K'NeX K'nection

Contents

• Me talking a lot
• Bigger! Better!
• Construction tips
• Counting on K'NeX [Coming soon!]
• Other Stuff [Coming soon!]

Seriously, when I was a kid I liked to build things with Tinkertoys, including a couple of different robot arms and various other random contraptions. But when I was building extremely large Tinkertoy projects I had problems getting them to stay together and also began to run into the material limits of the wood they're made out of.

As an adult, I discovered K'NeX, and boy am I sold! They have a lot in common with Tinkertoys structurally but they're made of a really strong, resiliant plastic and they hold together great!

In fact, the biggest problem with K'NeX is that they hold together so well it can be physically difficult to assemble and disassemble them, and they can make your fingers sore and your hands ache. I recommend Tinkertoys for experimenters under the age of 13 and K'NeX for experimenters 13 and older.

The Big Ball Factory got bigger!

For legal reasons I can't give detailed plans of the entire factory, just my enhancements, but here's the entire completed project.

The Factory Click on any picture to see a larger version

Notice that it got so tall and the drive chain got so long, that I had to add another idler pulley to help take up the slack. One of the biggest problems I still have with the factory is that the chain tends to flex from side to side, and the forks that carry the balls up get snagged on the tower structure itself.

The coolest addition I made to the factory is a scoop that catches balls until it has three of them and then dumps them all into the loop-the-loop.

The Dumper in Action Click on any picture to see a larger version
Here's a closeup of the scoop when it's empty...	...with two balls in it already...	...and dumping all three!

Here are some more pictures to show you how it goes together.

Step 1: Building the Scoop Click on any picture to see a larger version
These are the pieces that go together to make the scoop.	This is the scoop after it's been assembled.	Another view.

Step 2: The Frame Click on any picture to see a larger version
This is the frame that holds the scoop.	The green pieces on the left are where the scoop's axle goes.

Step 3: Put it Together! Click on any picture to see a larger version
Here's the whole assembly.	Another view.

Construction Tips

Big Ball Factory ball pickup

Are there any assembly mods which will rectify this problem?

A1: I had the same problem with the forks early on. I'm not sure if I had it for the same reason, and I've taken apart the factory, but your question intrigued me so I dug out the instructions and tried putting together one of the forks again.

There are definitely a couple of things that could go wrong. Did you put the tan spacers in each fork, with the posts inserted into the orange part of the fork? Those help spread the tines of the fork apart a little, so that it can pick up the ball more easily. Another thing you can try is turning the gray end caps on the fork at an angle to make a bigger opening for the ball.

I've enclosed three photos. The first shows the fork assembled just the way the instructions say. You can see from the lines on the graph paper that the tines spread out slightly. The second shows the fork with the gray end caps rotated to enlarge the opening. This might help the balls stay on the fork. The third shows the tan pieces pulled towards the center so it's obvious how the fork goes together. Note that the tines on the fork are parallel without the tan pieces in place.

A2: I do now remember having to add a cross member over where the balls are picked up by the chain, to dissuade the balls from piling up. As to exactly where it was placed, I don't remember at all any more; you'd have to study my photos to have any hope of finding it.