Making of

Built in CAD. Tested in a physics simulation. Printed next.

Nothing on this site is a photograph yet. Every picture is rendered from the same CAD models the parts will be made from, and the marble in the film moves the way the simulation says it will. Here is how that works and where it stands.

Every module is a program

The modules are not drawn, they are generated. A set of scripts builds each module from a few dozen named parameters: marble diameter, grid pitch, slope, wall thickness, the play in the joint. Change the marble to 16 mm and the whole kit follows.

The same scripts check every module: no part intersects another, the marble clears every wall, every joint keeps its step. The Round One run was checked as a whole, 710 bodies, 103 modules in place.

The marble in the film is simulated

The run was exported from CAD into a physics simulation: glass marbles, printed walls, acrylic rails and felt with their own friction and bounce. The simulation ran the lap again and again until the switch, the seesaw and the impact row behaved. The film plays back one of those runs, frame by frame.

Rendering the 4:23 min in 4K took 62 hours on one machine. What you see is what the simulation predicts, not what a printed run has done yet.

Test series 1, now

The first parts are being printed and cut to turn the simulation's assumptions into measurements. Each test answers one question the kit depends on.

PK1 · LaserHow wide is the cut?Kerf, slot fits and engraving on MDF and acrylic. Decides every laser file.

PK2 · JointDoes the step hold?Modules on printed sockets, the 0.4 mm step and the play in the dovetail, marbles rolling across.

PK3 · SlopeHow little is enough?The smallest slope a marble starts on from rest, for 25 and 25.4 mm glass.

PK4 · CurveHow fast is too fast?Speed at which the marble touches the outer wall of a curve or leaves it.

PK12 · Post jointDoes the post hold 15 N?The cross-shaped joint of a tall post, pinned, under a side load.

NextLift, switch, brakeThe first powered module and the first moving parts on a real printer.

Log

Date	What happened
2026-11-08	Film One Lap finished, 4:23 min, 6575 frames. Website started.
2026-11-07	Stair lift L1 designed in three heights, 120, 270 and 410 mm. Test series 1 instructions written.
2026-11-06	Curves C1 to C3 redesigned upright. Spirals, the big funnel and the halo lift added as concept models.
2026-11-05	Rendering of the film started: 62 hours for 6425 frames.
2026-11-04	Base plate moved from the mill to the laser. Switch, merge, impact row and measuring track checked.
2026-11-03	Round One run checked as a whole: 103 modules, no part intersects another, the marble runs the full lap.

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