Collaborate Disseminate
The escapement mechanism has been widely used for centuries in mechanical clocks. It is the mechanism by which a clock controls the release of stored energy, allowing it to advance …read more Continue reading Clock Escapement Uses Rolling Balls
Sometimes a coworker sees something on your desk, and they have to ask, “Where can I get one of those?” and that has to be one of the greatest compliments …read more Continue reading Smart Sphere or Magnetic Magic
Like a lot of power transmission components, bearings have become far easier to source than they once were. It used to be hard to find exactly what you need, but …read more Continue reading Adding Wire Races Improves 3D-Printed Bearings
We speak from experience when we say that making pinball targets is harder than you might think. The surface area of the part of the ball that touches is oh-so-small, …read more Continue reading Three Ways to Detect the Silver Ball
We have a soft spot for BEAM projects, because we love to see the Sun do fun things when aided by large capacitors. [NanoRobotGeek]’s marble machine is an extraordinary example …read more Continue reading BEAM-Powered, Ball-Flinging Beam Has Us Beaming
Traditionally, the useless machine is a simple one that invites passersby to switch it on. When they do, the machine somehow, some way, turns itself off; usually with a finger or finger-like object that comes out from the box in what feels like an annoyed fashion. Honestly, that’s probably part …read more
If 2020 can be remembered in any positive light, it would be that this has been the year of the hobby tryouts. Why not pottery? Sure, throwing pots won’t fill your belly like homemade bread. But we would bet you can see the value in having a bunch of expendable …read more
Continue reading Take Pottery for a Spin with a Pocket-Sized Wheel
Bowling has been around since ancient Egypt and continues to entertain people of all ages, especially once they roll out the fog machine and hit the blacklights. But why pay all that money to don used shoes and drink watered-down beer? Just build a tabletop bowling alley in your spare …read more
Continue reading Score Big Against Boredom with Tabletop Bowling
We bet you have all some cool part in your bin that is just gnawing at you to build something cool. That doodad, possibly from a garage sale, surplus store, or clearance rack deserves a project fitting of its near-infinite potential. [isaac879] finally marries a giant ball bearing with his …read more
Continue reading Giant Bearing Is At The Heart Of A Camera Mount
The patience and precision involved with drawing geometric patterns in sand is right up a robot’s alley, and demonstrating this is [rob dobson]’s SandBot, a robot that draws patterns thanks to an arm with a magnetically coupled ball.
SandBot is not a cartesian XY design. An XY frame would need to be at least as big as the sand table itself, but a SCARA arm can be much more compact. Sandbot also makes heavy use of 3D printing and laser-cut acrylic pieces, with no need of an external frame.
[rob]’s writeup is chock full of excellent detail and illustrations, …read more
Continue reading SandBot Happily And Tirelessly Rolls Patterns In Sand