THANKYOU FOR SHARING!! I AM EXCITED ABOUT BUILDING THIS WITH THE MINI HUMAN I HAVE!!
So, the final word on Assembly Instructions is that they are not completed yet? Am I correct?
It looks as if several people have put this fantastic design together. Maybe you could add your instructions to Google Doc, and if anyone that would like to help you with them, could add to the instructions? Just a thought! I am excited to make this! But I am following this in order to keep up with instructions status. I thought about maybe attempting to build one-- without help from my kiddo the first go around in order to help with the instruction process. And that way she can help build one with a set of instructions. But I do not know how to begin a Google Doc that is sharable and would just have a hard time all around on that part, so I would have to just create some instructions on my own. That could be bad and good, I guess. HAHA
I know what you mean when you say “you don’t have much time”!! There is never enough in one day! And as time continues, the amount of time in one 24 hour span just continues to shrink, shrink, shrink and SHRINK SOME MORE. Like shrink, shrink, shrink was not enough?!?! It had to SHRINK SOME MORE!
I’m the type that prefers GF only builds. I have limited other things laying around and having to go out and find them means it just goes to the bottom of my list and doesn’t get done.
I also homeschool youngest (highschooler) so this would be a great project for her.
I assume there are lots of people just like you, that prefer GF only builds. I ran into a couple snags when testing the project without the added hardware, so I am making a few additional adjustments. I hope to have the new (hardware-less) design done by this weekend, but my day job is getting in the way…
In the 3D printing world, the term we use for non-printable hardware is “vitamins.” They can definitely add strength/fortification to a design, but it’s always a fun challenge to minimize or eliminate them if you can.
If I find that a vitamin-free design requirement affects the functionality, it’s usually better to just use them, or sometimes I’ll design both ways.
It is also a good idea to keep a stock of basic hardware in your workshop. For a couple bucks, you can get a small plastic case with assorted nuts & bolts at your local hardware store. It’s always handy to have a few different sizes and lengths.
I have seen several different versions. But, my favorites are more open so you can see more of how the ball travels around.
And I like being able to add motors, but I prefer manual cranks just because you don’t need additional pieces.
When I first started designing the first one, I didn’t even consider that I might be able to create the whole thing without any bolts, nuts, and washers. But, I have learned quite a bit in all my attempts.
I’ve noodled on building something like this with rolling discs instead of marbles. Gives you some interesting opportunities and limitations to work with too.
Inspired by your project, I started designing a Marble Run in a slightly different format. I was thinking along the lines of an ant farm, where the case is so thin as to effectively be 2-dimensional. The marble run components would be sandwiched between two clear sheets of acrylic. (I was going to call this variation a “Marble Farm.”)
Something like that would probably work just as well with discs as with spheres.
That is a really nice work on the vitamin-free remix of your Marble Run, BTW!
@bill.m.davis, congratulations on this excellent project. It was an interesting and fun puzzle to make.
I cut it out and assembled it in about 1 hour. I just fished some hardware from my surplus jar and presto. At first I tried with some slightly smaller glass marbles 3/8" but they would jump the rails. Later I got some 1/2" steel bearings and they stuck on the first pass hole. After I tweaked it with a file, it works beautifully without jumping the rails (on a level surface).
I´m surprised at the precision and press fit of the design. At first I assembled it just press fit with no glue, just to make sure everything was in its correct place, and to my surprise it held upright and firm and worked just fine. To finish I disassembled and added glue to all the intersections except the second ramp, to be able to remove the central axel if necessary.
If you look closely at my design you will notice a strange main gear, because my GF stopped working just before the gear cap for the bearings got cut, so I improvised with some scraps.
(my GF is now waiting for a replacement black ribbon lid cable).
My latest version has raised edges, to prevent balls from jumping the rails even if it is not completely level.
Nice improvision! Yeah, that last piece is only there to prevent the balls from falling through at the bottom.
LOL! I am very new to Glowforge and this creator space… But I do love playing with machines and drawing SVGs, so it is a perfect combination here!
I learned a lot with this build, and I look forward to coming up with and sharing much more!
Thanks for sharing your experience with my build! I love it when I see others create it and share their stories. And your’s was very interesting with your improvisation! (But very sorry to hear about your machine being down… I know it was very hard for me when mine stopped working too.)
Some things don’t show up for a WHOLE WEEK!!! (please realize I am just kidding)
