Home › Zigzag tower marble runs
Zigzag tower marble runs
A zigzag tower wraps a drop wall round a square core. The marble runs along one side, drops onto the next side at the corner, and works its way down the tower. Compact, sturdy and loud.
Start from a preset
Each preset opens in the generator, ready to tweak, test and download.
How it works
- Each ramp runs the full width of one face and ends past the corner, right over the start of the next face’s ramp.
- L-shaped corner posts are the bumpers the marble hits before it drops, and hold the ramp ends up.
- Thin plates bridge from the core to the corner posts under every ramp end, with flat-topped doorways for the ramps that pass through, so the whole tower prints without supports.
Settings you can change
| Tower width | Wider towers have longer ramps and fewer drops. |
|---|---|
| Extra drop height | Bigger drops make louder clacks. |
| Corner post thickness | Thicker posts make a sturdier tower. |
| Finish | The marble lands in a tray in the bottom corner. |
Every style also lets you pick your printer, marble size (6 mm BBs to 25 mm shooters), groove shape, slope, wall height, base plate, label and colours.
Printing tips
Heavier ½″ (12.7 mm) steel balls give the best clack. The tower is square and solid, so it rarely needs a brim. Slice with supports off, 0.2 mm layers and 3–4 walls. The full print guide covers slicer settings and troubleshooting.
Other styles
- Spiral marble run towers: A spiral tower winds a track down around a central core.
- Zigzag marble runs: A zigzag run (or drop wall) sends the marble along a ramp, drops it onto the next ramp going the other way, and repeats all the way down.
- Freeform marble runs: A freeform run wanders across the printer bed in loops and bends, held up by fins with pointed arches (like a Roman aqueduct) or by thin pillars (like a roller coaster).
- Twin tower marble runs: Two spiral towers side by side, joined by a bridge on aqueduct arches.
- Racing marble runs: A wave racer is a zigzag wall with several identical lanes side by side.
- Vortex cascade marble runs: A vortex cascade is a chain of funnel bowls.
- Loop-the-loop marble runs: A steep drop, a vertical loop, then a U-turn back alongside to the finish.