Marble ball bearing

thingiverse

I use six marbles, each 16 mm in diameter, to power this ball bearing. For under a dollar, I was able to acquire fifty of these marbles at Toys R Us. The bearing is made up of three separate components: two pieces that form the cage and one that forms the shaft. After assembling the parts, including installing the marbles, the entire unit works smoothly. I am not an engineer by trade and had some difficulty aligning everything properly; the movement feels a bit rough at times and occasionally gets caught on its own. The addition of power from a cordless drill tends to rattle the assembly because the various components do not always fit perfectly together. Still, the ball bearing does rotate in place. Following up on my earlier creation process, I went ahead and shot a short video to showcase my work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie1mtN5CR90 With that initial hurdle crossed, I chose to disassemble my design once more so I could smooth out the surfaces that actually make contact with the marbles. To aid me in this effort, I found myself reliant upon a cordless drill for its versatility when used alongside a bit of fine sandpaper. As I labored, it became clear that this refinement did lead to an even smoother overall performance. Details Surrounding My 3D Printer's Setup Here is the data relative to how I printed this creation: