Marblevator, Buckets.

"Marblevator, Buckets" uses a carefully timed two bucket lift mechanism to transfer 11mm nylon spheres between the end and the start of the track. The track starts with a large downward spiral segment that transitions to two straight segments, all designed to move spheres from the track start to a marble gate. A marble gate is incorporated into the design to hold the sphere in position until the lower bucket arrives to pick it up.

As usual I probably forgot a file or two or who knows what else, so if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask as I do make plenty of mistakes.

Designed using Autodesk Fusion 360, sliced using Ultimaker Cura 14.12.1, and 3D printed in PLA on Ultimaker S5s.

1. Thick double sided tape.
2. Thick cyanoacrylate glue.
3. Soldering iron and solder.

I acquired the following parts:

1. One N20 35rpm 6vdc gear motor.
2. One 4 AAA cell switched battery box.
3. Four 11mm diameter nylon spheres.

I 3D printed the following parts at .15mm layer height, 20% infill and no supports unless noted otherwise:

1. One "Arm Drive.stl".
2. One "Arm.stl".
3. One "Axle (12mm).stl".
4. Four "Axle.stl".
5. One "Base.stl", .1mm layer height.
6. Three "Bolt (M8 by 1.25 by 8mm).stl".
7. Two "Bucket and Gear (8t 2m).stl".
8. One "Cam.stl".
9. One "Marble Gate Axle.stl".
10. One "Marble Gate.stl", 100% infill.
11. One "Rack Lower.stl".
12. One "Rack Upper.stl".
13. One "Stop.stl" (only of necessary).
14. One "Track 1 Mount.stl".
15. One "Track 1.stl".
16. One "Track 2.stl".
17. One "Track 3.stl".

This mechanism is a high precision print and assembly using at times very small precision 3D printed parts in confined spaces with highly precise alignment. Prior to assembly, I test fitted and trimmed, filed, drilled, sanded, etc. all parts as necessary for smooth movement of moving surfaces, and tight fit for non moving surfaces. Depending on your slicer, printer, printer settings and the colors you chose, more or less trimming, filing, drilling and/or sanding may be required to successfully recreate this model. I carefully filed all edges that contacted the build plate to make absolutely certain that all build plate "ooze" is removed and that all edges are smooth using small jewelers files and plenty of patience.

This mechanism also uses threaded assembly, so I used a tap and die set (M8 by 1.25) as required for thread cleaning.

To assemble the base I performed the following steps:

1. Pressed the gear motor into the gear motor cavity in "Base.stl".
2. Pressed "Cam.stl" onto the gear motor shaft then rotated the cam until the cam pin was straight left.
3. Attached "Rack Lower.stl" and "Arm Drive.stl" to "Arm.stl" using "Axle (12mm).stl" making certain the rack and drive arm rotated with ease.
4. Attached "Rack Upper.stl" to the arms assembly using "Axle.stl" again making certain the rack rotated with ease.
5. Slid the drive arm over the cam pin and both racks into the rack guides in the base.
6. Attached the arms assembly to the base assembly using "Axle.stl" again making certain the components moved with ease.
7. Attached "Marble Gate.stl" to the base assembly using "Marble Gate Axle.st" again making certain the marble gate rotated with ease.
8. With the cam pin still facing to the left, attached one "Bucket and Gear (8t 2m).stl" to the lower base assembly bucket hole oriented straight up.
9. With the cam pin still facing to the left, attached the remaining "Bucket and Gear (8t 2m).stl to the upper base assembly bucket hole oriented straight left.

To assemble the track, I performed the following steps:

1. Snapped "Track 1.stl" into "Track 1 Mount.stl" with 20mm of the start of the track proud of the track mount.
2. Attached the track assembly to the base assembly using one "Bolt (M8 by 1.25 by 8mm).stl".
3. Attached "Track 2.stl" to the base assembly using one "Bolt (M8 by 1.25 by 8mm).stl" such that the track 2 track mount arm was vertical.
4. Attached "Track 3.stl" to the base assembly using one "Bolt (M8 by 1.25 by 8mm).stl".

For final assembly, I performed the following steps:

1. Attached the battery box to the base assembly using thick double sided tape.
2. Ran the battery wires through the small rectangular hole in the base and out through the back.
3. Soldered the battery wires to the gear motor.

With assembly complete, I placed an 11mm nylon sphere in the marble gate and applied power. While watching the mechanism, I performed minor adjustments to the position of track 1 in the track 1 mount, track 1 mount and track 2 until the marble successfully traversed the tracks. With all adjustments complete, I applied small dots of glue between the track 1 mount and base and track 2 and the base to maintain their positions.

And that is how I 3D printed and assembled "Marblevator, Buckets".

I hope you enjoyed it!