My Challenge to Make a Marble Run Machine - A Tiny Step Forward

I made a little progress on a marble run machine yesterday. Although, it is still the beginning of the process.
The base board of the marble run machine is 600 mm x 1200 mm and quite big. Therefore, it was not easy to handle it. I bought the board at the local hardware shop. The board is not an accurate rectangle. Well, never mind.

I want to make a marble run machine that can change some parts. It is also convenient that I can replace a part partially in case it is broken. Therefore, I marked 2mm tiny depth holes on the board's surface using the CNC router. Those little holes will be indicators when I set each part.
I asked for help from Juno when I used the CNC router. It was because the board is big and cannot mark holes at once. This means I had to set the board twice. It was risky to move the board; I might have set the wrong position and made a mistake. Juno and I very carefully measured the position of the board. Thanks for being careful. We somehow managed to drill correctly. Now, the base is ready. However, this is just the beginning.

I have not decided on the whole design of the machine.
I have two chains. The longest one is 785 mm long, and the small one is 534 mm long. They occupy the space quite a lot. It is a bit difficult to think of the layout of the machine in the rest of the space.

I am going to display it on a wall, so it is good for making it as flat as possible. However, thinking of what I want to make, it would be thick by all means. The plan I had before I started making it is getting changed. I do not hesitate to take lots of time. Most importantly is making a fun marble run machine.

I want to make the marble run machine that friends who visit my house will enjoy seeing.

 

Who Actually Invented It?

It's fun to see various inventions and arts on SNS. SNS gives me many opportunities to know unique designs and artists I didn't know.

Last week, I found one gear creation that I had seen before on Twitter. It was Yosuke Ikeda's design, HAGURUMA, but something looked wrong. It was a fake product.

Here is the real HAGURUMA.

As you can see, the sign indicated as "Open" can be changed into "Closed" by moving one part of the lever. This is a fantastic idea. I love the mechanism of HAGURUMA. It's not only for fun but can also be used at a shop and is practical.

The video I saw on Twitter doesn't mention the original designer. It says nothing. Therefore, many people misunderstood that the guy who tweeted was the original designer. I found some people praised her.

I wondered if she is happy having praise even if it's not her design?

It looks like the hands in the video are men, so it might be she uploaded the video and the actual person who made it was a different person.
In any case, she ignores the copyright. 

Things like this happen everywhere. It's not only HAGURUMA. For example, Juno's design, puzzle H Burr, was copied and sold by a certain country long years ago. Probably, it has a simple structure and was easy to produce.

Long ago, I created lots of online puzzles on my website. One day, I noticed a specific country visited my website a lot. I had a bad feeling.
I looked on the internet and found my online puzzles on a particular country's educational institution website. It means, of course, public organization. It was unbelievable. Therefore, I recreated my puzzles that only worked on my domain and blocked that country.

I have no idea why those people don't mention the original inventor or creator's name. Some of them probably don't know the original designer's name. However, some people deliberately do it so that some might misunderstand that it was their original.

I want people who took pictures of someone's creation to indicate the original creator's name when they upload it. Do not pretend as if you are the original designer.

 

Juno's World H Burr: http://www.polyhedra.jp/puzzle/h_burr01-e.html

HAGURUMA: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ikeikey/haguruma

 

Tripped Over Again and Again

In the previous blog about the marble run machine, I have written, "I have not yet jumped over the first hurdle. " After that, I jumped over the first hurdle!
Yes, I did, and I tripped over it and fell. Well, that happens all the time.

 

I fell because I could not figure out the difference between the virtual and the physical worlds. I always draw pictures using 3D software when I make something. Mine does not have a function of physics simulation, so I must imagine how it moves when I make it.
It is not difficult to see a collision detection. I can simply rotate or move an object I want to make sure. However, there is a more complicated phenomenon, like friction or gravity.

Do you think I should buy a more superior one?
Well, I agree, but you know, it is costly.

When making a marble run machine, I have one system that I do not want to remove. That is the most difficult mechanism.

Yesterday, I made some samples to make sure whether they moved the way I wanted. It was like a school physics class. I regret that I should have studied physics hard. It took time and effort, but it was worth experimenting. Now, I understand how they work and the effect of friction. I was going to make small parts, but now I have changed my mind. I am going to make bigger parts that would be more stable.

I know you cannot guess what I am talking about. I am afraid I cannot tell you the details until it is finished. I am going to create a unique marble run machine that will not disappoint you when you see it.

The Fact I Didn't Want to Realize

The puzzle that my husband and I have been working on since July last year has finally been completed. I deeply realized it was easier to make linear objects, but it takes a long time to make things like animal shapes.

Since we have been busy, the backyard and roof of our house haven't been maintained well enough. So, we got things tidy last week. I was in charge of the garden beds. My husband did a cleanup of the roof gutters.

We knew one of the gutter ends always overflowed when it rained. Probably, it had got a lot of fallen leaves inside. Then, he took it apart from the gutters. He just pulled it, I saw one giant frog drop from the gutter end. It was a big Australian green tree frog.

He/she dropped to the ground and looked quite grumpy, making a noise. Then, we found ten more frogs in the gutter end. All of them were Australian green tree frogs. Maybe, they were going to hibernate there. The frogs all looked unhappy when they were suddenly thrown out.
Sorry, mate.

I don't have the opportunity to see so many frogs, and I took some photos. I think they are cute, don't you agree? There was an unexpected encounter, but eventually, we were happy that we could clean it.

However, I believe an easy, happy ending wouldn't make the story interesting, would it? I wouldn't betray your expectations. The story hasn't finished yet.

On the night of the cleaning up, we had dinner feeling well. The gutter end won't overflow anymore. It's a crisp feeling!
Just at that time, my husband suddenly said, "Didn't you notice?"
"Notice what?"
"There were frogs in the gutter end which means, you know?"
I finally realized an awful fact.

Rainwater runs into the gutters, and gutter ends. Then, water goes into the rainwater tank. Can you guess why we are keeping rainwater in the tank? It's for drinking!
Yes, we have been drinking the water after the frogs had bathed. I also noticed worse things. They don't go to the toilet like us, do they? That's disgusting!
What we recognized was quite awful, disgusting, foul, or whatever the vocabulary I have cannot express well enough.

Today's blog post has nothing to do with puzzles, yet it was a bit of a gobsmacked fact, so I have written about it.
Before I end today's blog post, I should say this.

We are in pretty good health status, thanks.

 

Stumbled at The First Hurdle - The Marble Run

I have been thinking of ideas for a marble run. I have decided on a theme and am going to make the themed marble run.

There are two essential conditions that I want to keep as much as possible. It must be fun to watch. Marble runs are toys, so this condition is key. I want to make the work enjoyable for both adults and children who see it. The second one is related to being particular about the design. It is not only about the marble run; I do not like to make the same things that other people make. I love original ideas. It is not a matter of copyright; I just do not like that.

However, it is arduous to think of novel ideas. Probably, geniuses can think of cutting-edge ideas, not me. So, I mean that I want to make something as new as possible.

Even for me, I could sometimes think of something supposed to be a new idea. In such a case, I watch YouTube videos, search the information about marble runs, and make sure that nobody has made my idea yet.

I have heard that even though you come up with a new idea, a hundred people in the world have got the same idea. It may be correct. It is hard to make things from a picture. I believe the most important thing is to create an idea to happen in reality. In other words, there are two hurdles to clear. Thinking of ideas and actually making them.

I have not yet jumped over the first hurdle. I am struggling with one of the parts of the marble run. I think if I could not think of any new ideas, I would give up and make a marble run that has ordinary types of parts.
Let me think and worry about what to do for another month or so.