I fondly remember a wasted youth cozying up to glass-topped boxes of flashing lights, strange sounds and steel balls flying around an angled assault course. But, apart from helpful nudges from mates, being a pinball wizard was very much a solo adventure. Portugal's Cristiana Felgueiras has changed that with a two-player pinball project as part of an Inventables monthly challenge.
The build is beautifully low tech, it doesn't even need to be plugged into a wall outlet. Though quite an arsenal of modern tools were used in its construction. The frame is made from MDF, while the obstacles – including cross shapes, doors, blocks, guides, ramps and tunnels – are all produced from plywood, MDF, acrylic and aluminum using an X-Carve 3D carving machine.
The element shapes were created in Adobe Illustrator software and then exported to Inventables' Easel platform, though Felgueiras does say that it's possible to cut the Adobe step and design in Easel.
The build features beautifully simple rubber band and ply flipper mechanisms and hand-made plungers created by the Cactus Workshop in Spain especially for the project. One interesting twist is that players get to propel 22 mm steel balls over to opposing play zones, which adds a fresh element to an old classic and is sure to be a test of reflexes.
A step-by-step build walkthrough and footage of the pinball table in action can be seen in the video below, while a parts shopping list can be found at Inventables. Should you decide to build your own, you will have to imagine all the flashing lights, hum your own chirpy tune and keep score in your head, but it's a delightfully low-tech pinball machine built for two.
Source: Get Hands Dirty