Zen Marble Garden

Description

The video below shows version 1 (150mm wide) with a 3/8 inch metal ball: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ywXhvJ4B3o A Zen Garden with a twist …or a spiral. Zen and the Art of Marble Gardening might be another title for this. When I thought about a zen garden, I visualized the lines in the sand. However, I wanted to be more creative than replicating a Zen Garden with sand and tools for creating a pattern. I wanted to draw people's eyes to the circular repetition that activates a soothing, calming demeanour. I envisioned a marble going down a slope in a spiral design, drawing the eye and centering the mind. That is where I came up with the Zen Marble Garden. Please "like" this file if you collect or download it. Versions: Version 1 has a smaller spherical radius for the spiral. This version was operationally challenging based on the small print size, resulting in narrower grooves and requiring a correspondingly small ball with less weight. Version 2 is taller and has a larger spherical radius but fewer concentric curves. This version will accommodate a larger ball. Version 2 will probably be easier to get working properly - the ball will roll faster in this version. Design Issues: The goal was for the ball to roll down the sloping curve as slowly as possible. I played with reducing or increasing the slope so the ball was rolling slowly. In this way, it would be more conducive to a meditative state. I also added into the garden's four corners: a stone, the Zen Chinese/Japanese character, a bare bonsai tree, and Torii gate (3D printer friendly) to add ambience. The bottom is corrugated to help with resin printing (reduce the suction on the first layers). It should work on an FDM printer as well. Printing suggestions: Print as large as possible. The sample model photo/video of the print was 150mm wide (version 1). That is the largest I could go on my resin printer. I would recommend going larger, particularly with version 1. You might get away with a smaller size with version 2. The issue is rise-over-run and the role of friction. In the example print, I gave it a light sand and then coated it twice with a clear glossy varnish - that helped decrease the amount of friction. I used a 3/8-inch ball (slingshot ammo), which doesn't quite reach the end of the last concentric curve. A slightly larger metal ball might work better (a half-inch ball was too large, and the momentum caused it to roll out of the curve). Tip: I skip the washing stage with resin prints like this one, where a smooth surface is desirable. I let the print sit for an hour in the cure station to remove any drips and then cure the print. Yes, this reduces fine details, but this workflow does wonders if you want a smooth result. In most cases, there is no need to sand - in this case, it needed just a light sanding on the grooves to remove specks of dust. Ball suggestions: Experiment with metal ball sizes - particularly for version 1; the metal balls will work better than marbles because marbles tend to be too large and have less weight and, thus, less momentum to fight friction. I note on Amazon that you can pick up a variety pack of ball bearings that would be ideal for experimenting with different-sized balls. Version 2 would probably be less temperamental regarding the ball size and weight. Here is an example of what you might want for this project: 16 Size Metric Precision 304 Stainless Steel Bearing Steel Set Final Thoughts: I would love to see this printed on a large FDM printer (say 400mm wide) - it might take sanding and varnishing for the balls to roll well. This project was a challenge; numerous prototypes were created, it took a lot of trial and error through experimenting with different slope angles, the number of concentric curves, the different size marbles and metal balls, and then figuring out how to reduce friction. Educational Implications: This would be an excellent educational project in a physics class discussing velocity, momentum, friction, etc.

Statistics

Category

Tags