This is a couple of years old at this point but I'm just getting around to posting it. Take a look!
My last project at Makerbot was a fun one. A co-worker (Chris Boynton) of mine and I were asked to come up with something cool for the window display at Makerbot's retail location. After some quick thought we settled on a Marble Run that would:
- Fill the entire space we had.
- Transport a 1 in. steel ball bearing from the top of the track to the bottom....and then back up again!
- Have switches and gates alter the path of the bearing on a total of 5 different paths.
- Allow a spectator to deliver the bearing from the bottom of the track to the top without physically touching it.
- Draw passersby into the store.
- Transport a 1 in. steel ball bearing from the top of the track to the bottom....and then back up again!
- Have switches and gates alter the path of the bearing on a total of 5 different paths.
- Allow a spectator to deliver the bearing from the bottom of the track to the top without physically touching it.
- Draw passersby into the store.
I'm proud to say we delivered! Take a look at the final piece in a video clip by the guys from Tested.com
The project got some decent press. Endgadget had some good things to say after their first vieweing of the run. Here's a bit of what they had to say,
"What will really draw people inside is the six-foot tall 3D-printed track that guides giant ball bearings through a maze of curves and spirals in the window. Step inside and the sculpture becomes interactive. You spin a large wheel (also printed) and a magnet slowly moves the orbs up the wall before depositing them at the starting point and sending them hurtling through the multi-track course."
Here are some pics of the design and build process.
Design for the ball bearing "elevator." This is never seen by the spectators, it is hidden within a wall. A chain carrying magnets loops around the gear train. The magnets attract the ball bearings at the bottom of the track and as a wheel is spun by a spectator, the bearings climb the wall back towards the top of the marble run.
Here's the completed "elevator" mechanism, it hides in the wall behind a thin steel plate. Note the small red components on the chain. Those are the brackets which act as housings for the magnets.
The base being built and painted.
Here's one of the two structural towers in mid-build. The towers are made of a great product called MicroRAX.
The towers almost ready for the 3d printed track.
The "MMB" otherwise known as the MicroRax Mounting Block. This custom, 3d printed piece, allowed us to mount the bearing track to the already assembled MicroRax support column. There are too many to count in the final piece and each one had to have two brass inserts heat fitted into place by hand! Lots of work.
We pre-assembled pieces of the track to build up a "kit" of components that could be snapped into the final track.
Coming along nicely.
With a little cleanup it was time to show the public.
Bonus: Here is a video showcasing the hopper and a timelapse video of part of the build.
Thanks for looking! I know it was a long post so thanks again for reading through all the material. I hope you enjoyed it.
