Project 4 Rube Goldberg Machine
Project 4 Rube Goldberg Machine
Embedded Files
Thursday, November 6 2025
Description
This inefficient but fun machine places a plate on a table.
Storyboards
I drew these storyboards after I had done the animation (it will not happen next time). These storyboards show my initial idea for the machine, which is different to the final animation. I found it difficult to implement the pulley system as I had imagined it, with a belt that behaved like a string. I also removed the spiral slide and changed how the plate was launched.
Animation
Objects in the Machine
Spinning Spoons
Spinning Spoons
Slide
Slide
Dominoes
Dominoes
Lever
Lever
Hinged Shelves
Hinged Shelves
Project Notes
I used the Maya Software renderer with raytracing enabled. I put the rendered frames together in Adobe Premiere Pro.
The camera shot was done by creating and keyframing a camera.
Models Used
I used three models in this animation that I downloaded for free from Sketchfab.
"IKEA Lack Side Table 55x55x45" (https://skfb.ly/oonRD) by robertrestupambudi is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
"Table and Chairs" (https://skfb.ly/opLDZ) by Luiza Moreira is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
"Plate" (https://skfb.ly/oFvDX) by Tsai-Yi Claire Kuang is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Websites Consulted
Baking rigid body simulations in Maya:
https://help.autodesk.com/view/MAYAUL/2025/ENU/?guid=GUID-9C830A4E-5F77-4621-8530-3FED156AF853
Changing FPS for an image sequence in Adobe Premiere Pro:
https://community.adobe.com/t5/adobe-media-encoder-discussions/image-sequence-to-video-at-24fps-ends-up-too-fast/td-p/12488453
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