Pinball Game

This exercise is proposed by NOD Makerspace as an exercise included in the Makers for Inclusion Erasmus Plus project.

The exercise draws inspiration from here:

https://www.instructables.com/id/Pegboard-Pinball/

but it has been tweaked to suit the project's target audience and equipment available in Romania. The exercise consists of building a pinball machine from low-cost materials such as cardboard or scrap wood and rubber bands.

This exercise gives children a chance to learn how to use hand tools and grow their creativity.

Please make sure you are working in a space suitable for minors, with all safety precautions in place.

Supplies

• Cardboard
• Plywood
• Rubber bands
• Glue
• Ruller
• Cutter
• Handsaw

Step 1: Choose Your Materials

For this project we used 6mm scrap plywood but you can use any sturdy material you have around the workshop.

The dimensions of the object are not set in stone but we recommend something smaller rather than bigger. Anything between a A4 and A3 piece of paper will be fine. Ours is 28/40 cm.

Step 2: Glue the Pieces

Test to see how the pieces fit together before you glue them together.

Draw a grid for the nails and hammer them in place. Depending on the thickness of the nail, you might want to drill a small hole before hammering the nail, ask your advisor how to proceed or try it out on a spare piece of material before moving on to the final product.

Glue the pieces together to form the walls of your game. Make sore there is no place where the the ball can "escape"

Step 3: FInal Steps

Now that the game has started to take shape, all you have to do is drill the hole for the spring to go through.

Round the upper-right edge of the machine with a piece of plastic or thick cardboard to help direct the ball.

Add rubber bands between the nails to form your labirinth.