Marble Run - Tinkercad

This was a simple idea for something fulfilling and entertaining for house arrested kids or adults.

Step 1: Step One: Collect Materials

This is the step where we collect our materials. I used an assortment of gears and a tube. I also gathered rivets (the orange rods) and rivet caps (the purple half sphere) so that I will have a way to connect the gears to the board. The board itself is just a red box that I changed to a 150 by 50 by 115 board. You will also need to get two slightly smaller boxes to be the supports of the marble run board. One of those support boxes should be somewhere around 30 by 150 by 70, and the other should be somewhere around 150 by 20 by 45. You can also collect random things to put on the marble run board like a funnel, an extruded curve, or a Cycloid (all of these items may be found in the all portion of the shape generator section of your item selection bar).

Step 2: Step Two: Start Setting Up the Board

At this point we will rotate the biggest box by 67.5 degrees and raise it so that the bottom is level with the work-plane. After that, we will rotate the smaller boards by 67.5 degrees and set them up against both the work-plane and the marble run board. One of those supports should rest about halfway up the marble run board, and the other should rest around one third of the way up the marble run board. At this point, we should also place a tube with a marble next to and a bit above it. This will be the starting point of this marble run.

Step 3: Step Three: Set Up the Board As You Wish

At this point we will put all of the gears we want on the board. Because the board is tilted back 22.5 degrees, we will also need to tilt the gears we ut on it by approximately the same amount. You may need to tilt your gears you are putting on by more or less than 22.5 degrees from vertical depending on how high on the board you place that gear.

Step 4: Step Four: Add Unique Parts, Make It Yours

In this step, you will place extra items like extruded curves or funnels (most of the extra stuff I put on the board can be found in the shape generator section in your item selection bar). Remember to tilt anything you put on the board by about 22.5 degrees. Once you have finished this step, you will be done. Congratulations! You have now completed a digital marble run.