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There has not been a great deal of public discussion about having a Great Ball
Contraption at BrickFest '06, but there WILL be a GBC at BF06.
If you missed your chance last year, when we had almost fifty modules, now is
the time to start building. It doesn't have to be a big module with lots of
functions. Actually, those are usually the first to break down.
In fact, it doesn't have to be anything fancy, or exciting. Once the whole
thing is up and running, very few modules stand out, no matter how good (or bad)
they are. The true joy is watching them all work together.
If you're wondering exactly what a Great Ball Contraption is, check out this
page: http://www.teamhassenplug.org/GBC/
Or, this one: http://www.greatballcontraption.com/
If you'd like to see a little footage from last year's BrickFest, check out
Jordan Bradford's video: http://www.blockpartymod.com/brickfest/
Or look at the bottom of the TeamHassenplug page (above).
If you're planning on bringing a module to BrickFest, please send me an e-mail,
or add your GBC MOC to the BrickFest website.
Thanks
Steve
ps Several people have asked me to send them soccer balls. Sorry for the delay,
they will be sent soon.
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In lugnet.robotics, Steve Hassenplug wrote:
> There has not been a great deal of public discussion about having a Great Ball
> Contraption at BrickFest '06, but there WILL be a GBC at BF06.
>
> If you missed your chance last year, when we had almost fifty modules, now is
> the time to start building. It doesn't have to be a big module with lots of
> functions. Actually, those are usually the first to break down.
>
> In fact, it doesn't have to be anything fancy, or exciting. Once the whole
> thing is up and running, very few modules stand out, no matter how good (or bad)
> they are. The true joy is watching them all work together.
>
> If you're wondering exactly what a Great Ball Contraption is, check out this
> page: http://www.teamhassenplug.org/GBC/
>
> Or, this one: http://www.greatballcontraption.com/
>
> If you'd like to see a little footage from last year's BrickFest, check out
> Jordan Bradford's video: http://www.blockpartymod.com/brickfest/
>
> Or look at the bottom of the TeamHassenplug page (above).
>
>
> If you're planning on bringing a module to BrickFest, please send me an e-mail,
> or add your GBC MOC to the BrickFest website.
>
> Thanks
> Steve
>
> ps Several people have asked me to send them soccer balls. Sorry for the delay,
> they will be sent soon.
Hey,
Just wondering, are the Bionicle radioactive green balls pretty much the same
size/weight as the soccer balls? I have just come across a HUGE (about 500)
stockpile of these things and thought they would be good for testing.
I live in aus btw, so tripping it over to brickfest anytime in the next few
years doesn't look like happening :( :(
cheers!
Matt
P.S - this is my first post on lugnet relating to models in over 2 years - WOW!
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mat wrote:
>
> Hey,
>
> Just wondering, are the Bionicle radioactive green balls pretty much the same
> size/weight as the soccer balls? I have just come across a HUGE (about 500)
> stockpile of these things and thought they would be good for testing.
>
> I live in aus btw, so tripping it over to brickfest anytime in the next few
> years doesn't look like happening :( :(
>
> cheers!
> Matt
>
> P.S - this is my first post on lugnet relating to models in over 2 years - WOW!
Hey Mat,
Dont know if anyone has answered you or not,
Janey, did the initial test, and others have since confirmed that NO,
the 2 balls are different in size. A soccer ball will fit with room to
spare between 2 studs. and a "horta egg" (1) is slightly larger then 2
studs.
People have talked about using both balls, and having a mech to sort them.
500 balls does sound like you have enuff to make your own GBC, it would
just be to a different standard.
let us know what you made.
Chris
1. the term steve came up with to describe them.
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In lugnet.robotics, Chris Magno wrote:
> Janey, did the initial test, and others have since confirmed
> that NO, the 2 balls are different in size. A soccer ball
> will fit with room to spare between 2 studs. and a "horta
> egg" is slightly larger then 2 studs.
Yes. So the bad news is a lot of standard GBC modules will break if they hit
a Zamor sphere, so they really can't be used unconstrained in a GBC. the good
news is there are a number of GBC modules that can process both easily, so if
you build one that works with your spheres, it is likely to work with soccer
balls.
> People have talked about using both balls, and having a mech
> to sort them.
Yes, it's something I really want to do, actually... but first, I've got to
finish the other five dozen "good ideas" I've got in line (and mow the grass).
> [Horta eggs] the term steve came up with to describe them.
No, I'll defend Steve on this one - that was actually the name I labeled them
with, because I couldn't (for some reason) remember "Zamor spheres".
--
Brian Davis
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In lugnet.robotics, Brian Davis wrote:
> In lugnet.robotics, Chris Magno wrote:
>
> > Janey, did the initial test, and others have since confirmed
> > that NO, the 2 balls are different in size. A soccer ball
> > will fit with room to spare between 2 studs. and a "horta
> > egg" is slightly larger then 2 studs.
>
> Yes. So the bad news is a lot of standard GBC modules will break if they hit
> a Zamor sphere, so they really can't be used unconstrained in a GBC. the good
> news is there are a number of GBC modules that can process both easily, so if
> you build one that works with your spheres, it is likely to work with soccer
> balls.
>
> > People have talked about using both balls, and having a mech
> > to sort them.
>
> Yes, it's something I really want to do, actually... but first, I've got to
> finish the other five dozen "good ideas" I've got in line (and mow the grass).
>
> > [Horta eggs] the term steve came up with to describe them.
>
> No, I'll defend Steve on this one - that was actually the name I labeled them
> with, because I couldn't (for some reason) remember "Zamor spheres".
I found this out. I bought five boxes of Zamors (50 balls) that were going
cheap when the LEGO store in Kingston, UK, was closing down. Unfortunately,
they're too big to go through something like the 2x2 shaft of a ball pump. I
had to buy some footballs at Bricklink prices.
They'll work on something like the wave bed, moving steps or scooping modules,
but they're not going to work the same on something that uses narrow channels
like the ball pumps, catpults, spinning-wheel launchers or staircases.
You could easily have two loops - a smaller loop for Zamors and a larger one for
footballs, that share a common stretch of modules. Those modules would need a
higher throughput though.
Sorting them is easy - just two beams 2-studs apart. The Zamors will run along
the top and the footballs will fall through. Of course there are probably far
more elaborate methods possible...
Jason R
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