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bartneck

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Everything posted by bartneck

  1. bartneck
    Whoa, what an amazing collection of storage ideas. Grouping the bricks into bins is a science in itself. Of course we all passed the phase in which we sorted and stored the bricks only by their color. But having a bin for every shape requires far too many bins. So you need to combine "similar" bricks into one bin. Such as wheels, minifigures, etc. It is a fascinating topic that overlaps with library sciences and classical taxonomies. I got so fascinated by the topic that I compiled my research into a little book: The Ideal Order. You might enjoy reading into the foundation of the sorting problem.
  2. bartneck
    Sorting bricks is almost a true science.
  3. bartneck
    Adding Technic holes for pin connectors would be easy to add to the 3D model. However, a ball bearing should not be used to hold weight. Lets assume that you have a crane on top that is heavier on one side than the other. The crane would just fall over. Whatever goes on top of a ball bearing has to be balanced. My particular use is for a large stud based moc and hence this solution was my first choice. If you are interested I could add Technic holes to the 3D model, but I would probably not print it myself. Fusion 360 has a very basic render engine. So here is another image.
  4. bartneck
    Rotating a heavy construction is difficult with LEGO's turn table and previous solution for a ball bearing using the droid wheels remain awkward. Mounting the droid wheels is just difficult. They were never meant to be a ball bearing. So I fired up my 3D program and created a Thrust Ball Bearing. Luckily I could also 3D print the whole assembly. I hope this helps. Further details are available here.
  5. bartneck
    Sorting bricks is deep problem that not only AFOLs face. Libraries and the Tree Of Life require an organizational structure. I got fascinated by the topic on how we organize our environment and ended up writing a book about it: The Ideal Order. The book walks you through the whole procedure. I hope you find it useful.
  6. bartneck
    A Christmas present for the AFOL that has already everything. A new book about sorting bricks, the insanity of modern work, and other daily tragedies. Amazon: http://amzn.to/1IsNgWO ePub: http://www.lulu.com/...t-22458063.html
  7. bartneck
    I considered controlling the train from the outside, but I had my concerns about the reliability of IR commands. Controlling the train via the old 9V rails might also be an option but if the start and end point of the train are far apart then this will cause issues. The EV3 cables might just not be long enough. So many options, so little time...
  8. bartneck
    This LEGO great ball contraption consists of a module that sorts the balls by its color and a train module that returns the balls to the start. Both modules use Mindstorms EV3s to control the motors. The train EV3 controls and original LEGO RC Train motor using a DIY cable. Enjoy!
  9. bartneck
    It is my pleasure to announce that the 2014 LEGO Minifigure Catalog is now available. It contains more than 650 Minifigures with detailed photographs and meta data. The book is a whopping 192 pages. I have limited the distribution options to Amazon and hence was able to reduce the price to only $32 USD. This is the biggest year book so far and I dare to say my best one so far.
  10. bartneck
    We are going to open New Zealand's first LEGO play and learning center on January 4th, 2015 in Christchurch. Our web page is already available. Come and join us for the opening day! https://imagination-station.org.nz/
  11. bartneck
    We are hiring staff for our upcoming Imagination Station in Christchurch. http://imagination-station.org.nz/ Please forward this job posting to whoever might want to work with children and LEGO. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=817558910
  12. bartneck
    Google Play does not allow us to switch to free and back. It is a limitation from Google. :(
  13. bartneck
    My birthday is coming up, so what better way to celebrate this event than by giving all of you a little present. The Unofficial LEGO Minifigure App will be for free until October 3rd for iOS. We are working on getting it for free on Google Play as well. This is your best chance to get the app, so tell your friends about it! Notice that the app comes with the original data that was also published in the book, meaning 1975-2010. The recent years are available as in-app purchases.
  14. bartneck
    Thank you Preus for your kind comments. The map is actually not a mosaic. It has seven layers to indicate hight of the terrain. They are placed on top of each other. I could have indeed use slopes, but I was trying to be reasonably accurate. Meaning, I did not want to bring out the mountains dispproportionally.
  15. bartneck
    I have not enough space in my living room. So the hunt for a new home is on. Lets hope I find a good spot in NZ.
  16. bartneck
    I hope that you may enjoy this MOC. For the Christchurch Brick Show 2014 I build an accurate Topographical LEGO Map of Middle Earth. I measures 2×2 meters and consists of 7 levels. It took approximately 30.000 bricks and four months to build the map. All the main characters of both books are presented on the map as minifigures. Even the path of the ring is illustrated through a breadcrumb style line of golden 1×1 round bricks. The map is accurate as much as a map of a fantastic land can be. I heavily consulted The Atlas of Middle-Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad. This project was made possible through a strategic grant of LUG 4/2. I also created an album at Flickr and a webpage for this MOC.
  17. bartneck
    It is Easter Time and would it not be great to use a spirograph to draw on eggs? I thought it would be sufficient to rotate the egg instead of the table, but the results were dissapointing. The patterns are not particulary pretty and I am not even sure if they repeat accoding to my calculations. Any help is welcome.
  18. bartneck
    Yes, that is pretty much it. It is a bit tricky to determine the gears since they can be pretty close to each other, so I also wrote a program to calibrate the system.
  19. bartneck
    The EV3 calculates the right time to stop simply through math. When you know the gear ratios of both arms and the table, then you can calculate how many rotation the motor needs to make However, the user can select four different gears for each of the arm and the table and hence it is necessary to use sensors to detect in what gear each of the three components is. This is achieved by rotation sensors (the special parts, Boxerlego) that are attached to all three main components. The table (or platform if you like) turns as often as necessary. It is not set to just one rotation.
  20. bartneck
    I build an extension of this design using EV3. Now the Spirograph Automaton knows when the pattern is complete and lifts the pen.
  21. bartneck
    The data is with Nic and he is working on the update. Should not be too far away...
  22. bartneck
    Here you go: http://www.scribd.co...ifigure-Catalog
  23. bartneck
    Just a short note that the 2013 LEGO Minifigure Catalog is now available. It took a bit longer this year, but therefore it is very complete. Hope you like it.
  24. bartneck
    I would not be in favor for a subtheme that defines itself as being a second or third of something else. One might as well call it by the original name then. They release year will then make it clear what "season" it is from. I checked the sets and indeed almost all of them have gold in them. This might be a potential criteria that makes this season special. This does of course not mean that there has not been any gold in any other sets. Also some fantastic creatures appeared in other castle sets outside of the "fantasy area" theme. The question really is, what is the most characteristic feature in the 2013 season?
  25. bartneck
    I am working on the 2013 Minifigure Catalog and one of my tasks is to assign all the Minifigures to themes. The 2013 castle sets have no sub theme, such as "Kingdoms". We encountered the same situation in 2007, but the fans came up with its own sub theme "Fantasy Era". I was hoping that you could post your suggestions on what an appropiate sub theme for the 2013 castle theme could be. My first idea was "Lions and Dragons". Do you have a better ideas?
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