Berthil

@Ankoku your research and improvements are very much appreciated. Presenting them in Stud.io renders would help a lot although I think to understand the changes one has to build the Ball Factory first and make changes later. @dunes is also planning on building an elevated 'version 3.0'. Let us share our building progress here and share ideas. I'm building in real bricks but plan to digitize in Stud.io if I'm successful in reaching my goals. I've already started the digital file. It will not be a fast progress as I need to order parts as the build progresses. I will update the first topic with new insights communicated here.

2,5 years ago I have build the Ball Factory as my first GBC module. I got it working well but I found it unfit for events and took it apart to build other GBC modules from the parts. But still I consider the Ball Factory the most iconic 'GBC'. For this reason I started rebuilding the Ball Factory again but now with 2,5 years of experience in GBC designing and building. My goal is to make a version that will be more easy to move and reliable enough for events. To achieve this I'm attempting to put all elements on the well known Akiyuki frame to achieve a rigid construction and have enough clearance for dropped balls under the mechanisms. I also want to make it fully compliant to the GBC standard meaning 10 bricks high in- and outbox. The original version 2.0 Ball Factory is from 2011 and uses a lot of classic (technic) bricks. I plan to use more studless to save on classic bricks and add rigidity but still want to stay as close to the original as possible. I only got the Spiral Lift done at the moment but this already looks promising with added rigidity and much lower brick count. I will post some pictures by the end of the week of my progress.

A new topic to attempt to centralize information, improvements and discussions about the most iconic Great Ball Contraption made by Kawaguchi Akiyuki, The Ball Factory GBC Version 0, July 2008 by Superbird28. Akiyuki stated himself he was inspired by Superbird28 when designing and building the Ball Factory. Why can be clearly seen in this video dating back to the pre-digital age. Thanks @Jonas for noticing. Version 1, June 2011: with color sorter as input: Version 2, november 2011: picker for 2 balls and optimized for higher speeds (1.3 balls/s) Februari 2016, @Blakbird and @TheRebricker reverse engineered the Ball Factory over a period of two years and posted the below: Video instructions by The Rebricker PDF instructions by Blakbird 4428 parts MOC Review by Blakbird LEGO Digital Designer file by @TheMagician The Akiyuki Project topic by Blakbird April 2019: Ball Factory New Style GBC compliant by me (free building instruction here), reliable and easy to move: A big thank you to Blakbird and TheRebricker for all their hard work! This reverse engineered version adds the option to circle balls within the ball factory, here my build from December 2016 Many have build the Ball factory in various colors and versions. Below an overview of suggested and quoted improvements with pictures out of the 77 pages in The Akiyuki Project topic, up to you what changes you want to make. Feel free to add your builds, improvements or questions about The Ball Factory to this topic. ___________________________________________________ Spiral Lift platform improvement by Jonas: used a SNOT technique to get a stronger platform. It allowed me to remove the gap and to fix the superstructure to the studs. Moreover, I used the remaining stud of the 30414 brick to stabilize the tower column by a vertical 1x6 tile. Now, each column is fixed from 3 sides and the tower is really stable. It will survive even an accidental kick. http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/tacvud/GBCFactoryXT/spiral-tower-platform-new.jpg And, I added another (third) black pin to strengthen the vertical support (shown on page 186 in Blakbird's manual) ___________________________________________________ Ball picker improvement by Jonas: I have also made a small improvement of the ball picker - the part that picks a pair of balls and puts them into a bucket. It happened quite often that the right ball dropped before it reached the bucket. When I analyzed the construction of the picker, I noticed that the rightmost axle is significantly looser than the other ones. While the other two rear axles are attached to the rail construction, this one is not and cannot be attached. In my version, I fastened this axle to the rest of the assembly by replacing a 3L liftarm by an L-shape liftarm (not necessarily in yellow color). http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/tacvud/GBCFactoryXT/repl-ball-picker.jpg -> http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/tacvud/GBCFactoryXT/repl-ball-picker-new.jpg Since that time I have not observed any earlier drop. ___________________________________________________ Back pivot point by @Ankoku I have used the 5.5L Axel with Stop just like the original. You could probably get away with a 5L, but the connection may be hanging off slightly. The main piston rod has been changed from 20L to 19L in complete length. I used the "Technic, Plate 1 x 5 with Smooth Ends, 4 Studs and Center Axle Hole" which Akiyuki used, just because I did have them kicking around spare. A 6L Plate would be fine. I have gone with a 11L and 7L lift arm. Akiyuki went for a 15L and 3L, thus far, I haven't seen any reason for using those particular lengths. One bonus with using the plate to connect the two lift arms, is that the connection is rock solid, so you no longer have the wobble of the altered version. As you can see on the right, the connect on the end of the 8L axel is flipped. In the ReBricker instruction video, he has it this way round and then adds a later correction to show it the other way around. This way round is the way it is in the Akiyuki video and it is required to make this pivot point work. ___________________________________________________ Bucket shift timing mechanism by Ankoku Here is the piston itself. I have changed it to the original format. This is obviously the left one of the two in the video, as you can tell by the connector end, but other than that, the two pistons are identical. The crucial change is Technic Beam 1x3 Thin between the two year 1x5 Technic Beam Thick. The reverse engineered solution doesn't have that. That provided the extra travel I was looking for. As you can see, the connections for the yellow beam on the right aren't as pretty and you lose the symmetry. That said, the new motion is as smooth as butter, which is immensely pleasing in comparison to trying to make the other method work. ___________________________________________________ Bob improvements by Ankoku The initial changes to the height didn't do much to improve smoothness and I found that the paddle seemed to now be an issue. It was also the source of quite a bit of friction. As you can see in the image, the paddle is 3 deep in total. You can tell this from the light grey 3L axel. The bottom part of the paddle is a Technic Beam 3 x 3 L-Shape Thin. Using that piece makes a lot of sense and seems far better than using 3x Technic Beam 1 x 3 Thin, where the 1st of those completes the light grey 3L axel length and the other two are at 90° to create the L shape. Unsurprisingly, this approach is smoother as there is less friction. ___________________________________________________ Bucket unloader by Ankoku So I was playing with it and it didn't seem to work very well and certainly didn't reflect the motion I was seeing in the Akiyuki video. Having watched the video more times than I care to remember, I noticed that the lift motion seemed to be in a single motion, not two. I also noticed that the lift arm used seemed shorter than the one in the instructions. So in the end, I changed it from a Technic Beam 1 x 5 Thin with Axle Holes on Ends, to a Technic Beam 1 x 4 Thin with Axle Holes on Ends, using yellow ones to reflect those in the video. This seemed to work well and reflect the video. Then I checked on Bricklink and it seems that Technic Beam 1 x 5 Thin with Axle Holes on Ends don't come in Yellow. So yeah, that bit needs to be a 4L not a 5L. ___________________________________________________ Back slider by Ankoku, There is definitely these two beams there, length unknown. Below I am using 2x Technic Brick 1 x 15. You can see both in the Akiyuki video, although only 1 at any one time. This also explains why the bottom Technic Axle and Pin Connector Perpendicular is attached differently to the two above it. For the forward back motion you see in the video, this is not possible with the use of a pin instead of an axle. The axle you can see here, allows full motion in one direction, but slightly limited in the other, which is exactly what you see in the video. It is only possible to put the top Technic Brick 1 x 15 in there if you remove the plates from the bottom of the slider. If you look in the Akiyuki video, those plates are not there. I still don't know how either piston connects to the slider exactly. I am still hoping to hear back on that. That said, these two beams seem to be correct and answers a few questions. ___________________________________________________ Bucket slide by Ankoku The area that the buckets slide along for the shifter is actually offset by half a stud in the Akiyuki version. This is not reflected in the instructions. This answers why the shifter itself is half a stud over the sliding area at maximum backwards reach. I always thought the shifter didn't do full travel, but it does, it is just the sliding area which is misplaced. Here you can see how the sliding shelf is connected to the conveyor with a Technic Brick 1 x 2 [2 Holes]  Anyway, changed the length of the slider my one, so that is now correct. Removed the plate from the bucket stopper just before the slider, so that is now working correctly and is the same as the video. Bob now actually aligns correctly with the buckets at maximum reach. ___________________________________________________ Shifter changes by Ankoku This removes the need for any universal joints and thus removes the variable speed of the conveyor. ___________________________________________________ Shifter changes by Ankoku It seems Akiyuki has reworked the pivot mechanism and beam length. This new approach removes any potential bend in what would have been an 8L axle. The new approach requires a shorter piston beam, a longer beam under the shifter. The brace is 2x Technic Beam 1 x 6 Thin. Here, you can see the positioning of the pivot point, the indentation in the conveyor tower, which is 2 bricks deep to allow the pivot arm to travel that far. You can also see the black axle instead of the grey one, as it requires that extra 1L for the back and forth arm to pivot one. At the top, you can see where the slider platform connects and how it is moved 0.5L across. Shifter Changes in action: ___________________________________________________ Ball dumper by Ankoku It sits at the right height, the ball router works well and the axle housing is aligned correctly. As you can see above and below, I have added blockers to either side, which means that a renegade ball can't escape up hill. Balls can only pass when the router is in the correct position for that route. Inside is only 2 wide now and doesn't have any pins etc. ___________________________________________________ Ball unloader by @smdzucladoc After seeing Ankoku's mods as well as his detail photos of the bucket shifter, My ball factory has been much improved. I was still having a lot of friction in the ball loader until I add these mods. Now the ball loaders is very smooth. I add a 1x3 liftarm in between the two Axle and Pin Connector Perpendicular Triple and it seems that the loader doesn't bind to the axles anymore and it is very smooth. I also added some additional bracing to the back of the ball loader. I added two additional Technic, Brick 1 x 2 with Hole and a 1/2 bush to the bottom axle. I also change the axle 3L to 4L and added 2 Axle and Pin Connector Angled #1 and then a 6L axle perpendicular to try to brace the 12T and 40T gear as perpendicular as possible. ___________________________________________________ For inspiration, this extended version by @Jonas and black version by @Thunderthumbs And Steampunk version by @OneMoreRobot

2,5 years ago I have build the Ball Factory as my first GBC module. I got it working well but I found it unfit for events and took it apart to build other GBC modules from the parts. But still I consider the Ball Factory the most iconic 'GBC'. For this reason I started rebuilding the Ball Factory again but now with 2,5 years of experience in GBC designing and building. My goal is to make a version that will be more easy to move and reliable enough for events. To achieve this I'm attempting to put all elements on the well known Akiyuki frame to achieve a rigid construction and have enough clearance for dropped balls under the mechanisms. I also want to make it fully compliant to the GBC standard meaning 10 bricks high in- and outbox. The original version 2.0 Ball Factory is from 2011 and uses a lot of classic (technic) bricks. I plan to use more studless to save on classic bricks and add rigidity but still want to stay close to the original as possible. If you all agree I would like to gather all information and improvements on the Ball Factory from the 77 pages in this topic and condense in one new [GBC] Akiyuki Ball Factory topic. It will of course start with the original and thanking Blakbird and The Rebricker for reverse engineering and making the building instruction. After that list the most known versions and make a list of all suggested improvements.

Thanks @paave for designing it and making the instruction available on Youtube! I've used your chassis design in a somewhat modified way to make a trial vehicle for a contest within my LUG. I made the wheel base 3 stud shorter, placed the rear axle assembly 1 stud down (so rear goes up) and placed the battery turned 90 degrees in te chassis. Another modification that might be suitable for your original model is placing the two front bottom 5L thin liftarms with axle holes up instead of down. There is room for it and doing so it cannot bump against an obstacle so the front can take higher obstacles now. Not a lot but all small things help in a contest :) I will post a video or photos when I have finished my vehicle based on your trial chassis.

A thank you to the ones that supported and to you that will support :), it just reached 1000 supporters https://ideas.lego.com/projects/e015f9c8-3faf-4308-b8ed-b5e09c6ebcef

I haven't but have seen it in your Beyond the Brick video Meanwhile I've uploaded version 2 of the building instruction to Rebrickable and of course again a free building instruction. https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-7456/Berthil/rainbow-wave-gbc-v2/ @Courbet thanks for the update of the digital file en sending it to me again!

@Nudipics welcome to the Akiyuki train group. I don't think we had this problem before. My only advice is to operate the switches by hand, so turn the 24t gear by hand that is normally driven by the train and feel if the resistance is too big. If so check if anything is overtightened or has bend axles. Even do the same in the train without the motor. How is the speed of the train? Like you see in the video's or slower? I see Doug also responded. If you want to see the 9L axle you can have a look at my Rechargeable train instruction which has the 9L axle.

That's not acceptable and won't look good either. Better to have more patience until you have the bricks you need. No doubt you will need the bricks you messed up some day in their original form if you continu building.

@9v system I don't recognize this problem. You have made changes to the design to run everything on one motor right? So including stepper and agitator. I can only recommend to do the usual thing. Remove the motor and operate it manually to see where the friction is, even disassemble until found. Could even be a slightly bend axle with the high speeds of the wheel. I always use an axle checker for these critical applications.

@rskamen thanks, 'van Leeuwen' is definitely Dutch, my last name is 'van Beek' :) The Dutch have a sixth sense for money but primarily because they don't like to spend any (Dutch treat). Can't speak for that myself with a LEGO hobby :)

Nice idea AND film contraption!

Here's a link to my version of a compact pneumatic pump with free building instruction and parts list on Rebrickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-22933/Berthil/pneumatic-pump-compact/ Suitable for my GBC setup to control two cilinders, maybe of use to others.

@Doug72 that's okay, will post link to rebrickable when approved. It's already approved, probably automatic because more approved MOCs. So here is the link to Rebrickable with PDF instructions https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-22904/Berthil/akiyuki-train-passing-module-bidirectional/ I have my version 1 brick high but this instruction is on the same height as the original Akiyuki module. I haven't tested it like this so report any problems you have with it please. Only possible problem I can think of is train wil shake too much on entry because the inner gear racks are placed a bit too much towards the tracks. If that is the case I can move more gear racks to the outer side but this is only 1 stud difference in length. This because the track is placed a little lower than the passing module which is also the case with the original. It's the height difference between one brick and one liftarm, they do not have equal height. If you want a trouble free entry I recommend a solid connection on equal height between the module and tracks like I did.

Rechargeable Train building instruction now available as PDF on Rebrickable https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-22734/Berthil/akiyuki-train-unit-rechargeable/ Update, bidirectional passing module uploaded to Bricklink Studio: https://www.bricklink.com/v3/studio/design.page?idModel=79882 Rebrickable link with PDF instruction I will post when approved by Rebrickable.

For a new plan I would have to ask @Courbet, or could you please send me your original file Laurent, so I can make the adjustments?

Agree! Only GBC Balls description.

Sorry but this also sound pretty pointless to me unless somebody wants to try and cure cancer with it? I think it is nice to make something beautiful out of something that is utterly pointless. But I'm a GBC builder, also pretty pointless. May be a GBC contest with the most pointless idea would be nice.

By the way, if people value my free contributions like Akiyuki Improvements, the Rainbow wave, Ball shooter etc. you can help me please with my Ideas submission if you like it, any help is very much appreciated, thanks and sorry for the spam :) I tried it before with my Rainbow Wave but I guess that was for an audience too small. https://ideas.lego.com/projects/e015f9c8-3faf-4308-b8ed-b5e09c6ebcef

@Jonas only on Flickr making it a two way passing module but also still works one way, it's one brick high, I run the whole track one brick high for rigidity. May be I'll make an instruction for this one too if there is interest. The battery box was on sale lately on Lego Shop so I bought a few more to be sure. I guess and was expecting they will be switching to a Powerup box. This one is less interesting for GBC unless we find a use for the build in control via bluetooth. By the way, if people value my free contributions you can help me with my Ideas submission if you like it, any help is very much appreciated, thanks :) I tried it before with my Rainbow Wave but I guess that was for an audience too small. https://ideas.lego.com/projects/e015f9c8-3faf-4308-b8ed-b5e09c6ebcef

@Jonas indeed train with rechargeable lithium battery has 25% less weight but also a little less power because it is 7,4V instead of 9V with 6 AA batteries. It ran fine for over 7 days at LEGO World and one charge lasts about 4 hours where in the end train runs slower. May now be longer since I went back to the Akiyuki carrier, the worm gear carrier requires more train power even with contraweights. Small downside is battery switches itself off after 2h, also when in use. Only need to switch it on again, worked in any situation, also when upside down in the rotary dumper :) There is more room for the PF wires in my version. All functions of the battery can be reached from outside including plug for recharging. I found that two trains are enough to back each other up during 4h recharge but three is better in case something happens. I have multiple trains so I don't switch the battery in one train only. Stability of the gondola is the same or even a little better. The round plates on the battery are there to facilitate the lifting and placing back of the gondola. Nevertheless, when the train has very abrupt movements the container can fall off but the Akiyuki train also has this. This typically happens in the Akiyuki version of the passing module, in my version this does not happen. You can see the train working in my Scissor lift video where the rotary dumper still has the worm gear carrier.

I don't think so. What I do is select the most expensive / high quantity parts the cheapest individually over part search, create multiple carts, add other parts over selected wanted lists and compare prices between composed carts and adjust carts keeping in mind shipping/handling costs per seller. Nevertheless, it is never cheap :) Example, just bought 4 used Metallic Wheel 62.4 x 20, with Black Tire 62.4 x 20 (not GBC related). 4 pieces cheapest in home country the Netherlands 5,10 per piece. The tire fits through mailbox opening but shipping cost would go over 100gr for a letter meaning costs would be 3,48. Seller asks 1 euro handling costs and no other (rare) items I need. Seller has 5 used tires to choose from. Total 24,88 Cheapest seller in Germany is 4.00 Euro, shipping to Netherlands will be anyway a package and 4,90. Seller has no fees and has other items I need and a rare item I can use. Seller has 20 used tires to choose the best ones from. Total 20,90 So what seemed a good choice in The Netherlands was a better choice in Germany combined with other items and much more room for extra weight in the order, I only need to wait a few days longer. Now do the same with a wanted list of 2000+ :)

Most AFOLs have their collection already sorted. It's also common to upload a parts list to a Bricklink wanted list and delete from the list what you have. What you don't have you can order through the wanted list. Sometimes it's better to have multiple wanted lists for multiple builds to save on shipping costs.

@SWL after the spinning when the ball goes up. I tested the shooter for two days on an event without it and occasionally a ball shoots out. If it does it shoots really far. So between spinning wheel and trans clear panels the ball is between 4 hoses all the time. I have also put in an extra square on the top to keep the 4 hoses apart to prevent balls get stuck. I didn't make new pictures but it's visible here at 7:30 (as all my other machines at LEGO World until the machines of PV Productions).