K'nex "Leave Me Alone" machine - work in progress.

I have seen tons of videos of "leave me alone" boxes around, and I decided to make my own. I know basically nothing about electronics, so I am attempting to build a 100% mechanical one. This machine is powered by the DC motor, which constantly spins in one direction, even when the machine is not in use. the starting and stopping, and the switching directions is all done mechanically, and I did not "cheat" by making the arm on a reciprocating axle that automatically retracts it regardless of the position of the switch.

Anyway, I designed and built this fully working prototype in about 4 hours from about 300 pieces. I plan to encase it in a box in the next day or two, and I will post a video then. This machine is a close runner-up to my automatic transmission as the most complex mechanical device I have ever built with K'nex.

How it Works - WARNING: TL;DR

I will try to explain this as well as I can for the 2 or 3 people who actually care. The blue lever on the far left is the "switch" which turns the machine on or off. When the switch is pulled, a series of needlessly complex linkages cause 2 things to happen. One: the transmission in the center of the device (an extremely downsized, re-designed version of the one found in my automatic transmission) is switched in to the "forward" position. Two: the "clutch" is engaged, by pulling the red gear farthest to the right into position so it meshes with the gear coming off the motor, as well as the drive gear for the rest of the machine. 12 gears later, the large L-shaped arm in the center of the device swings forward and hits the switch. Due to the design of the linkages, this only switches the transmission, but does not disengage the clutch. The transmission reversed, the arm goes back into its resting state. At the end, it engages a rod which slides the clutch gear out of position, stopping the machine in its starting point. (hopefully this will be made clear by a video, maybe...)

K'nex Windmill

Still out of ideas for my ball machine, I constructed this K'nex windmill in about 2 hours yesterday. It stands 9 feet tall and uses about 700 pieces. The thing that separates this windmill from my previous attempts (which I did not post on the blog) and others that I have seen is that it uses no non-k'nex pieces. The blades are made from 20 k'nex panels, which seem to give me the best weight-to-wind-resistance ratio. Though they are full of small holes, the wind still catches the blades pretty well.

The windmill will turn steadily in winds as low as 3 miles per hour, and can easily reach 60 RPM on a normal day. The shaft of the windmill is connected to a small gearbox, which generates a surprisingly large amount of torque. I may even end up powering a small mechanical device with this if I feel up to it.

The blades of the windmill are about 1.25 feet long, and it sits atop an 8 foot tall tower which is stabilized at its base by 4 bricks.

K'nex Mechanical Tail

I found a video of a mechanism similar to this on youtube a few days ago and I wanted to see if I could duplicate it with K'nex. This mechanical "tail" is about 2 feet long and and has 50 articulating joints. Fishing line runs down holes on each side of the tail, and when one of the lines is tightened, the tail curls up in that direction. This mechanism serves no real purpose and can not really be used for anything whatsoever, it was just a fun side project I decided to try while I think of new ideas for my ball machine.

Close-up of the articulating joints and the fishing line

Tail curling upwards as one side is tight

The tail "wags" in whatever direction the large yellow gear is turned

The tail, and the mechanism which powers it. The large black wheels are on hinges to keep the tension in the fishing line when slack is added to one side of the tail.

"Impossible" K'nex Object

I have been suffering from 'builder's block' with my new ball machine, so I have had to resort to tinkering around with my pieces until inspiration returns. In the process of said tinkering, I came up with the idea for this 14-piece object, and it took me an hour just to figure out how to build it. I submit that this object is impossible to build OR take apart using one's bare hands. I challenge you to prove me wrong! Good luck!

note - I am not Superman (or Chuck Norris) so I did not build this with my bare hands, nor have I been able to get it apart. I constructed this with the help of 2 vices and a hammer, and it wasn't until the third try that I succeeded without breaking a piece.

Ball Machine Update - Track 2 Complete

I have finished construction of the second path which links the ball launcher to the first chain lift. The path consists of a half-helix, 2 long bridges and a jump. I will try to upload a video of the two paths running together tomorrow.

Here is a close-up of the jump.
The path for the jump actually travels through the middle of the arch support.

An overview of the new path

Details of the two long bridges and the start of the jump

Ball Machine Update

I have finished the first track of my new ball machine. This is by no means the final layout for this track, but it gave me a chance to test a new element I designed, which is a tightly wound, banked helix which wraps around a column made of gray rods. About half way through the video the track enters a horizontal switch, for which the second path has yet to be constructed. I plan to start work on this tomorrow. I have also completed a vertical chain lift which brings the balls back up to my ceiling to carry them across the giant arch to the next phase of the machine, which is also under construction, but has been postponed due to design issues.

Here is a closeup of the purple tubing spiral. The design still needs work, as the balls tend to fly off the track here.

Design Experiment - Twisted Tower

This latest ball machine is all about experimenting with new designs. It has a launched ball lift and is supported by systems of arches. To add to this, I have designed a new type of K'nex support tower, modeled after the Turning Torso residential skyscraper. By pure coincidence, 6 stories of this design will create a tower that rotates exactly 90 degrees, allowing for a twisting tower that lines up with the rest of the structure. Here is the first of possibly many twisting towers to appear in this structure. This tower will support the apex of a chain lift, as well as some path switchers.