Single Motor Domino Stacker Is a Work of Mechanical Genius

We’ve had the privilege to feature a wide variety of projects on Hackster, many of which use a microcontroller or other involved electronics to accomplish a task. This build by Greg Zumnwalt, however, takes a different path, using only a single gearmotor and power supply, along with a complicated gear and linkage system to properly place dominoes.

While there are many placement devices that line up dominoes in a horizontal stack (including one that he made previously), this machine places the pieces in a vertical feeder, and pulls them down into the proper orientation one-by-one. A set of doors opens and closes to hold them securely, then release when needed. The build acts as a sort of “domino car,” rolling forward while leaving the little rectangles behind one by one.

Internally, a tiny 500 RPM gearmotor turns a worm gear, which both pulls the car along via driven gears. Another gear activates a linkage system to pull the dominoes in place and open the release doors. The device is assembled from 43 individual 3D-printed parts, or 63 if you include dominoes.

You can it out in action below — which demonstrates it stacking 20 dominoes in a row as well as a trial with a faster (1500 RPM motor).