Making of a Great Machine

A successful Rube Goldberg machine (one that is competitive in Rube Goldberg Machine Contests), combines a number of objective and subjective qualities that fulfills tasks, follows rules and impress judges.

• The machine works .  When it starts, it runs all the way through to completion with no human intervention and completes the required task.
• It has a unifying theme .  This year's theme is "Change Flashlight Batteries" . Use your imagination.
• No team is penalized for having electrically powered steps, but mechanical steps are more in the spirit of Rube Goldberg's machines and tend to impress judges more.
• It has clearly visible steps .  On many machines, it's hard to follow all the steps .  Judges appreciate machines that are laid out so that as many steps as possible are clearly visible in sequence.
• Keep the oral description of your machine simple, clear and crisp .  Skits and other elaborate presentations tend to take too much time and distract rather than entertain.
• Don't use flammable or other dangerous chemicals! .  This violates the rules.  When the judges sit down to determine the winners, your machine will not be considered.

DESIGN STRATEGY

Start with how you are going to finish your project. Perhaps a string is going to pull something. Work your way backwards from there. How is the string going to be pulled? Maybe a weight will pull it? Or a mousetrap. Yeah... a mousetrap! How will the mouse trap be triggered? You see the pattern? Come up with more than one way to "finish" the machine. Perhaps a lever arm will be used in place of the string to "finish" the machine. Now begin to think backwards as to how the lever arm will be moved. It is very important that the machine be built on a stand. A stand will make sure that everything is in its proper place when the device is set up and will force your machine to work within it's boundaries. Finally, the most important step in the process. Test everything together before it is brought to the competition!

For all questions and suggestions regarding this site, please contact the Contest Executive Director of Rube Goldberg Machine Contest, Dr. Ester Johnson at ebj@uwm.edu.

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