Ferris wheel itself and test if the strings will work to keep it all together.

I've used this 0,04 wire. https://www.conrad.nl/nl/p/210-10-draad-2-x-0-04-mm-rood-zwart-10-m-1437320.html One color of this wire fits under the groove of tiles. I know some use 0,01mm wire without jacket in ships. It fits between bricks but it breaks very easily and not advised to use. If you have on old small (broken) electro motor it is possible to use the wire of the coil.

Looks promising and haven’t seen this mechanism as a GBC yet, very original.

Good start! I assume this system will be based on the Akiyuki train? This is no problem as basically the train is the drive in this system and the mechanical logic is in the module(s).

No objections from my side 👍