Turing Tumble Community

Adding weights to gear bits using only parts from the box

I found an alternative to washers for making gear bits run reliably - use a cog or a ball to add weight to the top!

This also makes a single gear bit behave reliably like a simple blue bit.

Using two weighted gear bits one can also capture balls and trigger their release using another ball.

I have made a short video to demonstrate:

One thing I forgot to show is that if you attach the weight on the side instead of the top then it always returns to that side - it behaves like a green ramp.

In theory one could make a version of turning Tumble where the whole board is non-removable gear bits, plus adjustable weights and cogs.

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Brilliant! Clever use of existing parts.

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Yes, I agree that this is very clever! I especially like the option to capture & release. For you EE’s out there, what is the real-world analogous circuit component? Is it a capacitor? If not, how does it differ from a capacitor?

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That’s really, really clever. It never occurred to me to just add weight. I got so stuck thinking about friction that I never even considered changing the weight. I’m not a fan of those washers, either. They were sort of a hack that I introduced pretty late in the game because the injection molded parts had so much less friction than my CNC milled prototype parts.

And wow, the setup you made that captures and releases a ball? It’s brilliant!

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That is amazing!!! Wish I could come up with those ideas.

Rob–I did it a different way: See Suggestions | Gear bit washers. Incidentally, if I do it your way using weights, do those weights need to be removed when I am using three gear bits in a structure?–DonV

For two or three gear bits use an extra weight in one, not all of them (unless you want to capture balls). Larger structures work okay without extra weights. Experiment; how well things move also depends how fast the ball is arriving which depends on the piece above.

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2024