Gumball Game Bits

I present to you the Great Gumball game bits, using little bits. This amazing device does nothing but entertain and Amaze. What is this awesome , astounding thing you ask. Well it's fun, it's interactive, it's astounding. It's a new and Interesting way to teach kids and adults alike about electronics, such as servos, switches, circuits and reward you for your efforts.

This Instructable was made possible by me joining a hacker group called H3 Laboratories. We strive to help educate and inform as well as help others to DO and MAKE.

Come, let me show you how and the neat thing is all the supplies are easily found.

www.H3laboraotories.com

Step 1: Parts, Pieces, Price and Payouts.

MY favorite part about this instructable is that all the parts are easy to find.

Parts

Little bits Deluxe kit, exploration series.

http://littlebits.cc/kits/deluxe-kit

Cardboard

A hot glue gun

Quite a few glue sticks

Compass

Protractor

Exacto knife

A ruler

Pens and Pencils

And of course Gumballs.

I used the king of gumballs, Dubble Bubble big sized. This way all that yummy, scrumptious, mouth watering goodness gives you a sweet learning burst. And lets face it who doesn't like a little reward for learning. The sweetest thing about this is that most of the major supplies are free.

Yes you heard me, FREE!!

Step 2: Where to Get Started?

So, I went to my local grocery store and asked if they had any cardboard I could have. They pointed around back. Be sure to always ask first, you don't want to get arrested for some cardboard. Lo and Behold I found mountains worth. So I picked up some choice pieces, not all corrugated.

I cut several backer board pieces and decided on some wall thickness about 2 inches deep. I don't have all the dimensions because this was a throw together. But I had an Idea for a Gumball game. The basics of this is just a box. I had many flat pieces so I had to construct mine and make the walls, but you could have easily as just found a low lipped box and it would have done the same. The Key was to have fun and learn something.

Step 3: The Hopper.

I wanted a dispenser for the gum so I came up with the idea of a round hopper with a hole that would spin around and let out a couple of pieces. I cut some round circles glued them together and the pin from the motor in the kit. This would neatly mount to the motor glued to the back and a hole poked through for the drive.

The little bits kit has all the parts you could need for this and was very easy to put together. It's almost foolproof. You can see the motor mounted here and it just gets attached with hot glue. Don't cover the magnetic connectors as these are what allow the bits to connect. If you have not played wit these, I provided a link to their site that gives full instructions on how to link the pieces. But they are magnetic and only attach one way. So you are golden on this. There is an in and out so it's easy to find the way for the button and motor to attach to things.

Step 4: Our Logo!

Here I crafted our Logo on to a piece of board and drew it out by hand. I added the EL wire kit from the little bits to an Audio mic up against the board this way when the gumballs hit it it lights up. The neat little mic unit has a sensitivity adjustor on it so you can make it less or more sensitive. I glued all this in and on the main board. Again accuracy is not needed her so I don't provide exact measurements. This is here to inspire you to make your own and figure out what YOU want.

Be original and you blossom into a whole new flower.

Step 5: The Servo and Ball Mover.

Here I attached the servo horn to a piece of board, I drilled a hole for the servo. Made a a ramp for the balls to come out of the hopper and used the slider from the kit to make the servo tilt back and forth. I did have to make some shims for the motor to keep it in line, nothing is too accurate but again this is for inspiration.

I also add the bottom rails here and glued them into place.

Step 6: Bumpers, Bangers, Bongers and Balls.

From Here I added a ramp for the gumballs to direct to some bumpers. All the bumpers are, are rolled up pieces of cardboard and hot glued to the backer board. These act as sound registers for the sound sensor and lights up the EL wire. I also thought that a board that has holes for different point values, for the gumballs to fall through would be neat and people could could see who gets more points.

Step 7: Stand Up for Yourself and Show Your Little Bits PRIDE!

Here I simply cut some side pieces and cut them at an angle so the whole thing sits at attention. Again a judicial amount of hot glue and she stands PROUD.

Step 8: For the Finish

I wired the motor button to the motor then to the power. Which also had the servo tied to the slider. Then the Sound sensor to the EL wire and all this to the power block using the connector wires. Here I updated our pics to show the wiring in the back and show some of the gumballs in play. All of this was a blast to build and fun to play with.

I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed eating the outcome of this project. :)

Stay tuned to this bat channel for more info....