This is a project that I haven't made yet. But I have experimented with some various aspects of a pinball machine. See here some of the clever ideas I came up with.

Maybe you want to make a pinball machine out of cardboard?

I have this vision of creating a pinball machine out of cardboard. This is a seriously fun project. And currently it is not a completed project! But, here on this page I will post updates so you can follow along in the process and get ideas for how to make various mechanical devices out of cardboard.

The biggest challenge is the flippers! Here is a prototype that seems to be working pretty good. Although it does have a reverse action to it. I may try to redesign it but let's see how this works and feels.

Here is a quick video of the prototype flipper in action:

About the reverse feel: Watching the video you can see that you have to press the button quickly and firmly to get the flipper to pop up quickly. And the rubber band pulls the flipper back down when you release the button. That is okay. But my hunch is that the other way would be better. I mean, when you press the button the rubber band would quickly pull the flipper up! That would have some nice pop!

Next is the drop down targets. These are rectangular targets that stick up out of the surface. And when the pinball hits them they go down into the board. Kind of fun.

Here is a video of the drop down target in action:

Next prototype is some kind of pop bumber!

Here is a video:

That was the easy part. Now I have to figure out a way to trigger it so it pops when the pinball hits it.

Okay, one more thing when it comes to ideas and mechanisms for a pinball machine. Every machine needs a plunger to get the pinball going. How about this: