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Akiyuki's Ball Factory

August 2015

(Pictures of my creations can also be found in my BrickShelf folder)


1. Introduction

A few months ago a MLCad-file of Akiyuki's Ball Factory was created by Blakbird, who had thoroughly studied the YouTube instruction video's made by TheRebricker. I just couldn't resist building this amazing creation too!... And yes: just like my previous GBC-module, I borrowed a few parts from my children's supply...

This ball factory was one of the first amazing creations from Akiyuki Kawaguchi. His building skills have improved immensely since: this is a very flimsy construction, using more standard bricks and plates than technic parts. Most remarkable: it's amazing how so many different movements are all driven by only one motor!
It runs very smooth in the video. But when I had it on display a few weeks later on a BeLUG club-event (where it was supposed to run an entire weekend!) I quickly realized that one motor wasn't enough to maintain smooth movements, especially not when it's installed at the end of the main drive shaft. I decided to take apart this creation and move on to the next, but fellow club members didn't agree: such a beautiful creation must not be destroyed, but shown on many other upcoming events!
I decided to replace the motor by two parallel motors hidden underneath the bucket wheel, in the middle of the main drive shaft. I made some other minor changes too (e.g. the carriage of the bucket dumper didn't return smoothly anymore after a few hours...). Now I have to find the time to test it, before I can take it to the next event...

2. Images

Ball Factory Front and rear view Ball Factory
Ball Factory Left: the inside before the changes.
Right: the inside after the changes.
Ball Factory

3. YouTube video