Tuesday, March 26, 2019

GBC Observer 👁 Week 14, 2019

With YouTube search currently disabled, the Great Ball Pit Discord Community has stepped up with a bunch of new GBC videos over the last week.  Click HERE to join in on the chat, no signup required. 

First up Rohan puts on a small show in Australia 🇦🇺



Next, Pinwheel and BigFoot from TwinLUG put on a small show at their local Science Center.



And Brian Bell from DixieLUG gives us a walk-around from BrickFair NC, both FakeSpaceSquid and Brian have modules in this layout.



Have a great week!

Monday, March 25, 2019

New Lego GBC Module - EV3 Counter

I've recently completed my EV3 Counter GBC Module that I will be using at BrickCan 2019.  I consider it a utility module so I decided to leave it rather plain looking.  I may return to it at a later date to make it look a bit "nicer".


It uses a Power Functions M Motor to power the conveyor which is using the new extra large sprockets (part #: 6253463)


Battery life is yet to be determined, but I'm pretty confident the 6AA should last throughout the weekend since the EV3 Hub is not driving any motors.



If it ends up being reliable at BrickCan 2019 I plan on releasing instructions and the EV3 program.

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

GBC Observer 👁 Week 13, 2019

Welcome to the GBC Observer for week 13 of 2019.

First up we'll take a closer look at Lawrie's EV3 dump truck that runs on train track.  This allows it to be used as a corner module, or return balls to the beginning of a GBC loop.



Beyond the Brick takes us through the GBC modules at Bricks Cascade 2019 in this next video.  "Everything jams eventually"



In this last video we see the layout from BrickWorld Indy 2019.  Theres a few new modules in here, I like the one with the oval racer track that's just pushing balls around.



Have a great week everyone.

Monday, March 18, 2019

Free Instructions Updated + GBP Update

Hi everyone, I've finally finished updating the WM01 module instructions which completes the task of moving them offsite to GitHub. Check out my GBC instruction page HERE.


As well I've finished my EV3 Ball Counter module (video forthcoming) and I should have time to build / repair one more module in time for BrickCan 2019 which is at the beginning of May.

Have a great week everyone!

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

GBC Observer 👁 Week 11, 2019

Hey everyone, welcome to week 11 of 2019.  A few new interesting GBC modules have appeared this week.  But before those, let's start with a more in depth look at John Sherman's layout from Bricks Cascade 2019.



Korean builder Sung Joon Yoon is back with an interesting take on a stepper/pusher module. I have not seen one done this way before.



Here is an interesting take on a GBC train. It doesn't look like it would meet any of the GBC standards, but it has an interesting triple car loading mechanism.



Thursday, March 7, 2019

Lego Technic Axle article by Huw

Huw has written a pair of articles on the history of Technic Axles.  I really enjoyed learning more about these parts that we frequently use when building GBC.

They can be found on BrickSet at the links below.

History of Technic Axles Part 1

History of Technic Axles Part 2

Tuesday, March 5, 2019

GBC Observer 👁 Week 10, 2019

Hey everyone, it's week 10 of 2019 and here is your GBC Observer!

First let's look at the GBC from Bricks Cascade 2019.  Modules by Kevin Mitcham, John Sherman, Josh Gay, and Rick Vogt.  Thanks to Adam's Brick Junction for the video!



Want to get started in GBC?  Lawrie shows us his variation of the first Brickworld Workshop module (GBC DONAHUE).  This module is cheap, reliable, and a great place to start!



Since there wasn't too many new modules seen over the last week I thought it would be fun to look at this Akiyuki layout from 2010.  Lots of NXT/Mindstorms stuff going on here.


Have a great week!

Friday, March 1, 2019

Upcoming GBC Events for the Great Ball Pit

Some people have been asking which events I will be attending in 2019, so here is a list of the Lego conventions in 2019 I will be at with some of my GBC modules.  If anyone has any GBC specific questions about these events please feel free to email me @ matt@greatballpit.com and if I don't know the answer, I can put you in contact with the GBC coordinators at these events.

BrickCan 2019

May 2-5
River Rock Casino
Richmond, BC
http://www.brickcan.com

BrickCon 2019

October 3-6
Seattle Center Exhibition Hall
Seattle, WA
http://www.brickcon.org