Berthil

Thanks! The mechanism as such was also done by JK Brickworks in a Ball Clock with one ball per minute. Challenge was to convert to 1 bal per second (GBC standard) and make it reliable. The module is reliable but needs precise fine tuning in everything that has to do with guiding the ball including weight adjustment at the end of the ramps, especially the top one. It also needs a table that is absolutely flat and level. I will add some height to the exit ramp as sometimes a ball jumps out.

This LEGO Great Ball Contraption counts all balls that pass the module. Based on the Ball Clock by JK Brickworks/Harley Mayenschein and double Serpent by Fernando Quintara. Free building instruction and parts list available on Rerickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-96326/BrickPolis/logarithmic-ball-counter-gbc/

Thanks all! Stick'em on the studs :)

Still waiting for this to start actually, although I created a GBC already in between. If the contest is called GBC contest, it is simple; adhere to the GBC rules. Otherwise give the contest a different name Everything between inbox, outbox and ball speed you are free what you want to design as always. Only three rules. That seems already less rules than most TC's organized in the past.

What Ts_ says, I had the same problem. Update the LEGO firmware to the latest one with the latest PU App before loading Pybricks firmware.

Not sure where to put this so hope here is okay. It is historical (Chinese 9th century) and the scene in a 16 x 16 vignette is within a Chinese Castle and I made it for a LowLUG castle contest. But a bit different than normal Castle. Famous Echo Game scene from the House of Flying Daggers (Shi Mian Mai Fu) movie. A mythical element needed to be included so added the 'Dragon of Doubt' (not in the movie). The Dragon of Doubt strikes when your confidence is low and you are about to fail. To succeed, your Dragon of Doubt needs to be defeated. Hope you like it. The original Echo Game scene here (she is blind):

@RichardGoring thank you and good to read you enjoyed is so much! Very nice pictures too.

These are IKEA Detolf 'displays' with added custom LEDs in LEGO of course :) For the vertical stands I created free instructions and info cards for the models I have, all for free on Rebrickable. https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-26302/BrickPolis/vertical-stand-roscopc-historical-formula-1-models/ At the moment I am also building the Ferrari 640 but will not be adding a display and just replace one model (without disassembling).

Start with purchasing the rare parts first. It might be that in your country rare parts are not available and have to be bought abroad. Create multiple carts en see what else the shop has that is in the Ferrari 640 to keep shipping/handling costs as low as possible. Compare prices between shops and put the cheapest in the cart that you already have for the rare parts. Also don't forget to check prices on LEGO Bricks & Pieces for the parts that are available there. It is a lot of work or alternatively just start buying without comparing prices. I have 14 of the RoscoPC cars, (13 visible here)

A Mouse Jiggler to give you more free time to create awesome builds. The Jiggler rotates a liftarm under an optical mouse to prevent screen saver and/or screen lock activation. The program runs stand-alone on the City hub so no device needed. A distance sensor detects if a Mouse is on the stand to save battery power. Rotation every 5 minutes or adjust in the original python program. LED colors reflect program status. Free building instructions and python program for Pybricks on Rebrickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-86073/BrickPolis/mouse-jiggler/

Great gripper design to get the ball up.

The PU Team at TLG is aware of this. In the future there might be an option what should happen if the signal is lost, either stop or keep going. That said (was mentioned before but may be not clear enough), with Pybricks you can flash your program to the PU hub so the train can run stand alone (without device and bluetooth connection). With that the connection issue is not a problem. It seems flashing to the hub will also be available in the near future from PU itself. With Pybricks (Beta at the moment) you can connect the PU controller directly to the hub and control the train with the controller. The controller can be programmed to let it behave the way you want (via the hub). Already mentioned here is automation of the train with the color/distance sensor and colored tiles. In the near future the PU App will have more customization build in to control PU devices. TLG is working on improving the PU documentation from within the PU App. The new Spike hub has a rechargeable battery build in and has similar size as the PU train hub, but unfortunately again only 2 ports. So I would say with all those new developments going on, PU is the future and the way to go when compared to PF. PF motors are discontinued by TLG but there are Chinese manufacturers with good quality clones (Mould King).

28 votes so far (including mine) and 47 entries.

22: 10 17: 6 24: 4 27: 3 38: 2 44: 1

It's possible to import LDraw parts (with needed subparts) into Stud.io as custom parts (until they are added to Stud.io). This makes it possible to position pneumatic elements the right way in your digital build but needs adjustment of parts list afterwards. It is cumbersome to position flexible elements in Stud.io but temporary fixings/click points can make it easier.

Double warning and more when reading the other comments! Stud.io will mess up all your (submodel) pages in the page layout of your instructions when changing too much in the original 3D model and that's even apart from bugs in the Stud.io that can do that anyway. ALWAYS make a backup of your work when you are satisfied with it before making changes the next day!

I also do it like this for my GBC machines but with Stud.io. It requires IRL building experience. Never start with making submodels, building steps and instruction until the model is finished IRL and tested. Otherwise it easily could be double the amount of work to create instructions and making instructions is already a LOT of work. For making a modular building I make a 100% digital design in Studio first, get the missing parts, build it and adjust file where needed and also create instructions afterwards. The renders out of the box from Stud.io are realistic enough to judge a digital modular design for me.

Very interesting! Thank you for creating! I will try to use it for my GBC development. Lots of function with the visualized jamming, driving rings etc. What happens with the uploaded .ldr files? Do they stay on your server and are prone to copying?

This probably would have been a good entry for [TC20] but I was too soon.

@Doug72 That remark some time ago was more a possible solution to enhance the ball capacity of your loading station I believe. As it could not process 1 ball per second on average at that time. Meanwhile I've debottlenecked my Rotary Dumper close to perfection with the Akiyuki type lift (no worm gear). I added a gear drive and train guide for better drive gear contact between train and rotary dumper. Still planning on creating a building instruction for the lift dumper. Other than that I'm happy with the train system I have. Recently made a video again with my compact train system and some other modules.

@HRU_Bricks I'm also going to use it in a GBC. I have the whole machine ready and am about to stick on the 3D arm contraption so don't know yet how it will run. I anticipated the vacuum would not work on the grooved balls (and some have a hole) so did not start with a vacuum. The 4th port I am using for a color sensor to create a color sorter. I have the program running, last step is to program the motors in when they are on the machine so I hope to be finished in a few weeks. And of course also thank you @ord , when finished and working I will show the GBC here. I'll be creating free instructions for the GBC.

@HRU_Bricks Thanks for the file! Just stumbled upon this topic. Would have saved me some time if I had seen it sooner as I reverse engineered it also but made a wider version with 16L slider axles :)

Thanks for the instructions! I have build it already:

I also grew up with them and had a few. Nice for nostalgia and I also may be wanted to collect them again when coming out of my dark age. But I found them not appealing enough so I started to build and collect 1:8 RoscoPC historic F1 models, a great mix between studded Technic, classic bricks and new Technic in my opinion. Currently I have 14 build (12 visible below), could also be an option for you if you like F1? Other than that I build an 854 Go-Kart out of nostalgia but also designed and build a redux. May be the 854 is nice small model to start with :) https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-63623/BrickPolis/854-go-kart-tribute/

In the future I want a chemical plant to be part of my BrickPolis as I have a background in chemistry and am working for a chemical company. This 8-wide industrial train is used to supply the plant of needed raw materials. It contains a Vossloh G400B tender in NS livery (Dutch Railroad) for moving the wagons around. The Vossloh model is designed by Dennis Tomsen which I reverse engineered from two pictures and adapted to run with PoweredUp. The Box Car behind contains the PU hub. Behind that a simple Tank Wagon for which I found a building instruction but without mentioning of the creator. The Sphere Wagon is my own design and uses the new 4 x 4 round corner dome top bricks. The part list contains all parts of all 4 elements but separate Bricklink XML and PDF parts list per train element are available in the files section, as well a a sticker sheet. RED parts in the building instructions can be replaced by any color! Separate building instructions and part lists for free on my Rebrickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-72829/BrickPolis/industrial-train/