jijik111

Thanks for your response. I’m not sure I fully understand your point. Even if I spin the ball in one direction and the entire spinning mechanism in another direction, after releasing the ball all the rotations will combine into a single resulting rotation around one specific axis (formed by combining the original axes). So the released ball would still travel straight, just in a different direction. What could work, however, is spinning the ball the way I currently do, but then launching it with a much greater force, not the way I do now, where I just push it down from the tires, but rather shooting it forward more like a billiard ball. If the surface were non-rubber, the ball would actually follow a curved path, because it would take some time for the spin to affect its motion, since the ball would initially slip quite a lot. I’m concerned, though, that the additional motion caused by the spin would be relatively small due to significant losses. Is this what you had in mind, or were you thinking of something else?

This was actually another crucial step to ensure the ball had the right amount of grip, so I decided to use a rubber surface. I spent quite a long time searching for different LEGO pieces that could be used to build it, because all parts had to come from official LEGO sets. I experimented with making a track from multiple tires, for example, but they didn’t fit together precisely enough, and the joints between the individual tires caused significant speed loss. Later, I discovered that LEGO had historically produced several types of rubber bands. I ordered some of them, and they solved the problem perfectly. In the end, I believe I used LEGO part #70158. The rubber bands were able to stretch to the distance you can see here, which made them ideal for this solution.

Yes, you are all of course right that a purely mechanical solution would be better. At the moment, it is controlled by software mainly because this is still a prototype and I wanted to focus on the mechanics of launching the ball. Initially, I had it designed so that the rubber-tired wheels did not spin continuously but instead accelerated gradually once a ball landed on them. However, that approach seemed too complicated to redesign into a purely mechanical version, so I postponed it for the prototype stage. Later, I realized that the module would be too slow and that I needed to handle the balls faster. As a result, the wheels now spin continuously, so the only remaining issue is the feeder itself. Because of that, a purely mechanical solution might not actually be that complicated - similar mechanisms have already been built many times before. I would also be interested to see whether it could handle a curved path. The ball is spun in one specific direction, so my intuition tells me that any turns could be problematic, but perhaps properly positioned guide rails could help direct it correctly. At the same time, it might need a slight amount of slip on the surface in order to turn, which is somewhat different from my original goal, where I wanted to maximize friction with the surface as much as possible. In any case, the only way to find out is to try it.

I have always been fascinated by GBC modules. Whenever I came across a video showing multiple modules connected together, I immediately clicked on it and found it completely mesmerizing to watch. What I enjoyed most were the modules that introduced truly original mechanical ways of moving the balls from point A to point B. At first, even simple lifts felt fresh and exciting. Over time, however, it seemed to me that genuinely new mechanical transport principles became less common. On the other hand, the visual themes of modules have become more and more creative and original. This made me wonder whether it is still possible to come up with a completely new approach - something where the balls are not lifted by a marble pump, not moved by a brick-built wave, not pushed by a spiral, and so on. Eventually, I came up with an idea that I would like to share with you. Momentum Launcher – Proof of Concept This module spins a ball to build up momentum and then releases it onto an inclined track, allowing it to travel upward into a basket. Almost every aspect of the module still needs refinement. The feeder is currently quite improvised, the ball tends to bounce while being accelerated, and the biggest challenge will be achieving reliable placement of the spinning ball onto the track. Even so, the concept already shows that the idea is workable and could become a nice GBC module with further development. Unfortunately, I have a limited number of parts and even less time, so progress toward a finished module is quite slow. The original idea has been in my head for several years, and only recently I managed to build at least a partial proof of concept. That is also why I decided to share it here even in this unfinished state - so that if the idea catches someone’s interest, they might continue exploring and developing this principle further.