Hey Gadget Freaks -- check out the largest, most intricate Lego machine we've ever seen!

Sylvie Barak

November 5, 2012

1 Min Read
Video: The Incredible Lego 'Great Ball Contraption'

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:

  1. Ball factory

  2. Zigzag stair

  3. Zigzag lift

  4. Pneumatic

  5. Cup

  6. Screw T1

  7. Basket shooter

  8. Mechanical train

  9. Screw T2

  10. Screw T3

  11. Spiral lift T2

  12. Elevator and coaster

  13. Fork

  14. Spiral lift T1 & step

  15. Catch and release

  16. Belt conveyor & pinball

  17. 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.

Enjoy!

The editors of Design News have handpicked your favorite Gadget Freak cases from over the years, bringing them together in a dynamic digital edition, complete with videos, which you can view here.

This story was originally posted by EE Times.
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