Getting Started in Lego GBC
Lego GBC or Lego Great Ball Contraption is a form of Rube Goldberg machine where the aim is to move Lego sports balls from one machine to another.
The Lego GBC Standard was first uploaded by Steve Hassenplug (http://www.teamhassenplug.org/GBC/) in 2005 and has since then grown into a global phenomenon.
The standard (as pictured below) defines the rate of ball flow as well as the input and output bin sizes, and by having a standard it allows anyone to build a GBC module that they can then bring to collaborative displays.
You can find a ready-to-print Lego GBC Standard Infographic 6×4 Postcard here, which is a great handout for Lego fan conventions.
Online Resources
There are a bunch of great resources online for getting started in Lego GBC and here are some of my favorites.
Great Ball Pit is great GBC advocate.
His website has a regular GBC activity blog that summarises GBC activity over the week.
It also has a range of getting started guides as well as some great free and premium instructions.
The Beyond the Brick team have been around for several years now cataloging our collective creativity through YouTube videos.
The have some great GBC event videos as well as interviews with designers.
www.youtube.com/user/BeyondTheBrickTV or
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lego+gbc+beyond+the+brick
Planet GBC contains one of the largest collections of GBC modules and instructions anywhere and has getting started guides as well.
PV Productions has C Model Instructions for purchase, these instructions produced by builders in the GBC community make it easy to turn existing Lego sets into running GBC Modules.
They also sell a range of GBC related accessories including excellent UV Balls (I reviewed the UV properties on my GBC Balls page), whare aer great for running GBC at night( See Night Lighting).
Akiyuki is a master GBC builder known for his mechanical wizardry in building GBC modules.
Great Ball Contraption.com is where to find the original standard as well as instructions for the Brickworld workshop modules.
Great Ball Contraption.nl is where to find instructions from many of the European GBC builders including Maico who has over amassed over 100 modules in his personal collection.
The Lego GBC Standard was first uploaded by Steve Hassenplug in 2005, since then grown into a global phenomenon.
Technical Resources
My goto technical resources.
LEGO™ Gear Ratio Calculator
Sariel’s gear ratio calculator is an excellent tool for getting the speed of your module just right.
Philo’s technical info
Philo’s in-depth analysis of Lego motors is great for understanding the torque and speed relationships between motors.