How to Make a Magnetic Xylophone Marble Run
by pauldobrowski in Living > Music
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How to Make a Magnetic Xylophone Marble Run
This instructable shows you how to make a magnetic xylophone marble run that plays when you drop a marble down it. This instructable was inspired by a video I saw of a xylophone marble run (You can click >>here<< to see it), but I was very sad to realize this was a CGI simulation, and I couldn't buy one myself. Then I realized that I could just make one, so here I am after two weeks and countless failed attempts, presenting to you... the magnetic xylophone marble run.
Supplies
Materials:
- Xylophone keys - you can remove the holders with pliers and take the keys off
- Super glue
- Marble - make sure it isn't too heavy or too large (you can also use a ball bearing)
- Rubber bands
- Magnets - make sure these are strong enough!
Tools:
- Ruler
- 3D printer + filament
- Pliers (optional)
Designing the Holder (Part One)
- Measure the width of the holes on the xylophone key, as shown above (in my case 8.5mm).
- Open up a new Tinkercad project, add a cylinder, set the width and length to slightly less than the width of the holes (I chose 8mm X 8mm), and set the height to about 20mm.
- Add a cone on top of the cylinder, set the width and length to slightly more than the hole's width and length (I chose 9mm X 9mm), and set the height to the same (in my case 9mm).
- Duplicate so there is one holder per hole (⌘C+⌘V)
Designing the Holder (Part Two)
- Measure the length of the key (in my case 80mm)
- Measure the length of the magnet (in my case 25mm)
- Add a cylinder and set the width and length to be a few millimeters larger than the cone (in my case 12mm X 12mm), and the height to the length of the key (in my case 80mm)
- Add another cylinder, but make it only 3mm tall, and slightly wider and longer than your magnet (in my case 30mm X 30mm)
Designing the Holder (Part Three)
- Measure the distance between the holes on the key (in my case 43mm)
- Add a cylinder, set the width and length to slightly larger than that of the holes on the key (in my case 8.5mm), and select 'hole'
- Rotate the cylinder 90 degrees and place it 20mm above the plane, cutting into the tall cylinder
- Duplicate the cylinder and space it out the distance between the holes on the key (in my case 43mm)
Printing the Holder
- Export the file using the button on the top right
- Chose the file type that your printer supports (.stl, .obj, etc.) and download it
- Print!
Assembling the Holder
- Make sure you have all the pieces (key, magnet, super glue, large holder, 2 small holders)
- Superglue the magnet to the flat cylinder on the end of the large holder
- Slide the smaller holders in the holes of the key
- Add rubber bands beneath the key to hold it in place
- Superglue the 2 small holders into the holes in the bigger holder
*Repeat steps 1-5, changing measurements if necessary, until all the keys have holders*
Congratulations!
Congratulations! You have successfully made your own xylophone marble run pieces! Enjoy! (Below is a video of some experiments I did with it)