Citadel Knex Ball Machine

[@knexteam]

This is absolutely INCREDIBLE!! Our jaws are on the floor here at K'NEX HQ. Bravo!!

[@Shadowman39]

I never expected to be seen by Knex HQ, thanks for watching!

[@chloeelson6802]

knexteam your amazing I love you

[@jhudson_tiedye]

Knexteam, you need this guys innovation on your team!!

[@chikapunk4340]

May i have some free knex please

[@sithlordmaster181]

Why don't you sell more sets in the USA anymore? I can't find Thrill Rides Big Ball Factory anywhere.

[@timoteoseagedetoffol8795]

This is a video of my childhood. Good to have saw it again!

[@dagstaff]

Hey Shadowman. Been a ball factory enthusiast since I was 8 and can't believe there are so many people still dedicated to the machine. This is really the most epic build I've ever seen. There are others that are bigger and take up larger spaces, but the sheer density of what you've done in a single tower is really impressive. The mechanics are unprecedented. Motions are very smooth, gravity is used in almost all downward motions, and most of the mechanisms (or elements) seem totally original. The ball raising mechanisms are similarly smooth. It looks like you have a very, very low rate of 'unintended drops' which is impressive with so much complexity. The gimbal really stands out to me. The aesthetics are amazing. Sometimes with so many parts you don't see as much attention to detail, color-coding, etc. but that was clearly a major consideration here. There doesn't appear to be much non-Knex pieces at work here either. Your use of non-perpendicular angles on some of the gravity arms is impressive and I think I saw some 3 and 4-bar links in there which are very difficult to get right. What was the hardest element to perfect? Also, nice job on video editing.

[@christopherszymberski9569]

This absolutely made my day! You sire knocked it out of the park. I loved K'Nex as a child. Supreme! Well done!

[@mothsmalarkey3871]

This... actually brought me to tears several times. I can't believe I'm only finding this machine until just now! please never EVER stop what you're doing. Don't let this absolutely amazing talent go to waste!

[@jsmith8891]

Big Ball Factory, the heart of this machine

[@jacktako2820]

As a designer who had worked at Knex, I salute you.

[@bra1nc417d]

My kids received a roller coaster set for Christmas. We built that, and after having some fun with that, we watched this video, and now they (and me) want more K-nex lol.........This build is ridiculous! My two boys keep saying "How do they do that!?" HAHA, man, this is epic. Such an incredible job dude! SUBSCRIBED!

[@Rzt61]

I've tried so many ball machines by other people to make my own, but it didn't work. Until I saw yours, I started making good ones that take up half of my room. Thanks for the help

[@anneanderson6889]

If all Borg cubes were like this, I’d happily be assimilated. Seriously, this is pure joy to me. Thank you.

[@frankiewinters1255]

This is flat out, the best knex ball machine I have ever seen, very creative ideas and engineering man

[@lepourceletbarthelemy6555]

In-sane. Just insane. 3,5 years, yeah I am not surprised. All the structure is just sweating intelligence, physics knowledge n creativity. Thumbs up.

[@stockicide]

This is one of the most satisfying videos on youtube.

[@rampagetv]

Some of these mechanisms really had me in awe. I've been designing all kinds of mechanisms for over 20 years (just for fun, I like to design and build stuff, none of it is online unfortunately), and this really gives me some stuff to think about. The way you approach basic mechanical properties inspires me sir!

[@Shadowman39]

Thanks! Coming up with the mechanisms and making them work is the funnest part for me. Each element took about 3 days to get it working.

[@frankiewinters1255]

Your level of creativity and ingenuity is just incredible O_O that is nothing more than a masterpiece built by a genius .... just WOW. If you're not a top mechanical engineer to make a living then your talents truly have been wasted and the world would be at a loss. It would be a cardinal sin to ever take it down, like destroying the Mona Lisa. Bravo Sir, much respect!

[@zeser5230]

I'm speechless... Man, you are a hero. This is insane.

[@jcmottern]

Amazing! My 2 year old daughter loves watching this too.

[@LSDifferentialUser]

Wow, was just watching this over a fresh pot of morning coffee, and got so pumped I shed a few tears! If you were a gangster, you would be the Godfather! Amazing model and video. Thanks for sharing.

[@FanPlastic]

wow you are the true ball machine master of old wisdom returned to show us all how it's done

[@DestructoGuy17]

It gives me nightmares just to think about the hell that must've been designing and building this thing. This is amazing; nothing else like it. You really deserve more attention.

[@Iron_Owlz]

Legend says that the Citadel is still standing to this day. Seriously it would heart breaking to disassemble this piece of art.

[@Shadowman39]

I did disassemble it, but it was taking up the space for 3+ years, so I was glad to move on to the next project haha.

[@coww74]

If you aren't the creator of Knex, you are making him/her very proud right now.

[@Nworld57]

You are the kind of person who makes my usually monotonous day amazing. Thank you.

[@danmasters1568]

The degree of ingenuity and patience it must have taken to build this is unimaginable.

[@KirbyMobile1]

This belongs in a museum

[@ZeacorZeppelin]

this is the single most greatest knex creation I have ever seen. the amount of engineering and planing that went into each path and element is astounding. many parts were like the movements of a clock. others were just simply engineering amazement.

[@somewhere-else]

This is insanely good. The best ball machine of any kind I've seen in some time. Ridiculously creative.

[@danmasters1568]

WOW!!! I've been fascinated with Rube Goldberg's and rolling ball sculptures since childhood. I started out by using marbles, cardboard chutes, paper towel tubes and paper cups with holes cut in the bottom, supported by tinker toy structures and when I got older and had more money, I'd buy Spacewarp kits and all kinds of odds and ends, like plastic funnels, plastic marble chutes and employ these pieces in more elaborate contraptions. I guess this is a peculiar form of insanity that possesses some of us...lol. This is the most ingenious rolling ball sculpture I've ever seen! I am just in awe! Thanks for sharing.

[@aryst0krat]

I'm impressed with how many of these mechanisms are just clever use of counterweights. Some of those fancy arms swinging around I had to look at multiple times just because they were so elegant.

[@Lexarf0rk]

Unbelievable! This has to be the best great ball machine I have ever seen.

[@robertramos645]

I don't know how I got here, but this is super cool.

[@nowake]

So much creativity, you've done things with Knex I'd never imagined possible! Thank you for sharing it with us!

[@swagon4545]

I just been cleaning out the shed.. Come across boxes & boxes of the stuff.. Good memories with the children back in the day..

[@jbblenderbreakdown4668]

I am blown away... Excellent work!

[@brive4572]

Wow 3 years amazing

[@casper5960]

Ingenious lifts, original path seperators, creative and new elements! Kyle, I have been waiting for this machine for over 3 years but I never expected you to pull this off! This is by far the best ball machine on youtube, keep up the good work!

[@OrdwaysChannel]

This may be the best Knex ball machine I have ever seen. This motivates me to finish my most recent one.

[@N0Xa880iUL]

Oh god! Human mind is so amazing....All the creativity and meticulousness that goes into making this.....Hats off.

[@ruffastoast8570]

I used to make things all the time when I was a kid. Some of the older larger scaled things, customize and expand on until one day my house flooded and I lost them all. Never did replace them but seeing this, I really wish I had them again. Great stuff man.

[@seagullsoars]

I don't have the patience to build such an impressive thing. props to you, my good sir.

[@shottysteve]

this is amazing, i just cant even imagine how you could come up with some of these ideas. i mean sometimes when i see rolling ball machines or rube goldbergs ill see like 2 or 3 novel ideas, but theres at least like 10, 15 things in here i havent ever, ever seen. amazing dude. really.

[@pinut187]

shottysteve what are the differences between ball machines and rube goldbergs, I’m completely new to this scene

[@sunnysouthpaw]

@@pinut187 I don’t know how to explain rube Goldberg’s but kzbin.info/www/bejne/bHfdhqtoequebtU this will give you some examples

[@knexguy139]

This is incredible! The paths, appearance, elements, and lifts are incredible. Love this build! That's all I can say. I'm still overwhelmed! Keep up the good work! :D

[@eriksteven9921]

Man this is by far the coolest thing I have ever seen done with K'nex. You absolutely blew my mind. Fantastic engineering, excellent use of space, phenomenal ingenuity, and outstanding design elements all combined into one mind blowing masterpiece. My only wish would have been to help you in the process. Kudo's man. I am so jealous of your abilities.

[@RainShinotsu]

I'm extremely impressed by this. This looks like it took a lot of work to design and construct, and the fact that it's mostly if not entirely mechanical is absolutely astounding. Great work!

[@Shadowman39]

Thanks! The only non-mechanical parts are the electric motors, which could always be replaced by hand cranks.

[@RainShinotsu]

I figured that was the case. That would be interesting to see, but you don't have to do it if you'd rather not; it might be a bit more work.

[@Shadowman39]

@@RainShinotsu I usually just use motors because there aren't enough people around to be cranking it the whole time, haha. This one would need three people. It's nice to press a button and have the whole thing run for as long as I need it to.

[@RainShinotsu]

That's fair; still really good. And I suppose motor operation keeps it running smoothly. Still a great job; I look forward to seeing more projects like this.

[@adnylretrac9916]

I couldn't take my eyes off of this. I will share with my son later today.

[@Blackdraq]

I just wanna say, the timing alone on the portal ball is superduper impressive, taking nothing away from the rest of the citadel. :D

[@madpistol]

Some of the machines on here are absolutely brilliant. Mind blowing!

[@ooc329]

As a fellow builder of massive K'nex ball machines (see my profile pic :P), this is one of the few I've seen that truly floored me. Not only is this thing bigger than anything I've dreamed of making, it's also extraordinarily compact. It looks like very little space is wasted (there is slight room for improvement of course, though all I can see is that the return chute is awkwardly large). I would estimate this as taking at least 50,000 K'nex pieces, quite possibly a lot more. There are just so many finely tuned mechanical components, it's staggering. I get headaches just trying to balance a single-arm device so that it's triggered by the ball landing on it; you seem to have mastered the art of maximizing response without even resorting to adding extra pieces that make everything look bulky. I love the tracks where the ball cruises on through if it's still moving, but falls off if it slows down - I could never get something like that to work. The track selectors you have are also really slick, I've never really considered making one that selected more than two tracks. Some things in this model are elements and mechanisms that I could never have dreamed of: namely, everything that doesn't fall in a straight line. The two-arm lever was especially impressive: in order to swing, it completes a full rotation about its axis. I can't even understand how that works... Even though it's just building toys, this is a real feat of engineering and you should be proud of what you've made.

[@kyleblaneplays]

This made my fingers hurt just thinking back to playing with Knex as a kid when I'd play with them until my fingers couldn't snap the pieces together anymore. Fantastic job!

[@zoolander363]

You are a builder I look up to. This machine is incredible

[@Dratelgen]

This is incredible. Very nostalgic for me. I had a huge chest of knex 20 year ago with the big ball factory and I recognize every piece.

[@clemensmitc]

This thing belongs in a museum!

[@seanrogers3389]

This might be the first sensible and interesting video Dan has ever brought to us

[@Karavoxx]

"NOW you're thinking with portals!!" Also, poor little Knex man that was caught in the nuts by a ball!! LOL This whole video had me watching it the entire time mouth open in continuous surprise!! It was such a ride... I've felt the excitement of a kid on Christmas! Thank you so much for this, I'll never forget how beautiful it is :)

[@Seajack64]

There's something really soothing to watching the balls go down their tracks with that music playing. Nice portal reference on track 15, by the way. I can only imagine what you would come up with if you were to design a platformer video game.

[@Curlysnail42]

Portal reference is awesome, though Blue portal should be the entry ;) Seriously though, this is a beautiful machine.

[@SleepinDevil]

For those that want to see it, Path 15 : @ 11:07

[@XanderLuciano]

I can't even describe how amazing this is. the functionality is amazing, but beyond that every bit of OCD in me is so pleased at just the pure beauty of this enormous contraption. this is amazing in so many ways!

[@Sorunome]

Now this is one super ball machine! The background music also fits super-well, I love it!

[@DevaPlanetar1]

I don't know why but I couldn't stop watching

[@RaySpoint]

It's very cute, that the balls are in some ways connected with each other. Great work!

[@draggonhedd]

This thing is a work a pure mechanical art and genius. It's absolutely beautiful and needs to be in a museum or something, or displayed at the knex headquarters.

[@RayramAureanBlue]

Everything is so precise, working wonderfully with gravity. It's mesmerising.

[@Koolcoasterkid]

Yes sir! This is one of my favorite machines of all time! So many new elements, the video is done so well, everything is just great. The attention to details in the machine is insane, I love the little gimmicks here and there spread out through the machine. The portal style track at 11:35 really sketched me out for a minute haha. Anyhow, I'm glad that you got back into building and were able to finish this wonderful machine, hopefully you'll keep at it and the next projects will (with great difficulty) outdo this one!

[@DarkRubberDucky]

I can't even put together a cheap marble set with more than a couple of paths that work great. This is straight engineering magic to me.

[@ZachBrannigan]

A dancing VR man brought me here. Good work.

[@OwenFilmsOfficial]

lol same

[@legotechnic27]

this thing is epic man, love all the epic gravity based arms with their weird movement! also that portal looked epic! really clever.

[@99Chemicals]

This is superbly cool. I really like all the elements with the double pendulums and the stuff that twists or rotates as the balls go through.

[@DaveEllis]

Thanks for posting this. Brings back wonderful memories of me and my son's playing with them, obviously on a much smaller scale. Don't understand why anyone would give this a thumbs down. Love the music also!

[@KerryAFTR]

Can we have a moment of silence for knex man plz 😂

[@mickyr171]

Used to love my Knex as a kid back in the 90s, was quite limited and seems alot more pieces have come out but used to make guns with them that actually fired and hurt lol, also made a safe with a key that was so strong you could stand on it without breaking, and a bunch of other things, loved it so much then grew up :( now as an adult im so tempted to go grab a few sets and learn again

[@Shadowman39]

You should! I usually use only the original pieces as well, unless there's just no other way of fixing something.

[@puzzLEGO]

this is ridiculously cool

[@NtwProductionsNow]

One of the best ball machines I've ever seen! The elements are really creative. I only wish it weren't so dense so I could see it better.

[@jonathanhersey7313]

Best I've ever seen. May not be the largest but it's the most creative and well designed. Also I loved the portal shout out

[@CubicCreeper7914]

This was in my recommended... I was not disappointed at all!

[@marugg78]

I didn't search for this and neither did you but we sure watched it all.

[@williamgreen9280]

hi Shadowman, it's William. This is probably the 3rd or 4th time I've watched this. Weston and I sometimes watch various ball machines on KZbin for our machines. Thank you for your inspiration :)

[@Shadowman39]

Thanks man! Have you started building a new machine?

[@williamgreen9280]

Yep, it'll probably be finished some time this upcoming summer.

[@thecoasterspecialist5667]

Why would 26 people dislike this???!!! This is amazing congrats dude! Wish I had so many pieces.

[@AMERiNORGE]

Fantastic job! that portal run was a nice touch

[@dwastator5405]

This is crazy. You are the genius. Good job man.

[@silveryote1]

I don't care how old I am. Shrink me so I can kick off my shoes and play in this play place of awesomeness so awesome it would make Discovery Zone cry.

[@PlayingWithMahWii]

Waited to whole video to see Path 17 (with the big purple spiral), was not disappointed. That was the best one by far. Loved the Portal reference as well.

[@aphelion4616]

Holy shitballs!! 3 years!? That is incredible and insane all at the same time! That's awesome!!!

[@tonykett]

Potential energy dissipater, MASTER. Hardly any powered arm's there, and mostly all good balancing and precision. i absolutely love it. all the best from the uk.

[@notstarboard]

This is unreal. Thanks so much for posting this.

[@dougiedoug1663]

OMG. im speechless. this was by far one of the few 10/10 videos ive seen, the dedication the music and just the way everything sounded was perfect. im so glad i was sent here by the amazing nerdcubbed. cause this calming and amazing video just Fixed my day

[@ciaragarrity6425]

this needs WAY MORE VIEWS!!!!

[@elegantammo4647]

Me and my 8 year old son watched the whole video in awe! Truly amazing work!! :)

[@DaBirdman1989]

i respect the dedication to your craft. well done

[@BenCritchlow]

Delightful. The path switcher is ingenious.

[@wouterfransen9771]

I just love how compact and well built this is, this is by far the prettiest coolest and best working ball machine ever!

[@catonion1201]

This deserves the old saying; OMGWTFBBQ! Spectacular work bro

[@borisvbrknex]

My favorite ballmachine!!

[@woopdedo3]

Loved the subtle Portal reference. Really amazing and creative stuff you made here, excellent work!

[@jaredgrubbs7346]

I've seen this thing standing in that room since I was a freshman in high school. so proud to see you finish and pull it off with such perfection bro.

[@zunkman1]

Absolutely Amazing! i JUST love all the "do-flickies" that are activated with the weight of the ball. Unreal!!!!

[@Chironexthejelly]

Man, how can people down vote this; this video is nothing short of brilliant.

[@Polde91]

That was way more awesome than I thought it would be- stellar job and congrats!. The music in the background was also great.

[@TheKurtsPlaceChannel]

Very nice video and fun to watch. What a beauty and a masterpiece of awesome elements too. Have a nice day.

[@dREHER0009]

wow so awesome. something about watching the track and the music made it very calming to watch.

[@jhudson_tiedye]

That my friend is some next level innovation and a beautiful kinetic sculpture!!

[@dsvw]

kontemplating this marvelous contraptions, gave me a batter understanding of the universe.