Debug Hints

A few builders reported that their clock would randomly stop where balls enter the upper ball drop. I could see the risk, but my prototype clock was running flawlessly. My second clock showed the problem. It would stop every day or two, always just after dropping a ball into the upper ball drop. Both clocks should have been identical. One ran great and the other randomly stopped. So, I designed a throttling mechanism to hold back balls in the upper ball ramp. Both clocks run perfectly now.

Here is the fix that will be released as soon as I update the assembly guide.

A paddle wheel is added to the upper ball drop. Gears keep the paddle wheel synchronized to release one ball at a time.

The back profile shows three new gears and a new back plate.

The modular frame allows this fix to be made with minimal impact to the overall clock. New components were added for three gears and the frame back plate. Updates were made to frame_a3, ball_drop_shield5, and ball_ramp_upper_exit. Three M3x2.3" arbors were added.

Steve