It's not every day you see something that makes your jaw drop, but today, while watching the video of the largest, most intricate Lego machine I've ever seen, mine did.
The machine, known as the Great Ball Contraption (GBC), was built by a Japanese mechanical engineer in his house over the course of two years -- a total of a whopping 600 hours in construction time.
The monstrous 5 ft x 21 ft (1.5m x 6.5m) machine boasts 17 modules that can process 500 balls for a length of 101.7 ft (31m) at a rate of one ball per second. I know, it's hard to wrap your head around it without checking out the video, below, first.
It's not just the machine's enormous size that impresses fans, but the individual modules themselves, which are described as follows:
Ball factory
Zigzag stair
Zigzag lift
Pneumatic
Cup
Screw T1
Basket shooter
Mechanical train
Screw T2
Screw T3
Spiral lift T2
Elevator and coaster
Fork
Spiral lift T1 & step
Catch and release
Belt conveyor & pinball
5-axis robot S750
The video of the device in action is a whopping seven minutes long, but if you're in any way interested in Lego and mechanical engineering, you really must check it out.
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That must've been some labor of love for someone to put the time, effort and painstaking detail into such an ambitious project. Who knew you could do something like this with Legos! I'm impressed.
When I watch this video, I immediately think of a game called Mousetrap that I had as a kid. Of course, this blows that away by miles, but we had some good times playing that game.
Naperlou, I'd love to hear Lego's reaction to this project, too.
We have a game at home that is a bit like this, but nothing so elaborate. I have been to Legoalnd in Bilund a couple of times, but this even outdoes what they have there. I am sure the Lego people love this. Think of how many blocks they sold.
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