It took a long time to make this, but after tons of testing I am proud to present the first-ever fully automatic tunnel bore machine made for 1.11. I like to call it the Automatic Tunnelbore Machine 2.0 (ATBM 2.0 for short).
It slowly digs out a hole by sticking blocks it mines to the drill head. When moving back the drill moves back to a station where all the mined blocks are carefully removed from the drill using two way flying machines. These blocks are then transported with a clever conveyor system and brought to a specialized room that uses command blocks and the /fill command to break these blocks. The blocks that are broken are collected by a hopper system which transports the items to and item-filter which neatly sorts everything mined into specific chests. All of this is done with conventional redstone without the use of mods.
Maintenance every now and then is required seeing as lava and water can cause unintended block updates on the drill. Also obsidian is obviously a block which cannot be mined. The machine can handle gravity affected blocks (with the execption of anvils, which cannot be moved by pistons), and is redstone block-proof. What I mean by "redstone block-proof" is that redstone blocks can be mined using the drill without the blocks jamming the machine due to quasi-connectivity. Redstone blocks that are not mined with the drill can actually jam the drill due to quasi-connectivity if they are placed just right.
I used commands because I am no good at building Wither cages.
Besides, Withers are very dangerous mobs. The command blocks ensure the safety of the player, while allowing the machine to break the blocks no matter what difficulty the player is on.
TLDR: This machine mines blocks while you are AFK and creates an infinite tunnel. No more pickaxe needed.
Special Thanks to:
samnrad
emeraldfyr3
WARNING: The Automatic Tunnelbore Machine 2.0 is available for Fair Use only. Copyright infringement of any part of this build will not be tolerated in any way, shape, or form, and is punishable according to the laws of the country that you live in, unless you accidentally forgot to give me the credit for it, as long as you remember to give credit to me later. Otherwise, this will be considered copyright infringement until the proper credit is given.