Introduction: 3XODUS | a K'nex Ball Machine

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About: 3D printing enthusiast

Hello there! I'm back. After a month of slow progress, my second ever ball machine, 3XODUS, is finished! I know the movie isn't amazing however it is my first time using movie maker. (however it is definitely a massive improvement from my previous ball machine's video!) Here is the video and here are some stats:

  • 3 Paths
  • 9 elements
  • 3 lifts
  • 1 new path type
  • 3 new elements
  • 1 new lift (I sincerely hope this is my own invention, I was so excited to have my own lift!)

Step 1: Network (And Path Separator)

Here are the lifts I used in 3XODUS and the path separator:

  1. Shadowman39's Shifting Arm Lift. This was an absolute pain to get working in my ball machine! I had built the entire thing and...it didn't work! After lots of fiddling and tweaks, it finally worked for me.
  2. My own lift called the Diagonal Helix lift (Instructable will be made soon!). This is an extremely fast and reliable short-distance lift.
  3. sandroknexmaster's Wheel Lift. A great, reliable and fast lift. No problems with this one!
  4. Sorunome's Infinity Switch. It was extremely difficult to integrate it into 3XODUS without using too much height, but enough that the ball can pass under it onto the paths. Once I got it working though, it was completely fine.

Step 2: Path 1

Now onto the first path.

  1. Thibault Art's K'nex Ball Machine Element 1. I fell in love with this element when I saw it on YouTube. I knew it had to be in this ball machine so thank you Thibault for inventing it!
  2. Here's an element I designed myself, a simple drop through using K'nex bricks. It has no name right now but I'd greatly appreciate it if someone came up with one! (An Instructable for it will be up soon!)
  3. This is the new path type I invented. It uses chain and grey 2-slot connectors and is slightly flexible. This makes it great for small bumps (like I made).
  4. I LOVE this element. I invented it trying to make a wheel that spun when the ball entered it, it turned out to be completely different though. This is my absolute FAVOURITE element of mine, I call it the Spinner Kick. (An Instructable for it will be up soon!)

Step 3: Path 2

This path was the hardest. Funnily enough, I built it after building paths 1 & 2, so I had to squeeze my hand through all sorts of tiny spaces! I was expecting it to be a lot worse however it came out much better than I expected.

  1. A simple drop through like in my previous ball machine.
  2. A Ferris wheel I semi-designed. I remembered seeing a picture of one using them pieces and tried to recreate it from a foggy memory so I'm sorry if I'm not crediting the person who designed it.
  3. I decided that the path was still relatively boring so I decided to add a little dangling thing that the ball triggers.
  4. The second half of sandroknexmaster's Double Arm drop.
  5. A simple bendy path using green connectors and white rods to bring the ball back to the start. (It also makes a very satisfying noise!)

Step 4: Path 3

Path 3 is the smallest in terms of how many elements it has but longest in terms of time.

  1. A spiral element I built that doesn't use any tubing. This is very large and requires a lot of support. Also it has to be entered with speed or the ball will catch on the connectors. (An Instructable for it will be up soon!)
  2. sandroknexmaster's Double Arm drop.
  3. The green bendy path used in path 2.

Step 5: Finished!

Thank you for taking the time to look at my ball machine 3XODUS. A quick note about the movie I made, it was my first ever use of Windows Movie Maker so it isn't perfect and there's no copyright infringement intended. Anyway, if you liked this please consider subscribing to me, I post K'nex Instructables very often! Also please comment and tell me what you think about it. Again, thank you everyone, including you, for being amazing and looking at this.