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K'Nex Fruit Machine

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This is a working fruit machine which is made almost entirely from K'Nex. It is so large that it will have to remain in the room (which has a concrete floor) for ever.

The machine pays out in balls, the size of the win being the lowest digit which appears on the three reels (so any combination which contains a zero is a loser).

During the building of it much was learned about K'Nex (Elap had discovered it at a car boot sale only a couple of months before he started) and some PDFs on K'Nex have been produced (see below).

The non-K'Nex bits of the fruit machine are the reel symbols (produced using Microsoft Word and then laminated) and the balls (meant for a child's play pit - Elap didn't have anywhere near enough K'Nex balls, and they are expensive). Also, a weight has been made from a lead-filled K'Nex cage because there were no K'Nex components which were heavy enough.

It probably took about 150 hours to build, spread over two years, and was made up as it was built - there were no plans, but Elap collects old mechanical slot machines and was familiar with the principles. There were a few areas where a redesign was necessary (for example, the handle kept falling to pieces when pulled, and the original pawl and ratchet mechanism was clunky and didn't work very well), but there wasn't a lot of reworking overall.

The return is 85.94% - quite generous for a fruit machine!

The K'Nex pieces were acquired from car boot sales (mainly) and eBay.

Here are some documents relating to the construction of the machine, and some K'Nex tips.
73 comments
1-40 of 73next »
May 5, 2012. 6:45 AMjameshond says:
this thing is cool i like it
May 3, 2012. 8:41 AMdarkkiller545 says:
Very expensive i guess :p
Mar 28, 2012. 8:05 AMdonaven says:
GIANT!
Feb 16, 2012. 10:06 PMGr3at_Whit3_North_Guy says:
how does the machine know how much to pay out
Jan 31, 2012. 11:16 AMihaveguitarskills! says:
...WOW
Dec 14, 2011. 6:04 AMjuske3000 says:
Im rebuilding this machine, only waaaay smaller.
But im wondering, how do you make the wheels spin?

The handle attached to the wheel?
A quick running motor?
A weight on the wheels?
Something else?

Also, how are you stopping the wheels exactly at the good spot?
Dec 27, 2011. 5:38 AMjuske3000 says:
O.o

That is so smart,
Thanks :D
Dec 25, 2011. 4:59 PMKNEX-pert says:
OMVG! That is the most outstanding, most incredible, machine i've ever seen! Collosal! Super job! Five star rating!
Dec 4, 2011. 11:29 AMPuddock says:
This is incredible! Great job!
Nov 23, 2011. 9:13 AMrheath2 says:
What an incredible machine! Did you use for the angle *556% or did you use angle 4775- scale triganomatry?
Nov 23, 2011. 7:25 PMrheath2 says:
You should know what triganomatry means.
Nov 23, 2011. 7:23 PMrheath2 says:
Uhh I'm talking actual words here. =)
Oct 31, 2011. 2:24 AMD.A.V.E The Robot says:
Quick question...is there any way you can post the mechanism of the machine or post instructions on a smaller one? Im askin this cause its awesome and i want one!!! :)
Oct 31, 2011. 9:24 PMD.A.V.E The Robot says:
oh ok...i understand....can you post a few more pictures of the reels and the mechanism and show me how to how to make the reels, and how to install them in a frame....is that ok?
Nov 1, 2011. 1:56 PMD.A.V.E The Robot says:
sure
Oct 19, 2011. 2:44 PMjeffeb3 says:
So a fruit machine? Is that like a slot machine? Like you would find in Las Vegas?
Nov 19, 2011. 1:06 AMsfeingold says:
yes
Nov 10, 2011. 2:48 AMdonaven says:
This thing is so incredible! I've never seen anything this cool!
Oct 29, 2011. 12:29 PMMegaMetal8 says:
Why can't you move it forever?
Oct 30, 2011. 11:19 AMMegaMetal8 says:
It doesn't have to be rebuilt??
Nov 8, 2011. 11:32 PMMegaMetal8 says:
Fair enough
Nov 5, 2011. 11:20 AMnatwitt says:
dude that is one heck of a machine that is sweet haw to balls come out of the machine great job!!!!!!!
Oct 28, 2011. 3:27 PMmikeasaurus says:
Wow!

The video showing the machine in action is amazing!
(you can also embed your video directly into this Instructable using therich editor)
Oct 28, 2011. 11:28 PMSorunome says:
Nice video! :)
Oct 27, 2011. 9:56 AMkevman0044 says:
Will there be a video soon?
Oct 23, 2011. 3:19 PMMasterdude says:
Wow, I think that may be the most complex (and therefor awesome) K'nex post! I wish I had that many K'nex. A video is a must. Great job! Wish I was that good at K'nex.
Oct 22, 2011. 8:49 PMknexbuild says:
awesome. how many pieces did that use?
1-40 of 73next »

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Author:Elap(Hunter Gatherer)
Wacky retired chap who just can't resist going to car boot sales; a hoarder. Having retired 9 years ago after working for 33 years, he decided that he would spend the next 33 years playing.