Day 5: (Wed Sep 13, Week 3) Marble-Centric Mechanisms

Notes for 2023-09-13.

New Assignments

1. New assignment, due Monday: Exercise: Marble Fidget Toy

   • Please submit your STL files for printing as soon as feasible at 3D Printer Submissions - Fidget Toy

   • Please submit documentation via Assignment 3 Post Submission Form

   • Posts will appear on Assignment 3 Posts: Marble Fidget Toy

Agenda

1. In-class testing of the marble run tiles.

   1. Can we discover some combinations of tiles which work well together?

   2. What can be observe about the effects of varying the slope?

   3. What new designs do the results suggest?

2. Introduce the new assignment.

3. Mechanical parts show and tell.

   1. Visual Part Guides

   2. SolidWorks files on course site

   3. Sample Mechanical Designs

   4. Pivots and bearings

      • clevis pin

      • cotter pin

      • bushing

      • shoulder screw

      • ball bearing

   5. Fasteners

      • M3 machine screw

      • washer

      • self-tapping sheet metal screw

      • standoff, spacer

      • dowel pin

      • wire tie

   6. Components

      • spring

      • O-ring

   7. adhesives

   8. DC gearmotors, hub, and driver

4. Broader discussion of using marbles as a form for exploring mechanisms and kinetic systems. Following are a collection of structures to consider:

   • energy input

     • wheel lifts: adding potential energy back into a system

     • helical Archimedes screw

     • conveyor belts and wheels

     • marble pump

     • centrifugal launchers: adding kinetic energy into a system

   • transport: moving objects from place to place

     • linear track

     • spiral tracks and bowls: reducing entropy

     • turntables: randomizing outputs, distribution

     • pin grids: randomizing, absorbing energy

     • ball sumps, system exit paths

     • minimum-time ramps (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BdO8J0iynY)

   • logic and state

     • accumulators: counting, clustering

     • clocks

     • flip/flops and counters: mechanical logic

     • moving gates: mechanical and electrical logic, switching

     • Turing machines

     • optical sensors: electronic interface

     • weigh scales: electronic interface

     • mechanical NAND gates

     • ball delay line

     • ball sorters

   • mechanical outputs

     • ball overshot wheel

     • ball turbine

     • ball-driven mirrors, lighting effects

   • sound and noise

     • sound-producing pins

     • bells

     • sound-producing strings

   • human interface

     • direct ball input

     • flippers

     • launcher controls

     • movable gates