Ankoku
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Everything posted by Ankoku
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Okay, will be posting the changes today. Was delayed due to one change requiring another change etc. First off is one of my own changes, which I posted above. I am fairly happy with this as a final version as it is clean and in keeping with the general style of things: This removes the need for any universal joints and thus removes the variable speed of the conveyor. It uses 3 gears as the chain is a little bit too tight with two. It is very useable with 2, but my main goal with this machine is to make everything operate effortlessly. So 3 gears allows for no slack and yet loose enough for it to be really smooth and easy. I had tried doing it from the other side of the pistons, but there wasn't enough room. Another thing you can see in this image, is the fact that the wall closest on the first conveyor is higher than the back wall of the same conveyor. It just looks better, keeps clear of the 2nd conveyor and as far as I can tell, matches the Akiyuki original. -
Made a video of the shifter changes. Will post that in a bit. Whilst I was working on that, I noticed that the first conveyor belt wasn't at all smooth. This was due to the sharp angle and use of two universal joints. It would speed up and slowdown in a cyclic manner. So I ended up adding some gears to avoid that: It is ugly as sin, so I certainly don't recommend this change, but it works as a proof of concept in terms of getting rid of the uneven movement. With this in mind, after sorting out the rest, I will endeavour to create a less ugly solution for myself. This doesn't help reliability, it is just a personal thing where I really dislike uneven movement. The initial try had just 2 gears, but it mean the conveyor travelled in the wrong direction :P
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@9v system You have an operational factory at the moment don't you? If you remove the holder from the conveyor, do buckets get stuck transferring from one to the other on occasions?
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Although this isn't Akiyuki himself or involves the balls, this is apparently what inspired him to make the Ball Factory: Not as elegant, but there plenty of impressive stuff in there and you can see a few similarities. Worth checkout out his other videos. A machine which came before this one, by another guy in 2006, is this one: Impressive stuff. Slightly off topic I know, but I am sure we all enjoy the mechanisms behind these things and the inspiration.
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On a plus note, the revised height of the whole thing I finalised on has proven correct, so that is a relief.
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Seems the original mechanism he used for moving the shifter from left to right has been revised. He has removed the ability for it to bend. e.g. the 8L and 5.5L with Stop axle could bend with tension. Good to know he still has it and is improving it. That is one of the things I like about the GBC events. When you have something running all day, you soon learn what is working well and what isn't.
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Got a reply. He has made some improvements since we last saw the ball factory. Will make the changes and post.
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Nice touch with the white frame for the invisible lift.
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Love the aesthetics!
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So, I noticed that the height of the side walls didn't look right. They seem too low in comparison to the buckets on the Akiyuki machine. I have increased it by 1 plate and this is how it now looks. The main reason for me doing this, is because the conveyor belt would catch on far wall in the above picture. That doesn't happen in the Akiyuki video. In his video, it looks as though you have a full brick height at the end, so it meant that it needed to be raised one plate in height to avoid it catching.
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So, my main issue right now is working out the height. I am honestly not sure if I need to raise everything up one, or leave them the same height and just move the shifter axles up one, but that then creates other issues. 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. A couple of comments or images from the man himself would solve so many issues, but for now, I soldier on.
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Here you can see how the sliding shelf is connected to the conveyor with a Technic Brick 1 x 2 [2 Holes]
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Okay, so this answers some more questions. 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.
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New issue. It seems that the ball dumper is in a different position in the Akiyuki version, than in the instructions. I was testing the dumper and found that when it dropped the bucket, it did so in a way which was less than ideal. Having watched the video of Akiyuki's machine, I found this was not apparent there. So this will be the next bit I am working on.
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So, this, I believe is part of the original design looks like. It also explains a few things I see in the video. 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 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.
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Layout? The Ball Factory? It is on hold whilst I wait for a reply. I am going to start tinkering again soon. If I don't get a reply, I will go with what I have got and post photos.
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My Technic spans a lot of years and one thing I have noticed is that the pins have changed over time. The oldest ones have a lot more plastic in them, more recent has a little bit more and current has the least. You can look at the ends and see the difference in thickness. Generally, the thicker ones are stiffer, so if I want a stiffer connection, I use an older pin.
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As I wait/pray for an Akiyuki reply, I have been playing with the Reversal Type 2. Is there any way to connect a Technic Worm Gear to a Technic Gear 36 Tooth Double Bevel?
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@9v system This might be of interest to you. I am not going to do instructions, as I don't intend to replicate the Reversal Type 2 machine. But I do want to get the mechanism working for a 2 arm version. Once I have it working I will post photos of it. Enough to be able to replicate it.
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Nice one, thanks. I will add some images, some Japanese and a link to here.
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Oooo, thanks for letting me know. On his site, he mentions that he isn't taking any more videos, pictures etc. How did you contact him? The web form? I have taken some video as to where I have gotten. I will see if I can sort it out on YouTube.
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Still fighting with it. Any ideas how the black Technic beam attaches underneath? As far as I can tell, there are 2x 1x2 brick with axle hole underneath. I am guessing there is a 4L axel between them. The beam attaches to that somehow, but not with much depth. e.g. there isn't room for a Technic Axle Connector with Axle Hole, as that would push the beam too far down to connect to the lever. I don't believe it is a Technic Axle and Pin Connector Perpendicular because that would move the beam left or right, which isn't reflected in the video. Any ideas? As you can see, whatever is connected to the axle under there, isn't bisible from this side angle.
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At this point, I am considering writing Akiyuki a letter in Japanese asking how that mechanism works. It is proving impossible to replicate.
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So here you can see the part that I am having trouble with. I believe that is a Dark Bluish Grey Technic Axle and Pin Connector Perpendicular, where the axel part is on the right, rather than where you would expect on the left. This is why the Technic Bush 1/2 Smooth with Axle Hole Semi-Reduced is required at the bottom to hold it on. You can see the black axel there, rather than a Light Bluish Grey Technic Pin without Friction Ridges Lengthwise. So why has Akiyuki done it that way? How is it connected? At the top, you can see 2x Technic Beam 1 x 2 Thin but they can't be directly connected as that would twist the fixed axel. At the moment, I feel as though there is a half stud beam length difference in play on the piston beam somehow. That somehow manifests itself in the connection.
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So, here, in the instructions, you can see where the beam is attached. It seems further forward than in the video image above. If this is the case, it would allow the solution, which I think is correct with the shifter piston arm to work.