Simple Marble Run v1.0.5

MakerMatthew · April 30, 2020, 7:21am

Neat contraption! Can you explain what you mean when you said

tim1724 · April 30, 2020, 7:36am

I think he wrote SVG in a text editor and opened it in Chrome to make sure it looked right.

drvegetable · April 30, 2020, 11:45am

Wow, you designed these SVG files by hand? Very impressive indeed!

And what an awesome marble machine!

arh2 · April 30, 2020, 12:13pm

Boggles the mind you designed this in markup! Well done!

BobW · April 30, 2020, 12:16pm

Incredible! Props to you, sir!

bill.m.davis · April 30, 2020, 12:37pm

You are correct. I wrote the SVGs in a text editor. I used some graph paper to draw out some of the structures to make it easier to calculate some of the point coordinates. And used Chrome to test out the results.

bill.m.davis · April 30, 2020, 12:43pm

Tinkercad (https://www.tinkercad.com/) really helped me envision and test the pieces together before I printed it (so I wasted less material).

I found several issues when I tried to assemble it here and made several adjustments. It is a really cool free web application (but it had a bit of a learning curve to get used to it.)

bwente · April 30, 2020, 1:18pm

Nice work. Making a marble run is definitely on my list. I already bought a motor for the one @m_raynsford has designed. Just need to pick a size and order some ball bearings.

bill.m.davis · April 30, 2020, 1:20pm

I don’t think I have seen his. Do you have a link?

bwente · April 30, 2020, 1:21pm

He has them scattered everywhere!

pubultrastar · April 30, 2020, 1:23pm

I’m impressed. Lots of work and thought figuring these things out, I’m sure. Very cool indeed.

bill.m.davis · April 30, 2020, 1:43pm

My son helped me get a video of it working.

bill.m.davis · April 30, 2020, 2:20pm

Thanks for sharing this link! I have seen the wheel method (obviously, I used it), and the stair-climber. But, I really like his elevator contraption and his mini one!

I think I should play around with smaller ball bearings too, I think that could make many designs easier.

fractalsuar · April 30, 2020, 3:00pm

wow! great work!

davidgal2 · April 30, 2020, 3:19pm

I am impressed that you got this down to a single sheet of proof grade material. Very nice project too.

bill.m.davis · April 30, 2020, 3:28pm

Here is the SVG if anyone else wants to try to create it!

designvh619 · April 30, 2020, 3:35pm

That is really cool! I love machines created on the Glowforge.

Aloha · April 30, 2020, 4:52pm

This is a great design. I need to learn tinkercad or some cad software.

ptodd · April 30, 2020, 4:53pm

Love it! It’s a fantastic project!

reynoso · May 2, 2020, 3:38am

Thanks for your generosity!