Scrambler is the first Lego Great Ball Contraption (GBC) module that Raj Doshi has designed. In 2022, Raj was thinking about amusement rides that could be made into a GBC module. The Scrambler ride came to mind, and Raj thought about how the velocity of the carriages comes close to zero when they are at their furthest point away from the center of the ride, a property that would provide an opportunity to load and unload balls from the carriages. Initially, Raj was just thinking about making a purely mechanical GBC module but later decided to build a full Lego model with decorative elements. From conception to completion, Scrambler took about two years to create with many struggles and failures along the way.
Scrambler Ball Pump takes inspiration from ball pumps designed by mickthebricker and others, but it has unique gearing and aesthetic. It uses a Power Functions Medium motor but shouldn’t be hard to adapt to different motors. The latest version has a “gate,” which consists of a thin 1 x 2 liftarm that protrudes upward from the slider. This gate substantially reduced ball jams during testing, although jams are still possible.
The large tree in Scrambler needed a trunk that is stable and capable of supporting the weight of the branches. To achieve this, the entire length of the trunk is lined with brackets facing in each of the four cardinal directions. There are plates running the length of the tree and curved slopes that connect the brackets as shown here.