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Document Revision: May 6th 2020

SKU: 60419

solarbotics.com/products/60419/

Solar Marble Machine Kit

The fun of a Marble Machine,

sized for your desk or window

™

and Solarengine powered!

www.solarbotics.com

1-866-276-2687

WARNING: Swallowing hazard! Product contains small parts. Finished kit is not for young children under five.

Solar powered

(no batteries required)

basic tools required

1.5 hours build time

Ages 14+

Compact solar cell and

circuit board.

All electronic and

structure parts included.

Marbles run to the top of

a wooden spiral and roll

back down.

Precision laser-cut

wood construction.

o S

ing

Req

red

Summary of content (8 pages)

PAGE 1
Solar Marble Machine Kit g derin l o S No ired! u q e R The fun of a Marble Machine, sized for your desk or window and Solarengine™ powered! Ages 14+ Solar powered (no batteries required) Compact solar cell and circuit board. All electronic and structure parts included. basic tools required 1.5 hours build time Precision laser-cut wood construction. Marbles run to the top of a wooden spiral and roll back down. www.solarbotics.
PAGE 2
Solar Marble Machine Kit Set of Wooden Parts PARTS LIST * * GM3 Motor 37x33mm Solar Cell 2 x 1/2" #4 TF Screw 4 x 0.
PAGE 3
The Solarbotics Solar Marble Machine Kit The Marble Machine Kit is the brainchild of Martin S. Rainsford, as part of his “Lasering one project a day” blog.
PAGE 4
The Solarbotics Solar Marble Machine Kit 1.2: Testing, testing, TESTING! Do NOT go any further until you confirm the electronics work! Place the SolarEngine assembly under an incandescent or halogen lightbulb, or in sunlight. The motor should twitch into life after 30 to 100 seconds. Note: Fluorescent and LED light bulbs are not very good for solar energy. They don’t put out nearly the right kind of light for best performance. Step 2: Motor and Solar Mounting 2.
PAGE 5
The Solarbotics Solar Marble Machine Kit Step 3. Gluing the Rails Let’s start with the glued parts. Glue the diamond to it’s shadow marked on the spiral. For the bottom rail assembly, glue the narrow “U” to the larger “U”. Finally, for the top rail assembly, glue the thin sliver to the thicker one. Spiral rail Bottom rail Top rail Step 4. Drive Gear Assembly Pop out the drive gear pieces from the wooden carrier board and assemble them in the order shown. Glue is not necessary (but optional). Step 5.
PAGE 6
5 5. Install the crank handle spacer and caps onto the shaft of the gear assembly. Glue is optional. 4. Install the outer wheel frame into the base plate. Both the gear and wheel assemblies should sit inside their respective holes. Make sure that the wheel frame is flush against the wheel assembly. 3. Push the gear assembly onto the motor shaft, so that it sits flush against the inner wheel frame. The wheel assembly gears and motor gear should mesh nicely. 2.
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3 1 2 7 6 8 9 FINAL ASSEMBLY DIAGRAM 4 5 The Solarbotics Solar Marble Machine Kit 6
PAGE 8
The Solarbotics Solar Marble Machine Kit TROUBLESHOOTING If your Marble Machine isn’t fully functional, check this troubleshooting list: The marble doesn’t consistently run the entire length of the spiral: Find the ledge where the marble jumps off and shift the spiral forwards or backwards slightly to make that section of ledge a bit larger. Also make sure the surface that the machine is sitting on is completely even and horizontal. The motor is not moving: Make sure your circuit is soldered correctly.