My Challenge to Make a Marble Run Machine - Improving Parts

Back in April 2022, I started building this marble run - and somehow I’m "STILL" working on it. Honestly, it amazes me (and sometimes frustrates me) how much time it's taken. Of course, I don't work on it every day. I only get to build when the workshop is free, so there are often months - long gaps in between.

Recently, I finally made a bit of progress, so here's a long-overdue update. Some of the parts I built earlier didn’t work the way I hoped, so I decided to remake them. 

1. The Switch

First, I rebuilt the “Switch,” the piece that splits balls into two directions (one to the left, two to the right). The problem was, if too many balls dropped at once, it didn't always work properly. So I redesigned it, and this time I also cut a little window on the right side so you can see the balls inside when they fall through.

2. The Bottom Rail

Next, I fixed the bottom rail. This is where balls wait in line before being lifted up again.

Originally, I made it in a zig-zag shape. Since it looked a bit like the letters “CNN,” I jokingly called it the “CNN rail.” But there was an issue: when balls piled up, the ones at the back would push the others off the curve, and sometimes they fell out. To solve this, I changed the design from a CNN shape to a paperclip shape.

Here's the tricky part - I'm not great with loops, and I wasn't sure how to cut this shape on the CNC router.  

So I asked my woodworking mentor (aka my husband) for help, and together we made the new rail. Since switching to this design, no more balls falling out!

3. The Pachinko Disk

The third part I fixed was the “Pachinko Disk,” named because it looks like a Japanese pachinko machine.

The idea is that when a ball drops in, it hits screws or walls inside and makes the disk spin. But the disk was too heavy compared to the balls, so it didn't rotate very well. The placement of the pins and walls also affects the motion a lot.

This time, I designed a lighter version and printed it with my 3D printer (PLA plastic). To my surprise, it spun beautifully once I installed it in the marble run. Probably thanks to the lighter material.

 

I also swapped out the heavy screws for bamboo skewers (yes, the kind you use for BBQ) and wood. That made it even lighter, and now it spins much better than before.

This is the finished Pachinko Disk. 

 

That's all for this update! Next time, I’ll write about some of the brand-new parts I've been working on. Thanks so much for reading!

The 3D Printer

I finally bought what I had wanted: a 3D printer. Initially, I assumed 3D printers would be challenging to use. However, after watching people on the internet using them, I began to feel it might be easy. Then, something nudged me: a second-anniversary sale at Bambu Lab. By the time I noticed, the sale was about to end in a week.

"All right! Now's the time to buy it!"

I bought a Bambu Lab P1S 3D Printer, four filaments, and a 0.2mm nozzle. 

I immediately began creating shapes using 3D graphic software. It was exciting, but unfortunately, the COVID virus disrupted me. Suddenly, my motivation dropped, and I was unable to work due to illness. It took about ten days to recover. It was an awful experience. While I had a fever and was too sluggish to move, I could only stare at the ceiling and envision new designs for the 3D printer.

I recalled an idea I'd long imagined—it was the perfect time to bring it to life. The 3D printer is more accessible than a CNC router for realizing my ideas. Unlike the noisy CNC router, which restricts night use, the 3D printer offers convenience at any time. How convenient!

The 3D printer also proved handy for creating new jigs. My husband asked me to make some jigs for the CNC router. Making them from timber would have taken much longer, whereas the 3D printer produced them quickly. We should have purchased a 3D printer sooner indeed.

I plan to showcase my 3D-printed creations here someday.

Simple But Fun, "Pop-Up Pirate"

I suddenly remembered a toy that I bought about ten years ago. It is a long-selling toy in Japan called "Pop-Up Pirate", the famous toy maker of Takara Tomy's products. It has been sold since 1975. It is a simple toy, yet it can be enjoyed even by adults.

The components are a pirate head, a barrel and four coloured swords in total 24. To begin with, you insert the pirate's head into the top of the barrel hole and then rotate it as you want. That is all the settings done.

Each player chooses their favourite colour sword and then inserts it into one of the narrow holes on the barrel. Each player takes a turn, sticking their sword into the barrel. The player loses if the head pops out of the barrel when the sword is stabbed.

This game is so much fun for adults and kids. In Japan, it can be used to determine who does a penalty game or if only one person cannot eat something delicious. For example, there are three pieces of cake and one cookie. You can decide in this game who cannot have a delicious cake. On such an occasion, Pop-Up Pirate would be a blast, and everybody's heart would be pounding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JExT4hGEs2U

Amazingly, such a simple toy can get people so excited. I also wondered how the mechanism works inside. I googled and found some videos explaining the mechanism. I was impressed to watch that. It was a simple mechanism. I respect people who can think of these things.

"Pop-Up Pirate" has all the elements I aim to make: simple mechanism, random movement, and making people have fun. For most people, this is just a toy, yet for me, it is special.

 https://www.amazon.com.au/TOMY-T7028A1-Pop-Up-Pirate/dp/B00000JICB/ref=sr_1_5

A Tiny Eraser Crumb Cleaner

Everyone has something that they cannot get enough of.
In my case, I love mechanical things, and I cannot help watching gears and linkages. To me, there was one thing I wanted for a long time. It was an eraser crumb cleaner. I saw it somewhere in Japan long ago. Since then, I wanted it. This product is undoubtedly my favourite among the items I bought in Japan this time.
Here it is.

Going to Japan this time was the best opportunity to get it.
However, even when I was in Japan, I could not find it in shops, so I searched it on the internet. I found a lot on the internet even though I could not find any at retail shops.

It is a tiny toy-like tool made with plastic. It costs about six dollars.
As it is even that small, it is well-made, and I am impressed.

On one side of the car, there are two tiny gears. As the rear tyres rotate, the smallest gear rotates and transmits power to the larger gear. The larger gear is connected to a zigzag bar. Two tiny brooms are linked to the bar, moving back and forth as the bar rotates. The movement is smooth, and it looks fun to watch.

I am not sure who invented it. At least, I guess that I saw it more than 15 or 20 years ago. It may not be very practical, but I love the idea of it.
I can only make something with timber, so making tiny things like this car is not easy. I wonder if I could someday make a small mechanical toy like this car.

Japan After 12 and A Half Years

I was travelling to Japan earlier this month and returned to Australia recently. It was my first time in Japan in 12 and a half years.

Shinjuku, Tokyo

Since I hadn't been to Japan for a long time, I felt like I was in a time machine because the scenery I had gotten used to had changed dramatically. Buildings I knew had gone and been replaced by new ones. Unbelievably, I was lost when I went to a railway station that I should have known well.

Tokyo had many foreign tourists because it was the right time to see cherry blossoms. 

 

While in Japan, I caught up with my friends and cousins and had wonderful times. 

 

 

 

It was a great pleasure to have authentic sushi without mayonnaise, fried prawns and chicken, or cream cheese.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the pictures of cherry blossoms around the moat of the Imperial Palace.

 

Around the moat of Imperial Palace

I had a place to visit this time. It was the Taro Okamoto Memorial Museum.

https://taro-okamoto.or.jp/en/

 

Taro Okamoto 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tar%C5%8D_Okamoto

 

 

 

I also wanted to visit the Yayoi Kusama Museum, but I did not know I should have booked beforehand, so I could not go. If you want to see it, do not forget to book online. 

 

Yayoi Kusama Museum

https://yayoikusamamuseum.jp/en/home/



 

 

 

 

 

I visited the Marunouchi district, just next to the imperial palace.

It is the biggest financial district in Japan, and the scenery has changed here, too. I remember many stone buildings, but now they are replaced by glass-surface buildings.

I am interested in buildings and visited the State Guest House Akasaka Palace. It was amazingly gorgeous. However, pictures are not allowed inside the palace. This place is worth a visit, but you should book. Security is very tight, and there are airport-like luggage checks.

https://www.geihinkan.go.jp/en/akasaka/

 

I accidentally saw a huge marble run machine at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation. There was no particularly new mechanism, but I was overwhelmed by the sheer enormity.

https://www.miraikan.jst.go.jp/en/

 

I lived in Yokohama long ago. It has a harbour, and in the old days, when people couldn't travel by plane, they used to go abroad by passenger ship from here. Now, Yokohama is one of the most popular tourist areas. 

Yokohama

For puzzle lovers, there is one place you should remember. It is called HANDS, and its former name was Tokyu Hands.

 

As seen from the shop's motto 'Let's get excited with your hands', it is a fun shop for people who like to make things. I think the shop lost its previous appeal a little. The economic recession might have had an impact. 

 

However, HANDS is still a fun place for me. There are many kits, tools, and materials to make marble-run machines. 

 

Oh, yes, marble run machine. It has been a long time since I stopped making it, and it is time to start producing it again. It will probably take a long time to complete, but please look forward to it.