Watch a Tulio Lanen Marble Machine Print Piece-by-Piece in Martyn Raynsford's Latest Video
Captured in time-lapse, Laanen's design is printed piece-by-piece before being assembled into a finished marble machine.
Maker Martin Raynsford has shared a video showcasing the 3D printing of a smart marble machine, originally designed by Tulio Laanen as an alternative to popular laser-cut marble run creations.
Marble runs, which use gravity to send marbles or ball-bearings whizzing down a complex track, are always a popular time-waster — but the majority of home-brew designs either use off-the-shelf tubing and guttering or laser-cut materials — or both. Laanen's 3D-printed designs, by contrast, offer the complexity required to make a marble run interesting to watch but in a design that can be 3D-printed.
Raynsford took one of Laanen's designs, the third in the series, and printed it module by module — capturing the process in a time-lapse video. "I remember seeing this marble machine at a maker faire when it originally came out," Raynsford recalls. "I marvelled at the simplicity when compared to my similar Archimedes screw marble machine. It was one of the few times I realised 3D printers were better than lasers for some
"The print ran smoothly although I probably should have scaled it down so that it took less time. The timelapse is acceptable although I still need to work on white balance, exposure and focus (so all the things really). I'm gonna struggle to get larger objects into frame so am currently thinking of better ways to start the print in the middle and have it fill the screen from there, mostly I need a longer ribbon for my camera so I can play with positions more."
More images of the finished print can be found on Raynsford's blog, while Laanen's 3D design is available on Thingiverse.