Author: knextus

K’nex: Balls That Play The Piano

/ knextus / 2 Comments

My latest ball machine- Balls That Play The Piano- did not work out.  The reason why it failed is because I tried to build it on furniture (a piano).  I find that K’nex and furniture are not compatible because it is hard to build K’nex structures that can accommodate the inconsistencies of furniture sizes and shapes.  Here are the reasons why some of my earlier failed ball machines failed:

-Ball Machine in the Dining Room- I tried to build on countertops which like furniture are hard to build on because of inconsistencies.

-Crazy Moment- I tried to build it on a rug which in that case was an uneven surface.

-Trampoline Factory- I tried to build it on a rug which in that case was an uneven surface.

Here is a link to the history of my ball machines:

A Short History of My K’nex Ball Machines

Here are some pictures of Balls That Play The Piano:

IMG_1818

Front View of Balls That Play The Piano

Click Continue Reading to see more pictures

Continue reading →

K’nex: Surprise Box

/ knextus / Leave a comment

Jelle Bakker made a Surprise Box for marbles (be sure to check out his You Tube channel.)  I thought it was really cool, so I decided to make my own out of K’nex. (I am even making one for marbles!)  Here’s how it works:  First, a ball enters through the top, but doesn’t exit out of the bottom.  Then a second ball enters through the top, hits a bell, and then exits out the bottom.  When a third ball enters in through the top, surprise!  It exits out the side along with the first ball.  Below are some pictures and the video.  Note:  I filmed and took pictures of the Surprise Box while it was attached to my upcoming ball machine.  Click Continue Reading to see the pictures. Continue reading →

K’nex: Into The Treetops

/ knextus / 2 Comments

My latest K’nex ball machine is called Into The Treetops.  I call it Into The Treetops because it is rainforest themed.  This is my first themed ball machine.  It has 7 Paths and 1 Network.  The tree that is leaning on its side is actually connected to the tree stump with hinges. The tree can be raised up and down. I show the tree standing straight up in one of the night shots near the end of the video.  The lights are supposed to look like vines.  My family also used this ball machine as our Christmas tree and that is why it has ornaments on it.  See if you can spot a sloth in the video!  His name is Ball Machine because he lives on ball machines!  Below are some pictures and the video.

Into The Treetops (Front View)

Into The Treetops (Back View)

(I will feature the white box that the balls from Paths 3 and 6 go into in an upcoming post!)

Special thanks to:

Sandroknexmaster

Tornado96

-Knextus

Lego: Floor Patterns Inn

/ knextus / 2 Comments

On Jan. 24th, 2015, I started work on a new model in Lego Digital Designer (LDD).  I call it Floor Patterns Inn or Skiskrapr (skyscraper spelled in my own phonetic language I made up).  The reason why I call it Floor Patterns Inn is because every floor has a different tile pattern.  The letters on the sign are colored like the patterns of some of the floors.   At 22,269 pieces, it is the biggest model I have ever built in LDD.  Below are some pictures.

 

Here is the full view of Floor Patterns Inn.

Here is the full view of Floor Patterns Inn.

Continue reading →

K’nex: K’nex + Marbles

/ knextus / 3 Comments

K’nex + Marbles is my first ball machine that uses both K’nex balls and marbles.  The pink/red marble track is Skyrail.  In an upcoming post, I will give more details about Skyrail.  Below is the video.  (Sorry I couldn’t get the marble lift to work on this ball machine).  Sorry, I forgot to take pictures 😦 .  See if you can spot a sloth in the video.

 

Special thanks to:

 

Jelle Bakker- He introduced me to Skyrail.

Kairah89 (Roger de Bruin)

Sandroknexmaster

 

-Knextus

K’nex: In and Out Spiral Instructable

/ knextus / Leave a comment

My latest Instructable is for a simple K’nex ball machine element called the In and Out Spiral.  I call this element the In and Out Spiral because the ball enters close to the back bone, and as it goes down, it moves out away from the backbone but then moves in toward the backbone as it exits.  Below are the link to the Instructable (be sure to click on it)  and some pictures:

In and Out Spiral

Spiral 1

Spiral 11

Spiral 111

-Knextus

K’nex: Trick Flip-Flops Ball Machine Element Instructable

/ knextus / Leave a comment

I made another ball machine element and an Instructable for it.  I call the ball machine element Trick Flip-Flops.  It looks like an element containing normal flip-flops. However, I call it Trick Flip-Flops because the flip-flops are weighted on one side and go back into place once triggered by a ball.

Sorry there is no video.  I just couldn’t get the element to stand up on its own for a video.  It will be in my next ball machine, though.  You can see it in action then.

 

Below is the picture and link to the Instructable.

Trick Flip-Flops Ball Machine Element Instructable

 

Trick Flip-Flops

-Knextus