Marble Madness

Marble Madness is a machine that propels marbles around a track, using many different ways of moving the marbles up, down, and around. It was made over the course of 4 days, much of the time figuring outs different ways to make the marbles move around. The final design (many tests and prototypes) includes steps, treads, and slides.

The Beginning

The marbles start at the very top of Marble Madness. It is simply a small chute that propels the marbles down into the Chop Shop. It was a relatively quick module to build, it is simply flat plates elevated at one end which allows the marbles to roll easily.

The Chop Shop

The Chop Shop is a series of steps that move the marbles forwards. They rise up and down and have a ramp inside to make sure the marbles can get to the next step. They were made by converting rotational motion (the gears inside spinning) to linear motion (the steps rising up and down). This was the first module that was built and the only one that wasn't change throughout the building of Marble Madness.

The Slide

The Slide is like The Beginning, it is just a ramp. This was changed a few times to accompany the height of the rest of the machine. It's simple, a bunch of flat plates to form a ramp.

The Escalator

The Escalator is a tank tread that moves the marbles through the front of the machine. Originally, it was flat, but after some design needs, the end of it was raised to give a two brick height extension. This ended up saving the project, because without that lift, the marbles wouldn't go high enough to reach the top again.

The Bucket n' Ramp

The Bucket is another step like The Chop Shop but instead, is only one step, not four. It also elevates the marbles to give yet another boost; these lifts were all needed so that the marbles could reach the top. After the marbles fall out the Bucket, they roll down the Ramp to their final destination.

The Stair Climb

The Stair Climb is much like The Chop Shop, but this time, the chutes rise a large amount each step. This allows for the marbles to reach the top and start all over again. Much of the time building this was thinking of a way to get the marbles to the top. I wanted to keep it all on the same baseplate, and I was running out of bricks (many projects are going on right now). Ideas like Archimedes' Screws and Jigsaws were scrapped and the Stair Climb was the final result. In the video you can see how The Stair Climb works, so be sure to check it out.