Awesome Marble Machines

After his tribute to Aladdin, CG artist David Scott of Enbiggen is back with another musical marble machine. Hit play and enjoy as Indiana Jones relives the mine cart chase from The Temple of Doom and the boulder scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark. The soothing kalimba music was performed by BluntoMarx.

Robotime’s latest ROKR wood model lets you build a tabletop marble run that looks like a tiny chocolate factory. Turn the crank, and colorful marbles roll through twists and turns of the maze. The 420-piece model takes about 7 hours to assemble and offers ample challenge for kit builders. We only wish it made real candy.

Drop a marble into the top of this tabletop sculpture, and it rolls down a ramp and back into itself endlessly. While it might appear to defy the laws of physics, the trick is that its base contains a hidden battery and electromagnet that accelerates the steel sphere as it comes down the ramp.

There’s something so satisfying about watching marbles roll around in mazes. B-dama Friend’s YouTube channel is filled with dozens of fun marble machines made mostly out of cardboard. Each one is loaded with ramps, spirals, funnels, and more. Our current faves are number 37, number 24, and number 32.

Inspired by the machines of Wintergatan, Daniel de Bruin, and Matthias Wandel, fellow maker Ivan Miranda created his own musical marble machine. He designed and built it from scratch using 3D printed parts, a resin drum, and an aluminum frame. The ball bearings make notes by falling onto a MIDI controller keypad.

JBV Creative designed this interactive marble coaster that can be wall-mounted. To build the maze, he created 3D models in Solidworks, then rendered the components on a 3D printer. Once it’s loaded up with marbles, it continuously recirculates with the turn of its crank. You can buy the STL files to make your own on JBL’s website.

DeepMake sells these modular marble runs that stick to metal surfaces like a refrigerator. The pieces are made from laser-cut wood, and include ramps, loops, spinners, and stairsteps which you can configure any way you’d like. They come in 12-, 24-, 48-, and 96-piece sets, and are also working on a archimedes screw lift.

Builder Ben Tardif created this impressive motorized marble machine which carries hundreds of ball bearings up an elevator, then rolls them down a miniature ski jump, where they make their way back to the bottom to repeat the feat. You can check out the build process if you’re interested in seeing it come together.