Well Hello There! Happy Camper here, not only because this video was so satisfying to make but also because our friend Hannes3000 have started a new youtube series on his youtube channel TRAINERDS! Trainerds is a wholesome community inspired by Hannes own health journey. Hannes is showing that excercising is for anyone, not limited to the gym elites. (Although Hannes himself is becoming a gym elite but that hasn´t made him lost connection with us other mere mortals so that´s all good haha) Hannes has inspired me personally to start excercising and my brain is forever thankful. Now he is about to inspire people all over the internet in the same way, head over and take a peak at the first two episodes here: HOW TO START A TRAINING ROUTINE ruclips.net/video/Bft31oO2fys/видео.html HOW TO BUILD MUSCLES ruclips.net/video/K2ETMXBSzIM/видео.html The Trainerds Discord community is also already blooming with a very friendly and supportive culture, so if you are looking for friendly training buddies across the interwebs, check that out. discord.gg/3mAdmvyRAz But also how SWEET, the revenge. ;)
*SUGGESTION* about the programming wheel. Please operate the gates (providing moving force and timing) directly from the flywheel. Programming wheel should only operate some kind of lightweight latch/lever, which will registrate if the next given note should or shouldn't be played (but not *when* it will be played). That way programming wheel can be inaccurate, because the flywheel can operate much faster than the programming wheel, and you can get perfect tightness with sloppy/lightweight programming wheel (or perhaps even with paper).
For the Repeat Time, you also need to consider that the first marble needs enough time to strike, bounce, and clear the instrument before the second marble collides with it. From freeze framing the video it looks like 125ms might be just enough time but you may need to increase the angle of the instruments to create more a more horizontal exit trajectory. Then again, the only music you would probably make with a 125ms delay would be a snare drum roll and you'd probably run out of queued marbles if you played that fast for more than a few notes.
"A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery 1900-1944.
8:16 is my favourite moment from the entire MMX series... That baseline was just so good... Ascending heroically, it captured the trials and tribulations of MMX perfectly.
I forgot how soul satisfying that improvised MMX bass, drum, and guitar riff actually is. The guitar delay/compression effects were perfection and put a huge smile on my face when it started.
Idolizing Elon aside, I sincerely hope your exploration through design doesn't leave you feeling your previous work was wasted or "dumb". It's easy for someone who is removed from the actual work to be unkind to their previous product. But as a creative who collaborated with so many other creators and intimately documented everything about the MMX, the product you made was objectively fascinating and gorgeous and thrilling in so many ways. I'm excited to see what MM3 has in store and your journey with it. You don't have to demean your past self or creation to see the growth you've made in your present self. You are better now, doesn't mean you were terrible before.
The thing about aesthetics is that they can be added after you have finished building the machine. You don't need to include them with the initial design but instead, add them afterward when you know the machine is fully functional.
Tell that to Rube Goldeberg. And as an artist, true, you can make a machine look good, but you can't make a machine Art without reimagining the machine.
This is true, but also you can add cool linkages and embellishments at the last step. Once everything works, you can then step back and make informed decisions on places to sacrifice a little practicality for awesomeness
The fact that Martin has finally gotten past his aversion to using 3D printing is a massive step forward. An added HUGE benefit is that if a world tour happens, WHEN something on the machine breaks, Martin can have a replacement part printed within hours ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.
@@yellowdragon101 Martin had a 3D printer previously but this time it stuck. But 3D printing critical parts for the machine isn't a goal hopefully, delrin is just a lot more resilliant. But being able to print spares on the go to replace broken delrin parts would be possible, and they'll most likely survive a concert.
You haven't completely prevented manual playing: if, later on, you decide it's worth the part count, you can always add a linkage between the programming wheel and the gates. The important thing is that you've isolated the gate from this other feature. That way you can focus on what matters for the marble drop. Now, you've also got the flexibility to only add a manual control to some channels without needing to design two separate marble gates E.g. Just one channel for each note on the vibraphone
I would just add a button to the front of the gate that is a part of the linkage so a simple press performs the same function. The buttons could even be made to look like a keyboard with black and white.
@@jonathanmyers8477 Though it comes at the cost of tighter integration. I could really understand leaving the gates themselves unchanged now (since they're a 'known good' element). If I were approaching the marble machine as I would a piece of software, I'd be looking to add the functionality on outside the gate
He had 2 channels to get faster tempo consecutive notes. The time needed to stage the next marble, as well as the necessary attack, hold, and release times really limited the speed he could achieve without double gates, and he sounds like he wants to retain the ability to maintain tight timing on super fast notes with dual gates (around 16:25).
@@jonathanmyers8477 I though something similar, you’d want to make it so that it makes no contact with the mechanism unless pushed. That way it does not add friction or mass to the mechanism when not in use.
Whether the third attempt gets built or not, I sincerely hope these kinds of videos continue. As an engineering student, it is some of the most entertaining content on the platform, especially considering the 'hero's journey' aspect that each video has in itself: "The old design was overcomplicated and had issues, here's how it was solved." Fantastic!
I moved to engineering four years ago and it really is like in reality. Your team designs a 500000€ system, it looks great, you build it, it is overcomplicated and breaks in dozens of ways. You fix it and start designing the next one, hopefully a bit wiser. Crazy requirements are the main factor there. Hard to tell the customer that they really don't want 52 maybe somehow working features but 3 rock solid ones.
This dude betrayed his audience and teased them for years. It was all a lie. He's doing this for RUclips views, nothing else and has no intention on releasing a 'marble machine' or making any music with it. You are a fool of you decide to get fooled a third time by his sheme.
I will be honest, as sad as I am to see the manual marble play feature get cut, I'm really glad Martin has overcome his feature creep phase and is truly focusing all his attention on making sure he can build a marble machine first. Martin has definitely come a long way from 4 years ago, and I couldn't be more proud of him!
Once we have the new marble gates working, it would be a very simple matter to add a manual activation button/lever to them so ... I wouldn't plan on this never being a thing.
once the function has been completed a way to manually control it can be added so do not say it is gone permanently he could add a lever to trigger the gate that comes from behind the gate to the front of the gate
I remember watching the first Marble machine and I sincerely thought the manual marble play was so cool, to think that he cut it out of the project is pretty sad
@@daniellima4391 The first machine wasn't cut out of anything; it was finished, it got its video, it was cool, and now he's working on a new project. That's the opposite of sad. Taking up a complex, ambitious project you don't know if you can even do, and then actually pushing through to the end is a big deal. And then, after so much work, you can finally let it rest.
as a design engineer for many years, Martins character development in this quest makes me happy. you get to a point where your present designs automatically incorporate your previous learning from previous projects
You've gone from mucking about with plywood and wire in a cave to properly engineering, designing, and testing parts. I think the best part about these videos is watching you develop and learn as a person. There's a wonderful humility that you display in that all your mistakes are exposed, and better yet it is almost always turned into a lesson. Keep growing.
I’m just happy to see you enthusiastically pursuing the next marble machine and this video helped me see just how beneficial it will be to start from scratch. The over engineered design of MMX I don’t think was a failure like you keep saying, as the word failure seems like a slap in the face of everyone who loved it and especially all those who contributed to the project. But I do think it was an important lesson that you has led you to where you are now!
Every failure is a lesson learned about your strategy. - Thomas A. Edison Failure is the most effective technique to optimize strategic planning, implementation and processes. - Thomas A. Edison Show me a completely contented person and I'll show you a failure. - Thomas A. Edison
Martin - It's great to see you having some solid success and enjoying the process. You've basically been earning an engineering education throughout all this design/build work, and the evolution of your process and principles is really impressive. Simplicity is lovely, because it tends to work better, and it's very normal to go from "first, make it pretty, then make it work" to "make it work, then make it pretty." You've learned and integrated so much from past experiments, and it's wonderful to see you simplifying, working out details, gaining ground, and holding that ground. Cheers!
All of your points apply to software design. You have no idea how much I am using your channel to present the universality of good engineering in every industry. You are a such inspiration.
So happy to see Martin happy again. You've really learned the spirit of grinding unnecessary things away, only this time it's being done at design time, much more efficient than after welding hundreds of pieces, I'm sure!
I'm currently studying mechanical engineering, and this video is incredibly inspiring, not only because of the simple and efficient mechanical concepts but even more so the thought process through the development phase. I can relate to the process of falling, reflecting, and improving through the different semesters. You're always learning new things, through new concepts and processes, and that is what makes the world of engineering and invention so incredible. Thanks for inspiring me and also the next generation of engineers and thinkers.
If you are to iterate by experimentation the iteration must be fast. Rather, start with a solid plan, simulate or do quick experiments and finalize it. Then add optimization and tuning, not wholesale redesign every time. 40 years of engineering and design of microprocessors have taught me these hard lessons.
@@randyscorner9434 *Martin's point is to make the design requirements less dumb (@**4:33**).* Since he's a musician and not an engineer (I too have done chip design [for the storage industry] and am now retired; so you and I on the same page) he ended up with a massive reset of the design. If your initial assumptions are overly complex you're screwed. Witness the recent hard-to-solve security bugs discovered with x86/64 architecture, versus ARM architecture. That whole look-ahead prediction logic for Intel's CISC design is insanely complex, bloats the gate count of each core, and is at the heart of the recent security bugs. Server-class ARM chips are up to 128 cores per chip.
@@randyscorner9434 the difference between Martin and most real world engineering is people are not paying to watch you fail. In the real world you have deadline, budgets, and managers. A bad product is better than no product in most cases. Martin has been making the problem a lot of young engineers make. Paralysis by analysis. Also bad products and failures teach you way more than CAD designs. One of the major problems with CAD is that there are so many unknown variables that cannot be accounted for in the real world.
Being a designer, I'm always happy to see design discussions on RUclips. To your point about how helpful the concept of "making your requirements less dumb", I'm happy for you that this helped you but I want to say, I don't hold E. Musk as a great designer. In fact, he is not a designer or an engineer, and I won't make the mistake of invisibilizing at least hundreds of great people working hard in the shadows, behind the facade of attention-seeking claims that is the Musk persona. Now coming back to the subject of this video, I want to say that "problem-framing" (before requirements) is a key aspect, taught in Design school, of working against assumptions (yours, other people's). Making "requirements less dumb" is in fact a statement of epistemological knowledge: how much do you and the people you're working with understand about the *problem space* is correlated (not causal) to your chances of solving for it (I'm usually not a big fan of the "problem-solution" paradigm language, but this works for the context of this discussion). Design is about probabilities, not absolutes. And that's why prototyping & testing are important aspects of design, because they help reduce uncertainty towards achieving intents. And this is also why design differs from a scientific process, because there is no actual "resolution of uncertainty" through isolation of cause & effect (hypothetically, you could run the same design process 100 times and you should get 100 solutions to the same problem). Kindly, I find it interesting that you make the same mistake that most young designers do, looking for the "single most important thing in the design process". A design process isn't a linear process. Making the "requirements less dumb" rely on multitudes of things to happen before, after, and in parallel in a nonlinear way (such as prototyping). Yes, some things should happen before others but they don't always. It is often a matter of iteration and sometimes wandering, recombining, etc. until you hit the thing you needed the most but couldn't anticipate to advance in your project (something called unknown unknowns). The fact that you worked on the problem space, on your assumptions, indirectly made you work on other aspects of your design process that improved the whole (again nonlinear, nonreducible) - much like doing more sports don't necessarily improve your health, rather the fact you start to take care of that aspect is likely to trigger cascading effects and you'll probably more likely to also take care of your alimentation, sleep, etc. Anyways, nice to see you design your way 😉 Looking forward to the next one, cheers!
Good points and very clearly articulated, thank you. I hope Martin doesn't get stuck looking for perfection in all things but make the choice for progress. Perfect, good enough and flawed but fulfills the purpose. A non intrusive fun thing would be to have different color plastic of the cog in the dropper gate.
Dude, without Musk SpaceX would have never happened, ever. You bitching about Musk is like a sailor bitching about the captain. Yes the sailor does "all" the work, but the captain is the ultimate responsible for the allocation of resources, both material as delegation of talent, strategic and tactical decisions of the enterprise and knowing exactly where to point the ship. There is a reason that snipers seek to find and headshot officers. Without the leadership the project falls into pieces. Bitching about CEOs is like bitching about the usefulness of generals just because the enlisted "do all the work". Freaking moronic.
@@quelorepario "Dude", my point is about Musk being a "Designer" in the sense of "a professional using Design knowledge and practices" and the communication around his public persona letting most believe it is the case, invisibilizing directly or indirectly the work of others -nothing more, nothing less. You might disagree with this, and it's fine so long you provide relevant arguments in a respectful manner. But as you suggest yourself through your poor analogies, he is not a designer (and I mean "poor" in the sense of "unoriginal yet lacking proper transposability in context"). Your comment is a Non-Sequitur and the tone is frankly unnecessary.
"I won't make the mistake of invisibilizing at least hundreds of great people working hard in the shadows, behind the facade of attention-seeking claims" Thank you.
This is the most addictive project on RUclips. It feels like watching a genius musician masochistically transforming himself into a genius engineer! 😄😄😄
This video had “some of the old magic” it ignited my imagination and was satisfying, and had everything of the best MMX episodes. I’m glad we’re back on the 3D printing team. Complex parts can be easily made as a single piece with little to no post production. I’m very hopeful for the future of the marble machine saga
I love seeing you back online. I just have to say... I feel like you do come down hard on yourself. Both previous Marble Machines were excellent.. yes even the first one. And the MMX was great! I do understand you felt like it wouldn't survive a tour. And yes it was too complex _for that purpose_ But it was an excellent source of entertainment to watch you build it, and it did _work_ .. just maybe not as well as you wanted. I'm so excited to see more from you.
Yes, way to hard on yourself. It's not stupid, it's less smart from a less experienced maker. Given unlimited money, I'd make the mmx and have it sit still and play music
I'm gonna keep watching for the long haul, but I'm sorry, the MMX was one of the most beautiful, coolest, inspired pieces of functional art I've ever seen. Yes it was over and under engineered, an amalgam of a thousand different ideas at different times, and probably more problematic than I know, but it was imbued with the soul of all of it's collaborators! I am still so sad that we never got any closure of seeing her in action after the long journey. Hearing that bass/drum/guitar video was bittersweet, I thought it was so close to being done and the song was awesome. I really hope this one gets built, but regardless I hope you keep making music and sharing it with us Martin! Also, does anyone know if there's a compilation of the music made with the MMX anywhere on youtube?
MMX is a scam. Oh.... so exciting watching yet another steel ball falling. BTW a marble is made from glass, not steel but that's not important right now. Anyone supporting this is an idiot.
I think he's just become more interested in the process of building and in playing a very dependable and predictable instrument. I miss when he was most interested in somehow getting a crazy messy beautifully unpredictable contraption to produce beautiful noise.
I still check in regularly. I don't begrudge him the changes he's had to make can only guess at the self loathing he endured for the months he took off after "giving up." I am disappointed to see the MMX plan disappear, it was amazing to watch in action and the process was fun. This new process is fun and a great DiY course in being a designer.
I realllllyyy want to watch Martin make music with a marble machine. It was so much fun watching the original marble machine, and Martin making music on the new one even though it wasn't finished.
I love this process of design optimization on primary modules before getting crazy on fabrication. I finally believe Martin will be able to build a machine capable of performing on and surviving a world tour. Seeing Martin so happy and excited about the process also is so great to see and makes a complete MM3 much more likely. Good stuff!
the concept of ""Feeling like you've "finally learned" and realizing all of the times you've though that in the past were wrong"" is kind of just the whole point of life in my experience :p
I was very skeptical when you started all over last month and I shared the concern with others, that we are now fighting nanometers and nanoseconds, loosing sight of having just a silly machine doing music. However, I changed my mind with this video. I think I just needed to trust you more and that these things are real issues. Furthermore, I like how you put the design goals at the end of the video. I still have the rock rolling down the mountain in my mind from previous videos, but never understood what was missing. These design goals make it very clear now. Anyways, I just wanted to share my thoughts and spread some virtual love ❤
Funny thing is he brought up a lot of these things in previous videos, so it sounds like you weren't paying attention and just focused on him dropping MMX
I count myself in this group too. I was skeptical when he first dropped MMX, and yes Davinder, he did explain himself back then, but I guess I was still emotionally invested in the mmx. But seeing these new videos, and the incremental progress, I totally get it now.
@@davinderc Yeah, a lot of us were seeing an obsession with unnecessary levels of precision and thought there is no end in sight, despite his words. Now we are being proven wrong with his actions and man I'm proud of Martin for steadily overcoming each issue. I just can't wait to see the results of these new design requirements on each part of the machine. Things are really starting to come together.
It's been good to see some reconciliation from the backseat engineers. It's incredible how much people apparently knew about his process from 1-2 videos of what he chose to show his followers, and some serious negative and hostile feedback just because they inferred his direction incorrectly. If anything, these new videos are teaching people a healthy dose of patience, which is always good.
This video brings back the excitement I felt watching the MMX videos. You are truly on the right path this time and I really hope that you can work out all the problems! 7:53 This montage really hit the feels.
@@Real28 MMX is a thing of beauty. In the words of Indiana Jones: "It belongs in a museum". So we can look at it and admire it, and at the same time move on to something better.
The nice thing is that, since the design will be modular, he can always design a better looking one later on once the machine actually works. All he has to do is take into account the interfaces and meet the module requirements and it will be a direct drop in replacement.
I am really happy for you that you are taking a path that sounds more healthier for your mental. I can not wait to see how it would sound and look in the end. That being said, I also do feel in some way, that some of those "dumb requirements" are what made the original Marble machine so special. Like, "playing a music with marbles" is a dumb requirement itself, but it's a beautiful concept. There truly is a beauty in a machine that is the simplest, but there is still another kind of beauty in something that is overly complicated too. I'm not trying to convince anyone anything. Just wanted to say there are beauty in many things, in many form, and in many concepts.
Martin - you are such a great teacher. Being able to explain the intricate concepts you have learned, and visualize them for us in a simple way - these are some of my favorite videos. I've absolutely enjoyed your journey through the years learning along side you.
I like that despite your setbacks you haven't given up. Instead you took the lessons and learned from them. I've said it before but you are my inspiration and if you ever come to East Germany to perform I'll buy you a drink. Good success, Martin.
Martin, I don't know if you'll even end up reading this, but I'm so glad that your approach to the project is now so much better for you and your mental health. As much as people are going to whinge because the result won't be exactly the same as they envisioned it (it can't be anyways), I would much rather see an actual project, and a project that makes you happy, than see a design that makes you frustrated to work on in the first place. I also like the focus on prototyping everything to hell first with the most readily available parts. That's how we did it when I was on a robotics team in high school, horrible amalgamations of plywood and PVC were our focus for the first few weeks - as we got everything ironed out and prepared for a final product that ended up going to the world championships 3 out of the 4 years I was on the team. Preparation is key.
I am SO glad you're happy about doing this! A very bright light in a dark tunnel! Good luck with the programming wheel! Can't wait to experience it with you!
I've loved watching this series. This is just like a guide of how to move from having an idea to making it a reality. Beginning with identifying all of the things you need to do in order to have a clear road to success. This is literally applicable to any creative or ingenuitive endeavor. Thank you so much for making it
I genuinely find this build more exciting to watch. It reminds me of a lot of abandoned projects in game development so I guess it's relatable in a sense, but it's very motivational and inspirational to see how you approach this development. Excited to see what conclusions you come up with in regards to the programming wheel.
This is a great video. As a mechanical design engineer and manufacturing consultant for 35 years, usually/often the point of designing and manufacturing a product is to get it into production and make a profit. Without a reasonable manufacturing cost, the final cost to the consumer is often too high to be affordable. So even if it is cool looking, it will cost way to much (for the task) if it is too complex. So I've found over the years that the most elegant solution is usually the simplest solution that does the task well. So I think you are really on the right path with your new design requirements. You have to know the market for your product and understand what would be an affordable and reasonble cost to the customer. Then work backwards in your calculations and you will begin to get an idea of what your cost has to be to get it manufactured and out the door. Also, keep in mind that if you intend to sell your product on a store shelf, you will likely have to get your total cost down to a small fraction of the price when it is sitting on the store shelf. It is often the case that the price will be doubled each time the product changes hands. So you may sell your product to a wholesaler for $100. The wholesaler may sell it to the retailer for $200. Then the retailer may sell it to the customer for $400. So you make need to build it, package it, market it, and include a profit to you for a total of $100 just so that it can be sold to the end customer for $400. That is a very tall order. So think of it this way. If you can reduce the cost by just $1, the cost to the customer can be reduced by $4. This is a great thing. This also shows why it can really pay off to sell directly to the end customer... because these markups can be reduced or eliminated. Ed Schultheis, PE Mechanical design engineer & manufacturing consultant for 35 years Schultek Engineering & Technology, Inc. schultek dot com
I see you making progress as a craftsman with this third phase of MM. You have your goals straight to build the machine, no self imposed time crunch, and you can make videos that document the process. Keep up the good work!
I'm so excited for you to get to the point where you feel happy just producing music for the marble machine + any instruments you wish. You are legitimately one of my favourite musicians Martin, very happy you're making progress!
I am so glad to see you back! I didn't realize how much I missed your videos during your absences, whether it's content goes over my head or not. I miss Hannes too! I hope he is well! I appreciate and admire your steady perseverance and determination to realize a goal. Not many people keep going after failing dramatically. Bless you for showing that there are ways to pick up and keep going, and hopefully improve upon the past. You are a wonder!!
As always you are inspiring. For years my kids and others I teach have been watching you and learning that failure is good, you learn more from it. Failing again is difficult but learning why you have is a great lesson for them. Best of all never giving up on your dream, amending it a bit, and learning from the past makes the path to future success. We did not get into space without a bunch of failures. Your machine will play, and the world will hear it.
Jokes aside, Martin, you're a fantastic person. I really want you to succeed, it surprisingly means a lot for me. Watching your journey over all these years has been not just entertaining or inspiring, it felt like watching something ephemeral become real, like something very important happening here and now. And i'm glad we all are still here. Take care!
The vibe in the comments on this video are probably the best since before the MMX was scrapped, and I can't agree more that this video proves that you're not so obsessed with perfection that you will never finish the project. Keep up the good work!
The simpliest design would be to not do this. Dropping balls through the air instead of servos? This entire project is magic and whimsy. Removing some of that, OK, but insisting simple is better would mean to abandon the entire project. It's mimicking Animusic, after all.
simpler would be to make a programmable instrument that doesnt use marbles as inputs like euuhh a keyboard for example , seeing he already has one could we call the project finished?
I am proud of you. I was so worried you would stop for good. I am glad to see you re-inspired. I can't wait to see what you do next... I have been here since the beginning and will stay until the end.
Wait, Elon somehow made the saying more complicated with "Make your design less dumb". It's "Keep it simple, stupid". It's what all good designers/engineers should remind themselves of.
It kinds of upset me that he listen to such people while the engineers told him from the start and he never listened. I guess it's about his ego that can't accept to hear except from a bigger ego
@@motomotomotomot Quoting Elon Musk doesn't automatically make you a fan of him, though. You could quote a valid saying from someone but still realize that said person has, well, problems. What I'm saying is, we don't know if Martin actually supports Elon Musk "as a person", meaning his public/or private personality. But let's say he doesn't, for the sake of imagination. Does that make it wrong for him to quote something Elon said, that can still apply to this marble machine project? No, because it's still valid.
Hey Martin! Its great to see you have chose the function over form route on the marble machine concept. These new designs have brought you closer to that world tour than ever. Keep up the good work! I just was to give you something to think about. Designing a gate with form over function in mind brings you less far with a prototype, as you found out. Though, now that you have found the optimal marble gate design that exceeded your expectations, there is some breathing room left to incorporate your actual design aspects, like making visual movement pieces. At this point, since your design is so good, a little bit of extra work can make your design look so much better for your world tour! Just something to think about! Cheers! :)
Martin, I've been following your progress since the beginning of the MMX. I just want to say you are an incredibly resilient person with exemplary poise to continue pursuing your dream in engineering and music despite all of these walls you've had to climb. The clip you showed of the MMX playing the bass and drums while you played guitar with it was when I first truly understood how incredible a tour-viable marble machine instrument would be. And even if the new design is not as eccentrically beautiful and precisely constructed as the MMX, I believe it will bring about a sleek, and graceful appeal in its simplicity which will compete with the MMX in its own way. But I think one thing you should keep in mind, is while watching the instrument and all of its impressive mechanical movements is fun, listening to it create beautiful music and knowing it is played by marbles (even if you can't see it) is already an incredible experience. Best wishes to you on your quest to complete the monumental task, I greatly look forward to the day I will be able to hear entire compositions played on the marble machine!
Interesting update, just don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Because, when you get right down to it, playing instruments with marbles itself is a fundamentally dumb design requirement. But it is the design requirement that we are all invested in. I know first you have to make the new Marble Machine actually work. But, the absurdities in the design that make this an interesting project is the reason why we are all following along.
Very much my thinking as well - could easily add the manual lever to push the new gates open, giving the new gates that are arguably better more in keeping with the dumb requirement of music played by marbles even manually. Would also perhaps depending on design also add some visible movement to the audience - in the same way self playing piano (often) move the keys.
Congratulations, this shows the clear process of defining what you REALLY NEED (with tolerance), a concept/method/machine to achieve it and a process to evaluate that it actually does.
6:43 I think you could play manually, same way you've been opening it for the tests! All it would need is a little handle on the spring loaded part, and maybe design it so that the gate can open independent of the prog wheel. Having the drop be on the release adds some difficulty, but you're already needing to lead your shots because of the falling distance of the marble, so that won't be hard to get used to. The biggest problem is how awkward it would be with them all lined up. the easiest place to put the handle is underneath, but you run the risk of getting in the way of the marble falling. You could probably overengineer the hell out of it and get it to work, but I get the feeling that that's the exact opposite of what 2022 Martin wants to do.
Yeah, it could work but it should be at the bottom of the priority list. To avoid feature creep killing the project, we shouldn't think too hard about this until the machine works
I think he could add the manual play action later, and it might actually help with the aesthetics and making the machine's playing more visible. Adding levers attached to the spring loaded part like you said would do it and depending on how they are attached, it would also show movement for each gate when not being used to play them manually. It would definitely add some complexity to the machine, but if he gets it playing the way he wants prior to adding them, he can see how much of an effect they would have on how well it plays and determine whether the added complexity to add manual play and visibility of gate movement is worth it.
Martin I adore your journey with the marble machine and i love seeing you come up with better and better designs. But please Martin stop simping for Elon, he doesn"t do anything at his companies other than being the "ideas guy" and just basically comes up with either physically impossible things or ridiculous things. He just pumps an ungodly amount of money into these companies and expects all the workers and engineers there to do the hard work for him. The work enviroment is horrible at these places and everything Elon has "achieved" can only be credited to the hard working engineers at these companies. I'm not trying to yell at you Martin, I used to be an Elon Musk fan aswell, but he really doesn't deserve all the praise going towards him. Anyways, I still love your work and you don't need to depend on such a stupid figure to keep you going. Keep up the amazing work tho, I'm amazed by how far you've come. :))
What are you talking about? Elon Musk is of course the sole inventor of simplifying your design requirements and deserves credit for it. 🥲 (/s, in case it wasn't obvious)
As a 5year experience mechanical designer I'm happy to see your personal development in mechanical designing. I used to scratch my head and even laugh about some of your decisions, now taken away. BTW, those take aways come from your prototypings and experience ;) I think the new gates look much better, even futuristic.
You're not comparing the old and new gates apples-to-apples. With the old gate, you did long 80,000-marble runs to find problems. When you start using the new gate, you'll very likely encounter bugs you hadn't thought of. In engineering, the prototype is always simpler than the working solution. We sometimes call this "powerpoint engineering". It's not really a bad thing, you should just keep in mind that you're not done until you're on stage at the world tour.
I have a thought about the programming wheel that I hesitate to mention, because it involves complication in order to make an easier end experience. Instead of using pegs that you insert or remove, you could use mechanisms like those of pens, where you push and it goes down, or push again and it goes up. Maybe you can just find a lot of free pens to use? 🙂
I understand your journey now. I was confused with the detour into pure optimized design away from art but you are seeing the beauty and elegance in the simplicity of superior design. That is a different kind of aesthetic. I am with you.
Martins development as a designer continues to inspire me in my own career. So many of these videos are a black mirror that force me to face my own mistakes, but inspire me to learn and push forward. Even though you've moved on to verify your convictions, I will always believe in you Martin. Thank you for sharing this journey with us!
At a Mechanical Engineering Commencement, Martin Speaks: "At first, I had a dream of making a machine that used marbles to make music. Little did I know at the time that following that dream earned me a triple doctorate in ME..."
I really enjoyed the whimsical nature of previous MM designs, but you're right, that process is more entertaining than functional. Something that helps wrangle overly ambitious reqs is Minimum Viable Product. Start by building the simplest thing that works, then re-evaluate and try adding complexity if you still need it. You end up with something that works for more of the process, and usually end up with less discarded work. Good luck! Your channel is super inspiring!
Martin, I'm so proud of you for rerunning the tests on the latest design. Having followed your MMX videos closely, I'll admit I was worried it would be overlooked. But it seems your engineering mindset has really matured, and I can't wait to see how you apply it. Keep your test setups at the ready in case you need them again. The only other comment I have is that USB cables don't make a good plumbob! 😄
14:20 when you are dropping two marbles in quick succession, the first one is flying off at a crazy angle. I don't think you can play them that fast and hit your target
Thank you Martin for all of the videos, because of my grandfather I started tinkering, now mostly 3d printing and electronics, but your journey is always inspiring and keeping me tinkering and solving problems instead of giving up.
I'm honestly so hyped for the progress of this. I do very basic functional designs w/ 3d printing and it's absolutely inspiring to see such a complex and intricate machine being created. I'm so pumped to see the progress over the next couple of milestones and to eventually see the final product!
I have been with you since the first machine and I cannot express how happy I am seeing the seeds grow for what seems to be the mechanical masterpiece that we all dreamed of. It also makes me incredibly happy seeing you actually enjoying the project again.
I agree, one of your best videos! I found myself nodding in agreement so much. And I was smiling and laughing and I felt really good after. So positive, it’s infectious, thank you. You’re amazing!
It's AMAZING the progress you've been doing. I've been following your project for a while, and your advancement since the first Marble Machine is unbelievable. Is great that you could optimize that much your components, focusing on reliability and performance over aesthetics (which can be always added with the project finished). This Marble Machine 3.0 will be sick!
I find it so interesting that some of martins struggles mirror my own. having a design i want, features i think i need and saying 'i have to have these things or its not worth it and i have to figure out how to get it all to work together in a aesthetically pleasing way' and then some time later after frustration 'i dont care anymore, i just want it to work even if its ugly' and then its done. its like 'what did i struggle so hard for when its like it doesnt even matter'. never thought id see martin give up on aesthetics. but one thing is for certain, this Marble machine will have its own unique look all its own and i cant wait to see it! Id also like to say that i was vary disheartened when martin gave up and cancelled the MMX, i hadnt even looked up a video in months, and then i did... only to find out that martin hadnt made any videos! i was a bit sad, but then i started to see some videos show up in my recommendations... and i sometimes watched them, sometimes put it off. but im really glad to see things maybe on the right path to getting a working MM. I really am curious how he will deal with feeding each dropper, but maybe he will go back to the original design, one dropper, one tube, one funnel. no need to divide them if they never mix together! though the original had a neat solution for mixing them a bit.
So, i am a product design student and it is really cool to see you face the same problems as most designers face when they start out. I can really relate to the progress you have made in your design process. And its really great to see some of the design principles i learned in school be used in a real situation. I have been following you since the start of the mmx and i have to say, you have inspired me a lot and your videos and designs keep getting better! Thank you for everything and i hope to see the new marble machine play your beautiful music as soon as possible! (Or not so i can keep enjoying your videos)
@@LyraLyraPantsOnFyra Give it time. After all, he's sacrificed so much of the machine already to "efficiency" and "engineering". It's only a matter of time before he realises that the marbles are the single most unreliable part of it all.
Simply going through the process of learning if the parts that make up the machine actually work before assembling them into a greater work would result in much less headaches, but you are going above and beyond that. I think your potential for creating a beautiful machine has never been better.
I understand that you want to get rid of over engineered pieces so the Marble Machine can work for a world tour. But god damn, over engineered pieces are beautiful. How to assemble them, the process behind, how they work.
No they are not, stop declaring your opinion as factual, you think over engineered pieces are beautiful, I for one don't. Im tired of seeing the same negative comments every single video on this channel, just stop.
@@Iangamebrthis is clearly not a negative comment, i both love the simplicity and reliability of the new design as well as loving the aesthetics of the old part. complicated parts made out of different complimentary metals will always look so nice to me, like the inside of a watch
Congratulations on this achievement. The new gate looks so much more reliable. The old gate might have looked cooler but this new gate has beauty in its simplicity. As for the manual playing I would not be surprised if a manual trigger arm could be connected later down the road in the design. Maybe keep this as an idea to maybe think about. Good luck on the programming wheel!!!
Awesome Martin, not going to lie, I took a bit of an emotional hit when MMX was cancelled, now I am starting to get excited again... A small note, please get a resin printer and print in engineering resin, your parts will be so much more accurate and useful.
Wow! That’s a huge step forward on the design and implementation of a key marble machine subsystem. I expect that the programming wheel will be a formidable challenge to improve as dramatically. I hope you start off with telling us your criteria for refinement. It is so exciting to accompany you on this journey of understanding and refinement of your skills in design and construction. Thank you again for sharing it!
I love that this machine and the time you put into it, will give it a place on a museum and in history and something truly unique. Keep on making in smaller, better, smarter.
3D printing is the way to go. Also congrats on the gate completion! I would like to say you do look happier and the way to go is make it simple but functional. You're doing great!!!!
Well Hello There! Happy Camper here, not only because this video was so satisfying to make but also because our friend Hannes3000 have started a new youtube series on his youtube channel TRAINERDS!
Trainerds is a wholesome community inspired by Hannes own health journey. Hannes is showing that excercising is for anyone, not limited to the gym elites. (Although Hannes himself is becoming a gym elite but that hasn´t made him lost connection with us other mere mortals so that´s all good haha) Hannes has inspired me personally to start excercising and my brain is forever thankful. Now he is about to inspire people all over the internet in the same way, head over and take a peak at the first two episodes here:
HOW TO START A TRAINING ROUTINE
ruclips.net/video/Bft31oO2fys/видео.html
HOW TO BUILD MUSCLES
ruclips.net/video/K2ETMXBSzIM/видео.html
The Trainerds Discord community is also already blooming with a very friendly and supportive culture, so if you are looking for friendly training buddies across the interwebs, check that out.
discord.gg/3mAdmvyRAz
But also how SWEET, the revenge. ;)
YAAAAAAS
Are you back working on ur marble machine?
I thought you gave up on it ! !
Love your new approach but I really hope you will stay away from 3d printing as much as possible I think it looks really ugly ;)
*SUGGESTION* about the programming wheel. Please operate the gates (providing moving force and timing) directly from the flywheel. Programming wheel should only operate some kind of lightweight latch/lever, which will registrate if the next given note should or shouldn't be played (but not *when* it will be played). That way programming wheel can be inaccurate, because the flywheel can operate much faster than the programming wheel, and you can get perfect tightness with sloppy/lightweight programming wheel (or perhaps even with paper).
For the Repeat Time, you also need to consider that the first marble needs enough time to strike, bounce, and clear the instrument before the second marble collides with it. From freeze framing the video it looks like 125ms might be just enough time but you may need to increase the angle of the instruments to create more a more horizontal exit trajectory.
Then again, the only music you would probably make with a 125ms delay would be a snare drum roll and you'd probably run out of queued marbles if you played that fast for more than a few notes.
"A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery 1900-1944.
Yeah, same way with card games like magic, you want the minimal functional set of cards.
+.
MIDI keyboard.
Wow he took a long time to say that
Same with writing, editor knows they are done when…
8:16 is my favourite moment from the entire MMX series... That baseline was just so good... Ascending heroically, it captured the trials and tribulations of MMX perfectly.
I forgot how soul satisfying that improvised MMX bass, drum, and guitar riff actually is. The guitar delay/compression effects were perfection and put a huge smile on my face when it started.
Do we have a long version of that? I need it
I love what he plays so much, I’m guessing it’s not a full sone yet?
It is death to darlings
This is the riff that introduced me to Wintergatan. Someone posted a clip on Reddit and that was it.
Idolizing Elon aside, I sincerely hope your exploration through design doesn't leave you feeling your previous work was wasted or "dumb".
It's easy for someone who is removed from the actual work to be unkind to their previous product. But as a creative who collaborated with so many other creators and intimately documented everything about the MMX, the product you made was objectively fascinating and gorgeous and thrilling in so many ways. I'm excited to see what MM3 has in store and your journey with it.
You don't have to demean your past self or creation to see the growth you've made in your present self. You are better now, doesn't mean you were terrible before.
I'm hyped for Martin to take on the programming wheel with his new wisdom 🧠! It feels like we're entering a new era for Wintergatan.
It's Springgatan now !
The thing about aesthetics is that they can be added after you have finished building the machine. You don't need to include them with the initial design but instead, add them afterward when you know the machine is fully functional.
It's easier to make a functional machine look good than to make an art piece functional,
i fully agree form should always follow function because if it does not function it would be useless, it would be gilding a turd
Tell that to Rube Goldeberg. And as an artist, true, you can make a machine look good, but you can't make a machine Art without reimagining the machine.
Something that works tends to have a beauty all of its own
That's a good philosophy
What Martin has overlooked is that the over-engineered complexity of the old machine was part of its appeal and beauty. It was almost steampunk.
This is true, but also you can add cool linkages and embellishments at the last step. Once everything works, you can then step back and make informed decisions on places to sacrifice a little practicality for awesomeness
The fact that you haven't given up is in itself a joy for us but seeing you having fun with this process is a much greater reward.
When this series started I was a bit worried that Martin got off the rails but with each episode I like it more.
Agreed!!
"There is no genius without a hint of madness."
- Aristotle, probably
The fact that Martin has finally gotten past his aversion to using 3D printing is a massive step forward. An added HUGE benefit is that if a world tour happens, WHEN something on the machine breaks, Martin can have a replacement part printed within hours ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD.
I bet he'll travel with spares
Aye, print one, print a dozen just in case.
is it a matter of commercial availability? i would imagine they weren't as easy to get when he was building the last one, let alone the first one
Now I wish Martin would get over his apparent adoration of Musk, he's somebody who definitely doesn't deserves Martin's praise.
@@yellowdragon101 Martin had a 3D printer previously but this time it stuck. But 3D printing critical parts for the machine isn't a goal hopefully, delrin is just a lot more resilliant. But being able to print spares on the go to replace broken delrin parts would be possible, and they'll most likely survive a concert.
I still get chills hearing MMX playing multiple instruments at once, no matter what, you've captivated us with the project
You haven't completely prevented manual playing: if, later on, you decide it's worth the part count, you can always add a linkage between the programming wheel and the gates.
The important thing is that you've isolated the gate from this other feature. That way you can focus on what matters for the marble drop.
Now, you've also got the flexibility to only add a manual control to some channels without needing to design two separate marble gates E.g. Just one channel for each note on the vibraphone
I would just add a button to the front of the gate that is a part of the linkage so a simple press performs the same function. The buttons could even be made to look like a keyboard with black and white.
@@jonathanmyers8477 that’s probably the most simple and elegant solution
@@jonathanmyers8477 Though it comes at the cost of tighter integration. I could really understand leaving the gates themselves unchanged now (since they're a 'known good' element). If I were approaching the marble machine as I would a piece of software, I'd be looking to add the functionality on outside the gate
He had 2 channels to get faster tempo consecutive notes. The time needed to stage the next marble, as well as the necessary attack, hold, and release times really limited the speed he could achieve without double gates, and he sounds like he wants to retain the ability to maintain tight timing on super fast notes with dual gates (around 16:25).
@@jonathanmyers8477 I though something similar, you’d want to make it so that it makes no contact with the mechanism unless pushed. That way it does not add friction or mass to the mechanism when not in use.
Whether the third attempt gets built or not, I sincerely hope these kinds of videos continue. As an engineering student, it is some of the most entertaining content on the platform, especially considering the 'hero's journey' aspect that each video has in itself: "The old design was overcomplicated and had issues, here's how it was solved." Fantastic!
I moved to engineering four years ago and it really is like in reality. Your team designs a 500000€ system, it looks great, you build it, it is overcomplicated and breaks in dozens of ways. You fix it and start designing the next one, hopefully a bit wiser. Crazy requirements are the main factor there. Hard to tell the customer that they really don't want 52 maybe somehow working features but 3 rock solid ones.
This dude betrayed his audience and teased them for years. It was all a lie. He's doing this for RUclips views, nothing else and has no intention on releasing a 'marble machine' or making any music with it. You are a fool of you decide to get fooled a third time by his sheme.
@@BuzzingGoober bye felicia
I will be honest, as sad as I am to see the manual marble play feature get cut, I'm really glad Martin has overcome his feature creep phase and is truly focusing all his attention on making sure he can build a marble machine first. Martin has definitely come a long way from 4 years ago, and I couldn't be more proud of him!
Once we have the new marble gates working, it would be a very simple matter to add a manual activation button/lever to them so ... I wouldn't plan on this never being a thing.
once the function has been completed a way to manually control it can be added so do not say it is gone permanently
he could add a lever to trigger the gate that comes from behind the gate to the front of the gate
I remember watching the first Marble machine and I sincerely thought the manual marble play was so cool, to think that he cut it out of the project is pretty sad
@@daniellima4391 The first machine wasn't cut out of anything; it was finished, it got its video, it was cool, and now he's working on a new project. That's the opposite of sad. Taking up a complex, ambitious project you don't know if you can even do, and then actually pushing through to the end is a big deal. And then, after so much work, you can finally let it rest.
@@17thstellation I believe he was referring to the manual marble drop feature being cut from MM3, not the first machine being cut from something.
as a design engineer for many years, Martins character development in this quest makes me happy. you get to a point where your present designs automatically incorporate your previous learning from previous projects
You've gone from mucking about with plywood and wire in a cave to properly engineering, designing, and testing parts. I think the best part about these videos is watching you develop and learn as a person. There's a wonderful humility that you display in that all your mistakes are exposed, and better yet it is almost always turned into a lesson. Keep growing.
"As a person". 😊
I’m just happy to see you enthusiastically pursuing the next marble machine and this video helped me see just how beneficial it will be to start from scratch. The over engineered design of MMX I don’t think was a failure like you keep saying, as the word failure seems like a slap in the face of everyone who loved it and especially all those who contributed to the project. But I do think it was an important lesson that you has led you to where you are now!
Every failure is a lesson learned about your strategy. - Thomas A. Edison Failure is the most effective technique to optimize strategic planning, implementation and processes. - Thomas A. Edison Show me a completely contented person and I'll show you a failure. - Thomas A. Edison
Martin - It's great to see you having some solid success and enjoying the process. You've basically been earning an engineering education throughout all this design/build work, and the evolution of your process and principles is really impressive. Simplicity is lovely, because it tends to work better, and it's very normal to go from "first, make it pretty, then make it work" to "make it work, then make it pretty." You've learned and integrated so much from past experiments, and it's wonderful to see you simplifying, working out details, gaining ground, and holding that ground. Cheers!
All of your points apply to software design. You have no idea how much I am using your channel to present the universality of good engineering in every industry. You are a such inspiration.
So happy to see Martin happy again. You've really learned the spirit of grinding unnecessary things away, only this time it's being done at design time, much more efficient than after welding hundreds of pieces, I'm sure!
I'm currently studying mechanical engineering, and this video is incredibly inspiring, not only because of the simple and efficient mechanical concepts but even more so the thought process through the development phase. I can relate to the process of falling, reflecting, and improving through the different semesters. You're always learning new things, through new concepts and processes, and that is what makes the world of engineering and invention so incredible. Thanks for inspiring me and also the next generation of engineers and thinkers.
Dagern, it might be worthwhile to share this video with the other students, or even your professor.
If you are to iterate by experimentation the iteration must be fast. Rather, start with a solid plan, simulate or do quick experiments and finalize it. Then add optimization and tuning, not wholesale redesign every time. 40 years of engineering and design of microprocessors have taught me these hard lessons.
@@randyscorner9434 *Martin's point is to make the design requirements less dumb (@**4:33**).* Since he's a musician and not an engineer (I too have done chip design [for the storage industry] and am now retired; so you and I on the same page) he ended up with a massive reset of the design.
If your initial assumptions are overly complex you're screwed. Witness the recent hard-to-solve security bugs discovered with x86/64 architecture, versus ARM architecture. That whole look-ahead prediction logic for Intel's CISC design is insanely complex, bloats the gate count of each core, and is at the heart of the recent security bugs. Server-class ARM chips are up to 128 cores per chip.
@@randyscorner9434 the difference between Martin and most real world engineering is people are not paying to watch you fail.
In the real world you have deadline, budgets, and managers.
A bad product is better than no product in most cases.
Martin has been making the problem a lot of young engineers make. Paralysis by analysis.
Also bad products and failures teach you way more than CAD designs. One of the major problems with CAD is that there are so many unknown variables that cannot be accounted for in the real world.
Being a designer, I'm always happy to see design discussions on RUclips.
To your point about how helpful the concept of "making your requirements less dumb", I'm happy for you that this helped you but I want to say, I don't hold E. Musk as a great designer. In fact, he is not a designer or an engineer, and I won't make the mistake of invisibilizing at least hundreds of great people working hard in the shadows, behind the facade of attention-seeking claims that is the Musk persona.
Now coming back to the subject of this video, I want to say that "problem-framing" (before requirements) is a key aspect, taught in Design school, of working against assumptions (yours, other people's). Making "requirements less dumb" is in fact a statement of epistemological knowledge: how much do you and the people you're working with understand about the *problem space* is correlated (not causal) to your chances of solving for it (I'm usually not a big fan of the "problem-solution" paradigm language, but this works for the context of this discussion). Design is about probabilities, not absolutes. And that's why prototyping & testing are important aspects of design, because they help reduce uncertainty towards achieving intents. And this is also why design differs from a scientific process, because there is no actual "resolution of uncertainty" through isolation of cause & effect (hypothetically, you could run the same design process 100 times and you should get 100 solutions to the same problem).
Kindly, I find it interesting that you make the same mistake that most young designers do, looking for the "single most important thing in the design process". A design process isn't a linear process. Making the "requirements less dumb" rely on multitudes of things to happen before, after, and in parallel in a nonlinear way (such as prototyping). Yes, some things should happen before others but they don't always. It is often a matter of iteration and sometimes wandering, recombining, etc. until you hit the thing you needed the most but couldn't anticipate to advance in your project (something called unknown unknowns). The fact that you worked on the problem space, on your assumptions, indirectly made you work on other aspects of your design process that improved the whole (again nonlinear, nonreducible) - much like doing more sports don't necessarily improve your health, rather the fact you start to take care of that aspect is likely to trigger cascading effects and you'll probably more likely to also take care of your alimentation, sleep, etc.
Anyways, nice to see you design your way 😉
Looking forward to the next one, cheers!
Good points and very clearly articulated, thank you. I hope Martin doesn't get stuck looking for perfection in all things but make the choice for progress. Perfect, good enough and flawed but fulfills the purpose. A non intrusive fun thing would be to have different color plastic of the cog in the dropper gate.
Dude, without Musk SpaceX would have never happened, ever. You bitching about Musk is like a sailor bitching about the captain. Yes the sailor does "all" the work, but the captain is the ultimate responsible for the allocation of resources, both material as delegation of talent, strategic and tactical decisions of the enterprise and knowing exactly where to point the ship. There is a reason that snipers seek to find and headshot officers. Without the leadership the project falls into pieces.
Bitching about CEOs is like bitching about the usefulness of generals just because the enlisted "do all the work". Freaking moronic.
@@quelorepario "Dude", my point is about Musk being a "Designer" in the sense of "a professional using Design knowledge and practices" and the communication around his public persona letting most believe it is the case, invisibilizing directly or indirectly the work of others -nothing more, nothing less. You might disagree with this, and it's fine so long you provide relevant arguments in a respectful manner. But as you suggest yourself through your poor analogies, he is not a designer (and I mean "poor" in the sense of "unoriginal yet lacking proper transposability in context"). Your comment is a Non-Sequitur and the tone is frankly unnecessary.
"I won't make the mistake of invisibilizing at least hundreds of great people working hard in the shadows, behind the facade of attention-seeking claims"
Thank you.
This is the most addictive project on RUclips. It feels like watching a genius musician masochistically transforming himself into a genius engineer! 😄😄😄
Don't forget Marquis de Sade. Pain is temporary. Martin the sadist.
This video had “some of the old magic” it ignited my imagination and was satisfying, and had everything of the best MMX episodes. I’m glad we’re back on the 3D printing team. Complex parts can be easily made as a single piece with little to no post production. I’m very hopeful for the future of the marble machine saga
Much agreed on the magic side of things
I love seeing you back online. I just have to say... I feel like you do come down hard on yourself. Both previous Marble Machines were excellent.. yes even the first one. And the MMX was great! I do understand you felt like it wouldn't survive a tour. And yes it was too complex _for that purpose_ But it was an excellent source of entertainment to watch you build it, and it did _work_ .. just maybe not as well as you wanted.
I'm so excited to see more from you.
It's a travesty we never got a full song out of the mmx
Yes, way to hard on yourself. It's not stupid, it's less smart from a less experienced maker. Given unlimited money, I'd make the mmx and have it sit still and play music
I'm gonna keep watching for the long haul, but I'm sorry, the MMX was one of the most beautiful, coolest, inspired pieces of functional art I've ever seen. Yes it was over and under engineered, an amalgam of a thousand different ideas at different times, and probably more problematic than I know, but it was imbued with the soul of all of it's collaborators! I am still so sad that we never got any closure of seeing her in action after the long journey. Hearing that bass/drum/guitar video was bittersweet, I thought it was so close to being done and the song was awesome. I really hope this one gets built, but regardless I hope you keep making music and sharing it with us Martin!
Also, does anyone know if there's a compilation of the music made with the MMX anywhere on youtube?
I stoped subscribing after. Seems a big scam to me now as the longer it goes the longer money keeps flowing
MMX is a scam. Oh.... so exciting watching yet another steel ball falling. BTW a marble is made from glass, not steel but that's not important right now. Anyone supporting this is an idiot.
@@spukin7636 then why are you still here? also he stopped taking money from subscribers.
I think he's just become more interested in the process of building and in playing a very dependable and predictable instrument. I miss when he was most interested in somehow getting a crazy messy beautifully unpredictable contraption to produce beautiful noise.
I still check in regularly. I don't begrudge him the changes he's had to make can only guess at the self loathing he endured for the months he took off after "giving up." I am disappointed to see the MMX plan disappear, it was amazing to watch in action and the process was fun. This new process is fun and a great DiY course in being a designer.
I realllllyyy want to watch Martin make music with a marble machine. It was so much fun watching the original marble machine, and Martin making music on the new one even though it wasn't finished.
I am so proud of martin for the progress he has made in terms of his design philosophy. It's so much healthier, and more productive. That's growth
I love this process of design optimization on primary modules before getting crazy on fabrication. I finally believe Martin will be able to build a machine capable of performing on and surviving a world tour. Seeing Martin so happy and excited about the process also is so great to see and makes a complete MM3 much more likely. Good stuff!
Yea si found the MMX when he had less than 10 video and he was already building the frame and gear
the concept of ""Feeling like you've "finally learned" and realizing all of the times you've though that in the past were wrong"" is kind of just the whole point of life in my experience :p
I was very skeptical when you started all over last month and I shared the concern with others, that we are now fighting nanometers and nanoseconds, loosing sight of having just a silly machine doing music.
However, I changed my mind with this video. I think I just needed to trust you more and that these things are real issues.
Furthermore, I like how you put the design goals at the end of the video. I still have the rock rolling down the mountain in my mind from previous videos, but never understood what was missing. These design goals make it very clear now.
Anyways, I just wanted to share my thoughts and spread some virtual love ❤
I feel exactly the same way
Funny thing is he brought up a lot of these things in previous videos, so it sounds like you weren't paying attention and just focused on him dropping MMX
I count myself in this group too. I was skeptical when he first dropped MMX, and yes Davinder, he did explain himself back then, but I guess I was still emotionally invested in the mmx.
But seeing these new videos, and the incremental progress, I totally get it now.
@@davinderc Yeah, a lot of us were seeing an obsession with unnecessary levels of precision and thought there is no end in sight, despite his words. Now we are being proven wrong with his actions and man I'm proud of Martin for steadily overcoming each issue.
I just can't wait to see the results of these new design requirements on each part of the machine. Things are really starting to come together.
It's been good to see some reconciliation from the backseat engineers. It's incredible how much people apparently knew about his process from 1-2 videos of what he chose to show his followers, and some serious negative and hostile feedback just because they inferred his direction incorrectly. If anything, these new videos are teaching people a healthy dose of patience, which is always good.
This video brings back the excitement I felt watching the MMX videos. You are truly on the right path this time and I really hope that you can work out all the problems!
7:53 This montage really hit the feels.
But the old gate was so much more fun 😊 this new one looks like it can actually work.
Yea, old gate looked beautiful. But definitely not functional.
@@Real28 MMX is a thing of beauty. In the words of Indiana Jones: "It belongs in a museum". So we can look at it and admire it, and at the same time move on to something better.
The nice thing is that, since the design will be modular, he can always design a better looking one later on once the machine actually works. All he has to do is take into account the interfaces and meet the module requirements and it will be a direct drop in replacement.
@@rikschaaf you got me thinking of the Iron Man armors lol, same functionality with a lot of different designs
fun is no longer in the design requirements list
I am really happy for you that you are taking a path that sounds more healthier for your mental. I can not wait to see how it would sound and look in the end.
That being said, I also do feel in some way, that some of those "dumb requirements" are what made the original Marble machine so special. Like, "playing a music with marbles" is a dumb requirement itself, but it's a beautiful concept. There truly is a beauty in a machine that is the simplest, but there is still another kind of beauty in something that is overly complicated too.
I'm not trying to convince anyone anything. Just wanted to say there are beauty in many things, in many form, and in many concepts.
Seeing you smiling and laughing is awesome! You face looks very well rested and your eyes are much more open and clear.
Thanks for never giving up. The journey is what it's all about and I feel privileged to get to see so much of yours.
Always drop whatever I’m doing to watch these videos
Same
Just like the marbles.
Literally always haha
I see what you did there.
Martin - you are such a great teacher. Being able to explain the intricate concepts you have learned, and visualize them for us in a simple way - these are some of my favorite videos. I've absolutely enjoyed your journey through the years learning along side you.
I like that despite your setbacks you haven't given up. Instead you took the lessons and learned from them. I've said it before but you are my inspiration and if you ever come to East Germany to perform I'll buy you a drink. Good success, Martin.
Martin, I don't know if you'll even end up reading this, but I'm so glad that your approach to the project is now so much better for you and your mental health. As much as people are going to whinge because the result won't be exactly the same as they envisioned it (it can't be anyways), I would much rather see an actual project, and a project that makes you happy, than see a design that makes you frustrated to work on in the first place.
I also like the focus on prototyping everything to hell first with the most readily available parts. That's how we did it when I was on a robotics team in high school, horrible amalgamations of plywood and PVC were our focus for the first few weeks - as we got everything ironed out and prepared for a final product that ended up going to the world championships 3 out of the 4 years I was on the team. Preparation is key.
I am SO glad you're happy about doing this! A very bright light in a dark tunnel!
Good luck with the programming wheel! Can't wait to experience it with you!
I've loved watching this series. This is just like a guide of how to move from having an idea to making it a reality. Beginning with identifying all of the things you need to do in order to have a clear road to success. This is literally applicable to any creative or ingenuitive endeavor. Thank you so much for making it
I genuinely find this build more exciting to watch. It reminds me of a lot of abandoned projects in game development so I guess it's relatable in a sense, but it's very motivational and inspirational to see how you approach this development. Excited to see what conclusions you come up with in regards to the programming wheel.
This is a great video. As a mechanical design engineer and manufacturing consultant for 35 years, usually/often the point of designing and manufacturing a product is to get it into production and make a profit. Without a reasonable manufacturing cost, the final cost to the consumer is often too high to be affordable. So even if it is cool looking, it will cost way to much (for the task) if it is too complex. So I've found over the years that the most elegant solution is usually the simplest solution that does the task well. So I think you are really on the right path with your new design requirements.
You have to know the market for your product and understand what would be an affordable and reasonble cost to the customer. Then work backwards in your calculations and you will begin to get an idea of what your cost has to be to get it manufactured and out the door. Also, keep in mind that if you intend to sell your product on a store shelf, you will likely have to get your total cost down to a small fraction of the price when it is sitting on the store shelf. It is often the case that the price will be doubled each time the product changes hands. So you may sell your product to a wholesaler for $100. The wholesaler may sell it to the retailer for $200. Then the retailer may sell it to the customer for $400. So you make need to build it, package it, market it, and include a profit to you for a total of $100 just so that it can be sold to the end customer for $400. That is a very tall order. So think of it this way. If you can reduce the cost by just $1, the cost to the customer can be reduced by $4. This is a great thing. This also shows why it can really pay off to sell directly to the end customer... because these markups can be reduced or eliminated.
Ed Schultheis, PE
Mechanical design engineer & manufacturing consultant for 35 years
Schultek Engineering & Technology, Inc.
schultek dot com
I see you making progress as a craftsman with this third phase of MM. You have your goals straight to build the machine, no self imposed time crunch, and you can make videos that document the process. Keep up the good work!
I'm so excited for you to get to the point where you feel happy just producing music for the marble machine + any instruments you wish. You are legitimately one of my favourite musicians Martin, very happy you're making progress!
I am so glad to see you back! I didn't realize how much I missed your videos during your absences, whether it's content goes over my head or not. I miss Hannes too! I hope he is well! I appreciate and admire your steady perseverance and determination to realize a goal. Not many people keep going after failing dramatically. Bless you for showing that there are ways to pick up and keep going, and hopefully improve upon the past. You are a wonder!!
I forgot how soul satisfying that improvised MMX bass, drum, and guitar riff actually is.
As always you are inspiring. For years my kids and others I teach have been watching you and learning that failure is good, you learn more from it. Failing again is difficult but learning why you have is a great lesson for them. Best of all never giving up on your dream, amending it a bit, and learning from the past makes the path to future success. We did not get into space without a bunch of failures. Your machine will play, and the world will hear it.
Jokes aside, Martin, you're a fantastic person. I really want you to succeed, it surprisingly means a lot for me. Watching your journey over all these years has been not just entertaining or inspiring, it felt like watching something ephemeral become real, like something very important happening here and now. And i'm glad we all are still here. Take care!
honestly you being inspired to keep refining your designs is one of the only good things to come out of elon musk
I know posting that in this comments section is asking to be drawn and quartered but i'm a glutton for punishment
I always cringe when he quotes him
The vibe in the comments on this video are probably the best since before the MMX was scrapped, and I can't agree more that this video proves that you're not so obsessed with perfection that you will never finish the project. Keep up the good work!
You look even happier! Let's go Martin, so happy for you :)
Keep it up!
You entertain and inspire through success and failure.
I’m enjoying this new chapter in your videos - putting design principles first.
👍
Simpler is always better in designs :)
Keep up the good work Martin!
MRI machines
The simpliest design would be to not do this. Dropping balls through the air instead of servos? This entire project is magic and whimsy. Removing some of that, OK, but insisting simple is better would mean to abandon the entire project. It's mimicking Animusic, after all.
I'm guessing that the next Marble Machine WONT USE ANY PARTS AT ALL .................
Cannot agree more. Each additional piece creates a new failure point as well as a longer time to deconstruct and reconstruct.
simpler would be to make a programmable instrument that doesnt use marbles as inputs like euuhh a keyboard for example , seeing he already has one could we call the project finished?
I am proud of you. I was so worried you would stop for good. I am glad to see you re-inspired. I can't wait to see what you do next... I have been here since the beginning and will stay until the end.
Wait, Elon somehow made the saying more complicated with "Make your design less dumb". It's "Keep it simple, stupid". It's what all good designers/engineers should remind themselves of.
100%. Also listening to Elon is stupid, this man acts more like he knows than he knows really.
It kinds of upset me that he listen to such people while the engineers told him from the start and he never listened. I guess it's about his ego that can't accept to hear except from a bigger ego
@@motomotomotomot Quoting Elon Musk doesn't automatically make you a fan of him, though. You could quote a valid saying from someone but still realize that said person has, well, problems. What I'm saying is, we don't know if Martin actually supports Elon Musk "as a person", meaning his public/or private personality. But let's say he doesn't, for the sake of imagination. Does that make it wrong for him to quote something Elon said, that can still apply to this marble machine project? No, because it's still valid.
Hey Martin! Its great to see you have chose the function over form route on the marble machine concept. These new designs have brought you closer to that world tour than ever. Keep up the good work! I just was to give you something to think about. Designing a gate with form over function in mind brings you less far with a prototype, as you found out. Though, now that you have found the optimal marble gate design that exceeded your expectations, there is some breathing room left to incorporate your actual design aspects, like making visual movement pieces. At this point, since your design is so good, a little bit of extra work can make your design look so much better for your world tour! Just something to think about! Cheers! :)
You have lost your marbles in the pursuit of perfection.
Martin, I've been following your progress since the beginning of the MMX. I just want to say you are an incredibly resilient person with exemplary poise to continue pursuing your dream in engineering and music despite all of these walls you've had to climb.
The clip you showed of the MMX playing the bass and drums while you played guitar with it was when I first truly understood how incredible a tour-viable marble machine instrument would be. And even if the new design is not as eccentrically beautiful and precisely constructed as the MMX, I believe it will bring about a sleek, and graceful appeal in its simplicity which will compete with the MMX in its own way.
But I think one thing you should keep in mind, is while watching the instrument and all of its impressive mechanical movements is fun, listening to it create beautiful music and knowing it is played by marbles (even if you can't see it) is already an incredible experience.
Best wishes to you on your quest to complete the monumental task, I greatly look forward to the day I will be able to hear entire compositions played on the marble machine!
Interesting update, just don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Because, when you get right down to it, playing instruments with marbles itself is a fundamentally dumb design requirement. But it is the design requirement that we are all invested in. I know first you have to make the new Marble Machine actually work. But, the absurdities in the design that make this an interesting project is the reason why we are all following along.
Very much my thinking as well - could easily add the manual lever to push the new gates open, giving the new gates that are arguably better more in keeping with the dumb requirement of music played by marbles even manually. Would also perhaps depending on design also add some visible movement to the audience - in the same way self playing piano (often) move the keys.
Congratulations, this shows the clear process of defining what you REALLY NEED (with tolerance), a concept/method/machine to achieve it and a process to evaluate that it actually does.
6:43 I think you could play manually, same way you've been opening it for the tests! All it would need is a little handle on the spring loaded part, and maybe design it so that the gate can open independent of the prog wheel. Having the drop be on the release adds some difficulty, but you're already needing to lead your shots because of the falling distance of the marble, so that won't be hard to get used to.
The biggest problem is how awkward it would be with them all lined up. the easiest place to put the handle is underneath, but you run the risk of getting in the way of the marble falling. You could probably overengineer the hell out of it and get it to work, but I get the feeling that that's the exact opposite of what 2022 Martin wants to do.
Yeah, it could work but it should be at the bottom of the priority list. To avoid feature creep killing the project, we shouldn't think too hard about this until the machine works
I think he could add the manual play action later, and it might actually help with the aesthetics and making the machine's playing more visible. Adding levers attached to the spring loaded part like you said would do it and depending on how they are attached, it would also show movement for each gate when not being used to play them manually. It would definitely add some complexity to the machine, but if he gets it playing the way he wants prior to adding them, he can see how much of an effect they would have on how well it plays and determine whether the added complexity to add manual play and visibility of gate movement is worth it.
@@Gildaaaaaaas yes it would be after the device is confirmed to works that you would try to add the wants to the designs like manual control
This is one of my absolute favorite channels. Martin you are a mad scientist, in all the best ways. I love it.😊
Martin I adore your journey with the marble machine and i love seeing you come up with better and better designs. But please Martin stop simping for Elon, he doesn"t do anything at his companies other than being the "ideas guy" and just basically comes up with either physically impossible things or ridiculous things. He just pumps an ungodly amount of money into these companies and expects all the workers and engineers there to do the hard work for him. The work enviroment is horrible at these places and everything Elon has "achieved" can only be credited to the hard working engineers at these companies. I'm not trying to yell at you Martin, I used to be an Elon Musk fan aswell, but he really doesn't deserve all the praise going towards him.
Anyways, I still love your work and you don't need to depend on such a stupid figure to keep you going. Keep up the amazing work tho, I'm amazed by how far you've come. :))
massively agree, this world does not need more elon simping
What are you talking about? Elon Musk is of course the sole inventor of simplifying your design requirements and deserves credit for it. 🥲 (/s, in case it wasn't obvious)
@@Chibs honestly there are way too many people who treat Elon's word as gospel so thank you for clarifying. :))
As a 5year experience mechanical designer I'm happy to see your personal development in mechanical designing. I used to scratch my head and even laugh about some of your decisions, now taken away. BTW, those take aways come from your prototypings and experience ;)
I think the new gates look much better, even futuristic.
You're not comparing the old and new gates apples-to-apples. With the old gate, you did long 80,000-marble runs to find problems. When you start using the new gate, you'll very likely encounter bugs you hadn't thought of. In engineering, the prototype is always simpler than the working solution. We sometimes call this "powerpoint engineering".
It's not really a bad thing, you should just keep in mind that you're not done until you're on stage at the world tour.
Dudeee, thank you for taking us back on this journey with you, this is worth more than you know to all of us !!!
I have a thought about the programming wheel that I hesitate to mention, because it involves complication in order to make an easier end experience. Instead of using pegs that you insert or remove, you could use mechanisms like those of pens, where you push and it goes down, or push again and it goes up. Maybe you can just find a lot of free pens to use? 🙂
I understand your journey now. I was confused with the detour into pure optimized design away from art but you are seeing the beauty and elegance in the simplicity of superior design. That is a different kind of aesthetic. I am with you.
I enjoy getting to see the initial design process with this Marble Machine, while the MMX brought us in at the prototype/redesign step.
Martins development as a designer continues to inspire me in my own career. So many of these videos are a black mirror that force me to face my own mistakes, but inspire me to learn and push forward.
Even though you've moved on to verify your convictions, I will always believe in you Martin.
Thank you for sharing this journey with us!
At a Mechanical Engineering Commencement, Martin Speaks: "At first, I had a dream of making a machine that used marbles to make music. Little did I know at the time that following that dream earned me a triple doctorate in ME..."
I really enjoyed the whimsical nature of previous MM designs, but you're right, that process is more entertaining than functional.
Something that helps wrangle overly ambitious reqs is Minimum Viable Product. Start by building the simplest thing that works, then re-evaluate and try adding complexity if you still need it. You end up with something that works for more of the process, and usually end up with less discarded work.
Good luck! Your channel is super inspiring!
Martin is a classic engineer. Like a renaissance man building a windmill.
Martin, I'm so proud of you for rerunning the tests on the latest design. Having followed your MMX videos closely, I'll admit I was worried it would be overlooked. But it seems your engineering mindset has really matured, and I can't wait to see how you apply it. Keep your test setups at the ready in case you need them again. The only other comment I have is that USB cables don't make a good plumbob! 😄
14:20 when you are dropping two marbles in quick succession, the first one is flying off at a crazy angle. I don't think you can play them that fast and hit your target
Thank you Martin for all of the videos, because of my grandfather I started tinkering, now mostly 3d printing and electronics, but your journey is always inspiring and keeping me tinkering and solving problems instead of giving up.
Watching your comeback from Marble Machine X in such a stride is amazing. Never been on such a clear road towards world tour
I'm honestly so hyped for the progress of this. I do very basic functional designs w/ 3d printing and it's absolutely inspiring to see such a complex and intricate machine being created. I'm so pumped to see the progress over the next couple of milestones and to eventually see the final product!
I have been with you since the first machine and I cannot express how happy I am seeing the seeds grow for what seems to be the mechanical masterpiece that we all dreamed of. It also makes me incredibly happy seeing you actually enjoying the project again.
I agree, one of your best videos! I found myself nodding in agreement so much. And I was smiling and laughing and I felt really good after. So positive, it’s infectious, thank you. You’re amazing!
It would still be cool to see some cosmetic additions. But I agree with functionality being the priority. Make it work first, make it pretty later
Like the creepy kinetic fingers?
Ye
It's AMAZING the progress you've been doing. I've been following your project for a while, and your advancement since the first Marble Machine is unbelievable. Is great that you could optimize that much your components, focusing on reliability and performance over aesthetics (which can be always added with the project finished). This Marble Machine 3.0 will be sick!
I'm glad you questioned your design requirements. Now time to question your fandom for the Elongated Muskrat.
I find it so interesting that some of martins struggles mirror my own. having a design i want, features i think i need and saying 'i have to have these things or its not worth it and i have to figure out how to get it all to work together in a aesthetically pleasing way' and then some time later after frustration 'i dont care anymore, i just want it to work even if its ugly' and then its done. its like 'what did i struggle so hard for when its like it doesnt even matter'.
never thought id see martin give up on aesthetics. but one thing is for certain, this Marble machine will have its own unique look all its own and i cant wait to see it!
Id also like to say that i was vary disheartened when martin gave up and cancelled the MMX, i hadnt even looked up a video in months, and then i did... only to find out that martin hadnt made any videos! i was a bit sad, but then i started to see some videos show up in my recommendations... and i sometimes watched them, sometimes put it off. but im really glad to see things maybe on the right path to getting a working MM. I really am curious how he will deal with feeding each dropper, but maybe he will go back to the original design, one dropper, one tube, one funnel. no need to divide them if they never mix together! though the original had a neat solution for mixing them a bit.
Old gate looked a whole lot sexier tho
So, i am a product design student and it is really cool to see you face the same problems as most designers face when they start out. I can really relate to the progress you have made in your design process. And its really great to see some of the design principles i learned in school be used in a real situation. I have been following you since the start of the mmx and i have to say, you have inspired me a lot and your videos and designs keep getting better! Thank you for everything and i hope to see the new marble machine play your beautiful music as soon as possible! (Or not so i can keep enjoying your videos)
you know, if it's form from function, you just better off playing midi. so what's tge line between soulless mechanical machine to interesting one
Yeah. I think Martin kinda forgot why he is doing it.
At what point do you optimise the marbles out of the marble machine?
@@LyraLyraPantsOnFyra Give it time. After all, he's sacrificed so much of the machine already to "efficiency" and "engineering". It's only a matter of time before he realises that the marbles are the single most unreliable part of it all.
@@MrJoeyWheeler ☹️
Simply going through the process of learning if the parts that make up the machine actually work before assembling them into a greater work would result in much less headaches, but you are going above and beyond that. I think your potential for creating a beautiful machine has never been better.
I understand that you want to get rid of over engineered pieces so the Marble Machine can work for a world tour. But god damn, over engineered pieces are beautiful. How to assemble them, the process behind, how they work.
No they are not, stop declaring your opinion as factual, you think over engineered pieces are beautiful, I for one don't.
Im tired of seeing the same negative comments every single video on this channel, just stop.
@@Iangamebr that's my opinion. Aren't we free to express it on RUclips? I have been supporting Martin's work for a long time.
@@Iangamebrthis is clearly not a negative comment, i both love the simplicity and reliability of the new design as well as loving the aesthetics of the old part. complicated parts made out of different complimentary metals will always look so nice to me, like the inside of a watch
Congratulations on this achievement. The new gate looks so much more reliable. The old gate might have looked cooler but this new gate has beauty in its simplicity. As for the manual playing I would not be surprised if a manual trigger arm could be connected later down the road in the design. Maybe keep this as an idea to maybe think about. Good luck on the programming wheel!!!
8:18 This is just absolutely stunning. I want to hear the full version
+
It is in the full cyberbass livestream. I don't remember which test it was. It could have been the 80K drop test.
I forgot how soul satisfying that improvised MMX bass, drum, and guitar riff actually is.
I wish there were a bunch of ~3 minutes MMX song videos. Just Martin playing like in this clip. And a MMX album on Spotify
Awesome Martin, not going to lie, I took a bit of an emotional hit when MMX was cancelled, now I am starting to get excited again... A small note, please get a resin printer and print in engineering resin, your parts will be so much more accurate and useful.
FINALLY. You can always improve aesthetics later once the machine is proven. You're on the right marble track.
Wow! That’s a huge step forward on the design and implementation of a key marble machine subsystem. I expect that the programming wheel will be a formidable challenge to improve as dramatically. I hope you start off with telling us your criteria for refinement. It is so exciting to accompany you on this journey of understanding and refinement of your skills in design and construction. Thank you again for sharing it!
New gate design looks great, but don’t be so hard on past Martin. The MMX version wasn’t stupid, just more complex.
Yeah, and aesthetic was a big part of it; he wanted it to still look engaging on stage
I love that this machine and the time you put into it, will give it a place on a museum and in history and something truly unique. Keep on making in smaller, better, smarter.
Referencing ol' Musky looks worse and worse every day...
3D printing is the way to go. Also congrats on the gate completion! I would like to say you do look happier and the way to go is make it simple but functional. You're doing great!!!!