Marvelous Magnetic Marble Lift

Description

This design uses a single cheap TT motor to drive a magnetic marble lift for use on a fridge, whiteboard, or other magnetic surface. Print one of every piece, and two of the top or middle screw. Additional "top or middle screw" and "housing middle" can be printed to extend the marble lift. When printing the screws, be sure to use a brim and supports on build plate only. 

Designed to work with all pieces from the Marvelous Magnetic Marble Run by user @waveman and the Magnetic Marble Run.

What You'll Need:

• Any single shaft 1:120 TT motor

• ½" (or 13-15mm) magnetic tape: https://a.co/d/eJVaeOY

• Marbles from marble run kit, or standard 14-16mm marbles

• (Optional but recommended) A USB extension cable with integrated power switch: https://a.co/d/33E3S39

Assembly

1. Attach magnetic tape to the back of all pieces

2. Place motor into motor base

3. Place motor base onto magnetic surface

4. Add the housing base entrance on top of the motor base

5. Insert the base auger into the housing base entrance, ensuring that the auger properly connects with the motor shaft

6. Add the housing middle on top of housing base

7. Insert top/middle auger, ensuring that the auger properly connects with the peg on top of the previous auger.

8. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until desired height is reached

9. Add housing top exit on top of housing middle

10. Insert top/middle auger into the housing, again ensuring that it properly connects to the previous auger

11. Place top cover at the top of the stack

12. Place the exit ramp outside of the exit hole of the top housing exit

Troubleshooting:

Marbles are pushing up out of the top cover

• Make sure that the lift does not have a counter-clockwise tilt, otherwise marbles will not be able to properly fall out of the right-facing exit hole

Pieces are slipping around and don't stay put

• Some surfaces don't have enough friction to hold the pieces strongly. I recommend backing the marble run tracks with anti-slip tape, vinyl elictrical tape, or a thin coating of plasti-dip or rubber cement (or other adhesive that remains grippy when dry) to add grip. Plastic 14mm marbles will cause less slipping than heavy glass 16mm marbles. 

Too many marbles are falling on the floor

• Due to the custom nature of the marble run, it is inevitable that some marbles will fall out of the tracks. To reduce the number that get bounced out, make sure you use tracks that slow marbles down before they drop to the next track (drop tracks, wavy tracks, wheels, and whirlpools). Additionally, make sure that marbles don't have to drop too far to the next track. The flip-flop makes for a more dynamic marble run, but you will always drop some marbles when combining the two paths back together.

Marbles get stuck at the marble entrance

• I've noticed this may happen with marbles that are misshapen or have a rough surface texture. Press marble firmly inward towards the auger to resolve the clog, then remove the problem marble from circulation when it exits the top.