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Ankoku

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Everything posted by Ankoku

  1. Ankoku
    I am guessing the Stepper Module v2 is fairly prone to dropping balls? Nice to see it out in the wild. Love the rainbow colours of the baskets. I really ought to add a clutch gear to the design. I feel as though those dropped balls didn't go peacefully.
  2. Ankoku
    Has anyone here built the Step Module V2?
  3. Ankoku
    Starting to look at Step Module v2 Am currently switching over the hopper design, but whilst doing it, noticed that the instructions are 1 brick higher than the original. Quite a bit of it is different to the original, for various different reasons. In the image, you have 15L on the left, on the right, it is 2x 9L with a 2L overlap. Leaving it at 16L With the rotating tower, it sits 2L higher, with there being a 1L drop from the tower to the ramp which feeds the stepper.
  4. Ankoku
    Site doesn't allow direct linking to the download, so this is how to get to it: HBM014 (July 2012) https://www.hispabrickmagazine.com/downloads/page/3/ Will see if I can extract the original images from the PDF. Not sure I would call them high quality, but it is really nice to see some view points you don't normally get to see. It seems that the images are from between when he did the original video and when he did his GBC layout in his home. This gearing peaked my interest. It is present in the GBC Layout video, but you can hardly see it and thus I hadn't noticed it before. Great find! I will study more in the coming days!
  5. Ankoku
    The Akiyuki video at the point where he mentions speed and you can see the speed he has set it to on the controller, which he considers too fast for the machine (2m 21s in): Remember, he is only designing these things to be able to do 1 ball per second reliably. Anything past that is a bonus.
  6. Ankoku
    In his video, he points out the speed issue as @msk6003 mentions. I think all he tends to do is make sure they can process 1 ball a second at a viable speed. In the instructions, he mentions one occasion where you can get a piece wrong and thus the axle won't spin. That said, it wasn't a robot. I guess it just highlights the importance of following the instructions carefully. I have certainly made some pretty bad blunders when following LEGO official instructions.
  7. Ankoku
    For me, the issue is that there will always be collision detection since Stud.IO doesn't do bending :) And neither should it. The structure for The Sun has some collision detection issues which irks me to this day. That is just me though. I have tried doing it in a number of different ways. e.g. each arm is replicated identically from the last. Cut n paste job. First three worked pretty much fine. 4th one, not so much. I find it reassuring that building it in real life is kinda the same effect. I did the first 3 without issue, then the moment I got to the 4th, I basically had to scrunch up the previous 3 and "bend" them, to add the 4th. 3 were fine, the 4th required pressure. I think with Stud.IO, I would most likely have to move everything to the left as much as I can, before it start to collide and hopefully, across the three, it gives the 4th enough space to work. That said, dealing with angle rotation in Stud.IO is not pleasant and right now, I don't have the will to fight it. So I may just work on other bits. Although it really doesn't do this sort of thing well, even trying to get an arm to connect to a hinge point can be a chore as it wildly tries to snap on to anything entirely inappropriate, it always surprises me how far you can get with normal stuff in a few hours. Doing a thought out set of instructions takes way longer than actually creating the model itself. Will be interesting to see what LEGO does with it, if much.
  8. Ankoku
    Yeah, it is the Orbit Overlap which I am working on, since he provided photos. Having built 4 arms in the real world, the issue is that it doesn't fit perfectly, so there is a tightness which you can't replicate in Stud.IO Essentially, it is all squeezed inwards. You find that with some of the small GBC wheels. The angled pieces don't naturally make a circle, so the shape is weird and you will have snapping issues in Stud.IO The moment you add the 4th arm, it pushes the others to the left. It is interesting how much that 4th addition moves it all The other 3 sit pretty happily. I may just leave the wheel in segments, rather than try and render the whole thing.
  9. Ankoku
    It impresses me that 3 can be correct, but the next one be so far out of whack. I have no idea how to fix that.
  10. Ankoku
    I hate working with angles in Stud.IO
  11. Ankoku
    Am playing around with less springs. The left hand side with 12 springs is far stiffer than the right side with 6, yet they don't seem to be offering much in needed functionality. So I removed 3 to see what happens. Works just fine. Might be a disastrous idea and the current execution is certainly clunky, but I am curious to see how it pans out.
  12. Ankoku
    Okay, so this is how it should be and makes a lot more sense. The main difference? It uses two Technic, Brick 1 x 2 with Axle Hole. This makes the whole setup rigid, rather than loose.
  13. Ankoku
    Noticed this difference: It is there in both the original video and the event one. No idea why the instructions didn't do it like this, especially considering it is more rigid. The instructions use 2x Technic, Liftarm 2 x 4 L-Shape Thick which aren't really connected properly. e.g. they can move around. Above, it is either using a Technic, Liftarm 1 x 4 Thin or more likely a Technic, Liftarm 1 x 4 Thin with Stud Connector. This locks things nicely in place and actually provide a tighter guiding channel. I ended up going with something similar, before discovering this, using a Technic, Liftarm 1 x 5 Thin with Axle Holes on Ends. I needed the extra length as the position the tubes connect is one stud further out. So I will be removing the Technic, Liftarm 2 x 4 L-Shape Thick.
  14. Ankoku
    Straight up, if you want GBC event reliable, go with whatever @Berthil is doing. Generally, that is never my aim. Apart from that 3rd set of tyres, the 3rd set makes no sense. I could never really get the off-ramp to work. The ReBricker instructions looked to be identical to the original Akiyuki one. That said, it seems Akiyuki had issue too, as he had modded it at an event and it looked like a hack job. My change is subtle, but seems obvious and places it right where it should have been in the first place. I also swapped a couple of pieces as they weren't available when Akiyuki designed the module, but he would have used them if they had been. Sorted out the tyre issue. Reverted the spring mechanisms back to the original designs. Also reverted it back to the single clutch gear, but that won't be possible for most. Change the ball box loader design. I have no idea how Akiyuki did it as you can see it in the videos. That said, if the instructions are what he did, it is kinda disappointing. I have made it lighter, reduced the distance it protrudes from the axle runners and fixed the position of the box. It can no longer rotate freely. Fixed the off ramp for the stepper section. That was just wrong. Not sure how anyone made that work. Added a counter weight for the stepper and added some extra bracing for the axle runners. Probably unneeded, but it made me happy. I changed the mod that ReBricker added. Interesting, I never had an issue with that gear coming off, it was in fact the other one. So I created a bracket which does both and is easy to remove if you need to adjust timings. Had to do the same for the clutch axle. Still haven't managed to revert the main ramp back to the original design. This annoys me, but I think it would require too much deconstruction to fix it. Added a second motor. Is it needed to run it? No. Will it provide less strain across the motors? Hopefully. I actually really like how it looks with the extra motor, but that is just me. As a module, it is a think of engineering beauty. Simple, yet complex at the same. That said, listening to the motors pains me. So I prefer some of his other modules for that reason. If you have your ball factory setup properly, you can hand crank it all with ease. With the invisible lift, you can hand crank it, but is is in a different league.
  15. Ankoku
    Wow, great work @Juroen! The link you added is actually a Facebook link which forwards to Bricksafe. For those wanting to avoid that, this is the direct BrickSafe link: https://bricksafe.com/pages/Juroen/bc-t76
  16. Ankoku
    Since it doesn't slot into a hole, I don't think it makes any odds, so I won't be using it. If they were the other way round, then it would make a depth difference.
  17. Ankoku
    The Invisible Lift is completed, but am currently fighting with the antenna. Works perfect with 1 or 2 balls at the same time, but 3 makes it fail as not all of the antenna are the same distance out. Also need to do a mod or two to stop gears from travelling along their axles. This may be down to the gear or axle itself. e.g. The Rebricker mod isn't needed for me, I actually need it on the gear on the other side. The next module will be Step Module v2. I have the MPD file for it and it has a lot of differences with the original. So I am getting some work done on fixing/changing it before I order the parts (Had to go with a simple module since Bricks & Pieces is down due to Covid-19). I am going to covert the spiral lift to what I did with the spiral lift on Cup-to-Cup Type 1. The version of the spiral lift in the MPD is very different to the Akiyuki original. Akiyuki has an interesting approach in his original: It is nice to see him using Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Toggle Joint Smooth, which is the solution I ended up going with to fix the Ball Factory and something I have continued with on Cup-to-Cup. Interesting use of the Technic Hub / Handle 1 x 1. I am hoping this can be avoided, but it depends on the height of the spiral.
  18. Ankoku
    So I have been working on the off ramp, which as far as I can tell, seems to be in the wrong place even on the original. Either that, or there is something I am missing. Anyway, that will be for another post. Below, you can see that Akiyuki introduced his usual ratchet system later on. I was wondering why he had offset the gears, but I am guessing it was to make the ratchet possible. In the video, you can see it bouncing along.
  19. Ankoku
    What is the gold piece?
  20. Ankoku
    Here are a few renders of some of the changes I have made. Just got the off ramp to build now. Shouldn't be an issue. Once done, I will create a web page for it with the various IO files, renders etc. He is what the additional motor housing ended up looking like: Not the sexiest looking thing, but I was mainly aiming to add it with as few changes to what was already there as possible. I have made the structure holding the gears more solid. No a clear image as to what is going on and what you see in Studio is different to what gets rendered. Here you have the structure which holds the axles for the steppers. It wasn't the more rigid of structures and there is evidence in the videos that Akiyuki's one may be different. So I have added some bracing via a couple of Technic, Liftarm 1 x 5 Thin with Axle Holes on Ends and a couple of Technic, Pin 3/4. And I have posted this before, but I have added the adjustment made for the centre ones. They got through more Technic liftarms, so they benefit from a slightly different approach if they are sticking. To the left are the front and back for top and bottom. To the right is the adjusted centre ones for front and back. There is still a bunch of stuff I need to model. e.g. the changes to the stepper off ramp. The reworked ball box loader (having that being able to rotates just seemed insane). Oh and the change to using the 1997 clutch variant worked a treat. If you have a perfectly working Invisible Lift, you don't need to do any of this stuff. I haven't fixed the front ramp. Have yet to get a reply from Akiyuki. I might need to use his other email address.
  21. Ankoku
    One stepper is heavier than the other, so the motor works harder raising the 2nd one of the two. If you run it freely with your hand, it is very noticeable. The 2 motors is mainly for me. I am not interested in killing motors off powering it. Does it work fine on 1? Sure. But it works the motor hard. Even Akiyuki was using 2 motors at an event.
  22. Ankoku
    Nice! This is what I am currently building for it: I think I have figured out the mystery of the single clutch gear. I suspect he may be using the stronger one from 1997, which has the light grey centre. I have one, so I will be testing. Also added a counter weight to the stepper lift to make it more even in movement. It sits beneath the hopper ramp. I actually use the LEGO Space rubber balloon tyres for weight :P
  23. Ankoku
    I think it is one of those where it is a cool idea, but not good enough to justify a module. Also, I am guessing it isn't going to achieve 1 ball a second or whatever the standard is.
  24. Ankoku
    No, but I would have expected him to keep it secret if he was going to use it.
  25. Ankoku
    I am curious as to what he will be using the ball pins for, if anything. Could be appearing here because he isn't going to do anything with it. Just a curious concept.
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