Sign up or log in to customize your list. Here's how it works: Anybody can ask a question The best answers are voted up and rise to the top All right, here's a tough one for ya'll. How can I built a marble pump out of LEGO bricks? What would the mechanism which pushes the marbles up need to look like? Here's an example in this video: Unfortunately, one cannot see the mechanism which pushes the marbles upward very well. I couldn't determine what pieces he was using - I think there was a slope, but I'm not sure as to how it moves the marbles up the pipe. A pump is one of the most classic GBC (Great Ball Contraption) modules but is indeed difficult to get right. One of the best illustrations I know is on this site: Unfortunately, most of the site is in German, but the pictures are usually illustrative enough and I think it's a good source of information for ball machines in general, not only LEGO ones. The best is of course to get in touch with one GBC builder at events and ask for information.
Here is a picture based on the model at aforementioned site: Here is a video showing the mechanism in action. Marbles weigh more than LEGO soccer balls but there is a thriving community of avid "Great Ball Contraption" builders... these move soccer balls from their (standardized) input to their (standardized) output. They use various techniques including stairstep, conveyor, helix, scoops, and every other motion technique imaginable. I think looking through their designs will give you lots of ideas This great site by Phillipe Hurbain ("Philo") should get you started, In particular look at the Ball Pump and Jigsaw module, which has instructions included I found this question and used Joubarc's and Peter's answer to guide my pump build: The video of it's operation is here. As per Joubarc, it was very tricky to get right. Here are some subtle things I learnt/did during the build: The blue down wedges in the ball feed are not symmetric horizontally.
Putting them on alternate layers helps stop the 14mm beads getting jammed. The ball feed needs to be narrow at the bottom (beams with a 2 stud gap, no wedges) to avoid ball jams and ensure the balls drop down with gravity into the intake. Needed a gradual ramp in the slider/feed section (yellow) to prevent ball jams and ensure the balls would drop into the intake Older bricks that have been nicked from drops, rough play tend to jam the slide mechanism as they brush past each other. Use newer/non nicked bricks. Use longer horizontal beams in the slide mechanism and adjacent walls. Every vertical vertice is an opportunity for the slider to jam. Long horizontals reduce this. Use window pieces in the slider to reduce slide contact and friction (see white slider section) Needed a long slide (white section) to increase clutch power holding it on to the bottom plate. With a smaller slide section it didn't take long for it to pop off due to push/pull action from the piston.
a 2x1 beam with two holes was used to mount the piston. This aligned the piston just right to not jam during rotation. A single hole 2x1 beam didn't work for me. Needed to bias the balls at the top of the chimney to pop them out into the race section. Did this with the mini cheese wedges mounted vertically. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google Sign up using Email and Password Post as a guest By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service. Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged building or ask your own question.Try and Try Until You Succeed: The Story of a Filipino Engineer Who Passed His Board Examination on His Fifth Take 6 days ago6 days agoThanks to all those who came to the 2016 Auckland Brick Show, we hope you had as great a time as we did! See you in 2017!! Buy your tickets before October 22nd and go in the draw to win a fantastic LEGO® Prize Package worth $400!! Saturday 22 to Monday 24 October 2016
65-67 Central Park Drive, Henderson, Auckland ( Just off Lincoln Road ) ( Exit the NW Motorway at Lincoln Rd ) An exciting new larger venue with over 3000 square metres of LEGO® on display!! There is free onsite parking thanks to The Rotary Club of Henderson. Optional gold coin donation to support Rotary’s community work. Due to incredible demand this year we are again pre-selling tickets through www.eventfinda.co.nz , just have your tickets scanned and walk through the door! This is to reduce queues and waiting times as well as limit the number of people in the show at one time to enable a pleasant viewing experience for everyone. Please be aware that many sessions in 2015 were sold out! Online tickets are $7 each including ticketing and credit card charges. Children 3 and Under are FREE. Just choose your day and session start time. Sessions start at one hour intervals on the hour from 9am – you can stay as long as you like. Please note the 4pm session runs until 5.30pm.
I did a display at my daughter’s school fete, and then was invited to participate in another display, and that hooked me,” Alan says.“Seeing the children’s faces and seeing people appreciate the collection was amazing. Kids’ faces light up and adults say, ooh, I had that as a child, I had that as a child,’’ Alan says.He and his three daughters, Ellie, 3, Charlotte, 5, and Stephanie, 9, spend hours in the granny flat behind their Rochedale home, playing and creating.While the girls prefer the Friends series, Alan is enthralled with his neo space My Own Creations (MoCs) and perfecting his Great Ball Contraption — a mechanised device that moves balls through an obstacle course.“It’s a man shed, but there’s a corner where the girls can play with their LEGO.“They can lay it out and leave it on the floor out there, and it’s not so bad,’’ laughs Alan, 39, an IT consultant.His wife Alicia is a Guide leader and foodie, who prefers baking to building.An only child raised by father Alan, a draughtsman, and mother Joan, Alan received his first LEGO classic space set when he was five and the obsession lasted until his early teens, when he entered what adult fans commonly refer to the “dark ages” of losing interest.“