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How to make a ball bearing rollercoaster 2010-03-29
Scott had always wanted to make some sort of ball bearing rollercoaster and we thought we'd post up the results of his first testing and building sessions.
The idea was to make track for ball bearings (or similar) out of something that was fairly quick and easy to work.
Scott found that mains cable copper wire was perfect for this, go to the next step to see a list of ingredients for this project and get cracking.
It is assumed that you have access to a workbench / desk and that you can use tools like soldering iron, wire cutters and so on.
step 1Ingredients A list of things you'll need for this project: - Ball bearings (we used 5mm) - Battery drill/screwdriver (ours is the cannibalised motor from an old one) - Small drill bits (that match the diameter of the wire you will be using) - Mains wire (we ended up getting a big roll but you can use the grey sort, often easy to get from skips or lying around. You'll want t…
step 2Straightening the wire To ensure you get a smooth rolling track you'll have to straighten the wire before you start making (especially if you've acquired old bits from skips / other sources) To do this, first strip a length of wire (~50 - 100cm) Next affix one end to something fairly solid (like a vice, or a piece of wood you can hold) Attach the other end to your battery drill. Tens…
step 3Making a jig To ensure you can make consistently spaced track, a jig must be made. To start, place a ball bearing on a piece of your board and cut two lengths (~10cm) of straightened wire. Bring these pieces of wire together until they lift the ball bearing from the surface of the board. You might need to experiment a little here to get a good gauge (track spacing). Next you …
step 4Track making basics Now you have a jig and plenty of straight wire you can start making some track. It is best to start out with a few straights as prototypes before thinking about layout. Place two straight sections of wire in the jig and cut some short 'sleepers' that you will need solder on to the tracks. You will need to apply quite a lot of heat to this thick copper so we modif…
step 5Corners and tricks This is where track making can get a little tricky and requires yet more trial, error and more trial. Start off by having a think about track layout - remember you are relying on gravity to get the ball travelling around the track. You can get away with very slight gradients to get the ball moving slowly. You can include sharper drops for loops and jumps but bear in …
step 6Making ball lifters Scott wanted to make a roller coaster that didn't end. Once the ball bearing reaches the bottom of your track (the board) he worked out a way of lifting them back up. By doing this you can add in more track or send the ball bearings back to the start of your existing track. Use multiple ball lifters for increased track length. Making the ball lifters took many many …
step 7Experiment! Here is a picture of one of the finished models. You can see that vertical support wires have been mounted into the chipboard: this is done by drilling small holes into it and pushing the wire in. Once you have started to put different modular components together and mounted them onto a board you will find that things may need slight adjustment / fettling. Use a sp…
step 1Ingredients
step 2Straightening the wire
step 3Making a jig
step 4Track making basics
step 5Corners and tricks
step 6Making ball lifters
step 7Experiment!
