Magnetic Frame Pods

Ahoy-hoy, wonderful people!

Sometimes when ideas spring to mind they aren't so much visual as tactile. And this one is an excellent example of that! What I had pictured (figuratively speaking) was a series of components held in place by magnets, but free to move as a series of objects when pushed. I figured there would be initial resistance to the motion, but once we slip past the magnets we'd get a lurch of motion to the next magnet position. And that sounded very fidgety and tangible, so I put some shapes around that idea so that it could have some kind of physical existence.

The first version was very rudimentary, just unadorned rectangular tubes with rectangular blocks inside, but they immediately confirmed that the movement was indeed satisfying and interesting! What I didn't expect was a kind of springy reverberation when all the components lock into their new location! And, even though it's obvious in hindsight, I somehow didn't anticipate that the component at the end would get launched out of the tube by the magnetic acceleration of its siblings.

So, I built up a more useful version of the idea, with small square boxes that fit into frames dotted internally with magnets.

There are a few different frame sizes - linear ones from one to four units long, and a double-height one, too. Each feels slightly different thanks to the impact of different numbers of units flexing their magnetic powers, and it comes as no surprise that the least satisfying version is the single one, which has no compatriots to boost it along!

In terms of the shape, the frame pod box remains roughly square but has features to make sure it can only be inserted in the correct orientation. So, no putting it in sideways, which would misalign the magnets, and no putting it in upside-down.

Magnets

Magnets really aren't optional here! As usual, we're using our old favourite 6x3mm cylindrical magnets, and you'll need 4 of them for each frame pod box (2 for the box, 2 for the frame at the position where that box resides)

Print Description

Nothing tricky here, but take care that the magnet holes are nice and neat so that magnets actually fit in them :)

Print Dimensions

The smallest of the frames is 40mm x 26mm on the print bed and 30mm tall. The longer versions just increase height accordingly.

Supports Needed?

Not at all!  Designed for straightforward printing!

Scalability

This should scale quite well, but then the magnets wouldn't fit :)

Print Orientation

The frame pod boxes print right-way up while the frames print on their ends.

File Location

You'll find this one at at 458 Magnetic Frame Pods

Link to dropbox post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/31697592

Further Thoughts

Adding more magnets to the frame could make for interesting half-steps of motion, and possibly reduce the launching effect for the end box. It could also make for a more interesting single-unit version, too :D

Happy printing!

xoxo

Sven.