Labywiinth Servo Bracket
Description
Check out labywiinth.org/ for more details on the Labwiinth project. This is a bracket I manufactured for a Local KC science store to sell with their Labywiinth kits (If you're in the KC area, Vince will be doing a workshop July 11th hms-beagle.com/Programs.html). The original brackets were designed by Vince and hand cut out of Lexan, but Lexan doesn't agree with my laser cutter so these are made of 0.06" PETG, the same plastic those indestructible blister packs are made out of!
Instructions
Here's what you'll need to make this project:
- A labyrinth game (you can find them in thrift stores and online in various places)
- 2 servo brackets
- 2 standard size hobby servos
- 4x #6 1/4" Wood screws per servo mount
- About 1-1/4" of 1" heat shrink tubing per servo mount
- Any hardware/software you choose to control the 2 servos
Step 0 - Making a Bracket
Here's my settings for cutting on my 35W Epilog if you've got access to a laser (and some .06" PETG):
18% Speed
40% Power
500Hz
I believe I used the standard acrylic settings for the raster part (the channels on the bracket you fold) and left the masking material on. Different settings may work better for you, these just limited the yellowing of PETG and cut it nicely in my setup.
Ponoko used to offer PETG, but unfortunately they seem to have pulled it for some reason. Since the brackets are pretty simple you can always just use the design as a template and cut them out by hand. If you still want a laser cut bracket and don't have access to a cutter, shoot me an email and I'd be happy to send some spares to you.
Step 1 - Bend the Bracket
I've attached a PDF included with the kits that explains how to bend the brackets after cutting.
Step 2 - Attach the Servo
To attach the servo to the knob of the labyrinth game, I left the standard horn included with the servo on and slipped 1" heat shrink tubing over it and the knob then shrank the tubing until it was coupled well.
Try to get the servo centered on the knob, if it's not the servo will be off balance and torque the bracket. You don't have to worry if it's not perfect though, the brackets are relatively flexible.
Step 3 - Attach the Bracket
To attach the brackets to the labyrinth game, I used 1/4" #6 wood screws. I didn't screw down the servo because it seemed pretty secure as it was, but the mounting holes are there should you choose to.
Step 4 - Control It
You can now hook up just about any microcontroller or servo controller to the game now and control it any way you want. I hooked up a 2-channel RC car receiver to mine to do a test run and it worked out well. You can also hook up an Arduino and control it with a Wii Balance board (I'll post software soon) or try to get a computer to play the game for you (which was one of the original goals of the project).
Links:
A quick Google search turned up the same board that I'm currently using:
epartyunlimited.com/labyrinth-wooden-board-game.html
You should be able to find one cheaper if you look around.
Vince's site:
someoneknows.wordpress.com
There's a project in the works to make a HUGE Labywiinth for the local science museum that uses the same Wii Balance board control and another smaller version to take on tour. You can follow the progress on Vince's blog.
UPDATE:
Jestin (the guy that started this whole thing and coded up the Labywiinth control software) posted up the code for this here:
sourceforge.net/projects/labywiinth/
You'll need wiipluspluslib to get it working as well (and a Linux box with a Bluetooth addapter):
sourceforge.net/projects/libwiiplusplus/
- A labyrinth game (you can find them in thrift stores and online in various places)
- 2 servo brackets
- 2 standard size hobby servos
- 4x #6 1/4" Wood screws per servo mount
- About 1-1/4" of 1" heat shrink tubing per servo mount
- Any hardware/software you choose to control the 2 servos
Step 0 - Making a Bracket
Here's my settings for cutting on my 35W Epilog if you've got access to a laser (and some .06" PETG):
18% Speed
40% Power
500Hz
I believe I used the standard acrylic settings for the raster part (the channels on the bracket you fold) and left the masking material on. Different settings may work better for you, these just limited the yellowing of PETG and cut it nicely in my setup.
Ponoko used to offer PETG, but unfortunately they seem to have pulled it for some reason. Since the brackets are pretty simple you can always just use the design as a template and cut them out by hand. If you still want a laser cut bracket and don't have access to a cutter, shoot me an email and I'd be happy to send some spares to you.
Step 1 - Bend the Bracket
I've attached a PDF included with the kits that explains how to bend the brackets after cutting.
Step 2 - Attach the Servo
To attach the servo to the knob of the labyrinth game, I left the standard horn included with the servo on and slipped 1" heat shrink tubing over it and the knob then shrank the tubing until it was coupled well.
Try to get the servo centered on the knob, if it's not the servo will be off balance and torque the bracket. You don't have to worry if it's not perfect though, the brackets are relatively flexible.
Step 3 - Attach the Bracket
To attach the brackets to the labyrinth game, I used 1/4" #6 wood screws. I didn't screw down the servo because it seemed pretty secure as it was, but the mounting holes are there should you choose to.
Step 4 - Control It
You can now hook up just about any microcontroller or servo controller to the game now and control it any way you want. I hooked up a 2-channel RC car receiver to mine to do a test run and it worked out well. You can also hook up an Arduino and control it with a Wii Balance board (I'll post software soon) or try to get a computer to play the game for you (which was one of the original goals of the project).
Links:
A quick Google search turned up the same board that I'm currently using:
epartyunlimited.com/labyrinth-wooden-board-game.html
You should be able to find one cheaper if you look around.
Vince's site:
someoneknows.wordpress.com
There's a project in the works to make a HUGE Labywiinth for the local science museum that uses the same Wii Balance board control and another smaller version to take on tour. You can follow the progress on Vince's blog.
UPDATE:
Jestin (the guy that started this whole thing and coded up the Labywiinth control software) posted up the code for this here:
sourceforge.net/projects/labywiinth/
You'll need wiipluspluslib to get it working as well (and a Linux box with a Bluetooth addapter):
sourceforge.net/projects/libwiiplusplus/
You must be logged in to post a comment.
License
Labywiinth Servo Bracket by builttospec is licensed under the Attribution - Share Alike - Creative Commons license.

Very cool project. Of course you could laser-cut the entire thing as well. Holes in a plate and some square holes to fit the walls into. If you make it from wood and walls from semi-transparent it would look very cool. Or white (milky) acrylic at the bottom and shine RGB-led light onto it from the bottom. You could really pimp this thing :)
Plus, you could add magnets and stuff to make it interactive (incorporate pinball ideas)
I so wish I had more time :)