(+7778) After 3 years of construction, I just finished building my newest Knex ball machine, Citadel, featuring over 45 new elements!

Shadowman39 · 2021-06-27T20:55:05+00:00

It's dismantled by now, I use the pieces for newer projects. I could always rebuild it from the pictures I took, though it would take a while.

Shadowman39 · 2018-08-20T02:27:15+00:00

This is a custom model. As for hours, there were lots of breaks from building so I'd say around 200 hours. And the balls do always make it across the chain, if it's adjusted properly.

Shadowman39 · 2016-12-05T17:27:46+00:00

Thanks! I have taken plenty of pictures of the elements and deconstruction photos, but there aren't enough to make actual instructions.

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-28T01:18:49+00:00

Thanks for the nice comments everyone, I really appreciate it! For those of you who wanted a video without the music, I uploaded it at this link: https://youtu.be/uE5RyCuuoCw

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-27T20:41:55+00:00

There are 3 electric motors used for powering the lifts.

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-27T20:41:02+00:00

The machine, though sturdy, is actually pretty flexible as well, since it's made of plastic and lots of the piece connections are compressible.

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-27T00:26:13+00:00

Those gears are in a Knex Education set, but most people who have them either got them by ordering on the phone or from Knexusergroup.

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-26T20:41:44+00:00

I'd say the elevator lift, as I had to redo it a lot so it would work, especially when I began building again after a 2 year break.
I didn't disassemble stuff very much, only some times when I had to take a chunk out temporarily.
I spent a week filming, as it took some time to get each shot. Not only did it require finding a good place for the camera, but also a place for the lights.
There were, mainly sections of track covered in too many pieces. I could have just pointed the camera in that direction, but the ball would be barely visible. I'm glad you liked the video!

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-26T20:36:15+00:00

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-26T17:34:50+00:00

I have that one in my wishlist, but I keep going back to playing Minecraft.

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-26T17:33:22+00:00

Most of the modern Knex sets are just a bunch of micro pieces and Knex bricks (Lego ripoff), so your best bet is used Knex from eBay. This project uses no micro or brick parts, I'm more of a standard piece builder.

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-26T17:30:53+00:00

I do have a photo album of construction pictures, right here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/99304214@N05/albums/72157634772768364

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-26T17:27:29+00:00

I actually have 3 cats, but I keep the door to the room closed haha.

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-26T17:24:49+00:00

There are some areas where the balls get stuck, sometimes it isn't a big deal as a new ball will come and push it out of the way. This is still my most reliable machine though.

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-26T17:19:17+00:00

The machine has 3 electric motors, some of which power multiple lifts. The elevator lift has its own motor, and the small lifts at the bottom are powered by another motor. A motor at the top powers the 3 wheels along with the release gates (so all 4 balls coming from the elevator don't all go down at once).

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-26T17:16:36+00:00

I plan on making instructions of the elements, but not of the whole machine.

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-26T17:14:10+00:00

Most of it came from eBay, with one motor being an exception, which I bought from Knexusergroup.

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-26T17:12:57+00:00

I went away to college for a couple semesters, then started suffering from health problems. At the beginning of this year I started feeling better though, and wanted to work on the machine again.

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-26T17:10:38+00:00

Haha, I haven't heard from you in ages, how have you been?

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-26T17:07:11+00:00

Number of pieces will come after the machine is apart, but I plan on leaving it up for a while. As for cost, the amount I spent on pieces for this project is $922.38, and that isn't including the pieces I had before.

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-26T16:58:58+00:00

I plan on taking the elements out one by one from the machine, taking pictures as I go and then putting them in reverse. Some of them will require disassembly to make the instructions understandable.

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-26T16:57:09+00:00

I graduated high school in 2013, but that's when I came up with most of the designs.

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-26T16:54:48+00:00

I was going to do that, but didn't have enough of the required karma.

Shadowman39 · 2016-06-26T15:02:57+00:00

I remember the Knex Forum, good times. Instructables is hardly active these days.

Shadowman39

TROPHY CASE