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zomboromcom t1_iwm4d7a wrote

Cool. Was this made using the old magnet trick? (magnet under surface manipulated to drag ball bearing on top)

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Alex_Sisyphus OP t1_iwm5uuj wrote

Kinda! Instead of it being pulled manually, there's a little robot dragging the ball around until I tell it to stop.

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lurkerturnedposter t1_iwmfhyc wrote

As in a little robot with a magnetic head and wheels for feet drives in patterns dragging the ball behind it? Can you explain or show further how it works? I'm really curious now.

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Alex_Sisyphus OP t1_iwmgpdc wrote

No wheels! The robot is attached to the bottom of the sandbed. There are two stepper motors that make the ball move in a second, then another that makes it goes in and out. I am also able to connect it to wifi with a app so I can control the speed of the ball, what plays and even the lights. It reads THR and SVG files, which is great for me personally cause I love being able to draw in the sand.

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CheapBoxOWine t1_iwmlc2x wrote

How much would you take for this wonderful contraption?

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Alex_Sisyphus OP t1_iwmml3e wrote

This is from Sisyphus industries : ) I have both the mini and side table- the side table I love to upload my own art tracks!

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xakanaxa t1_iwo3klb wrote

What a great name for this company. :)

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Alex_Sisyphus OP t1_iwq3mdx wrote

We love our greek myths here! It took me forever to say it correctly

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wthulhu t1_iwo76ma wrote

Dude these things are ridiculously amazing. I can understand the price tag, but I'm just going to cry myself outta here.

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Bobby_Bologna t1_iwmpywg wrote

Starts at $637 for the mini, up to $8500 for the coffee table.

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Alex_Sisyphus OP t1_iwmts32 wrote

That's only for the big hardwoods. Coffee tables start at $2,193 or something.

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Zihon2 t1_iwmhlcp wrote

Tame Impala album cover looking ass.

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Opperposer19 t1_iwn8k51 wrote

Link to Manufacturer Website

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RSomnambulist t1_iwoe2bd wrote

that is toooo much money.

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road2five t1_iwojlok wrote

I mean did you expect it to be cheap?

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Cronx90 t1_iwoonqz wrote

You can get all the electronics needed from a used 3d printer. Depending on how crazy you want to go with materials and your skill with crafting and electronics, you could build your own for 400 to 1000 dollars in 30 to 70 hours of work. RCLifeon from YouTube built one.

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weedyscoot t1_iwptudw wrote

I'd expect it to at least have a built-in warranty. Kinda shitty you have to pay extra for that. When you're paying $2k, it would be nice for the manufacturer to admit that their product fails sometimes, and repair/replace it for you.

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Wannagetsober t1_iwmb67b wrote

I want one of those but they are crazy expensive.

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JonnyComebacks t1_iwmum36 wrote

Homedics makes one for like $300. I have it. It’s great.

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Barnowl79 t1_iwo0bdq wrote

I can't tell if I'm in a homedics commercial or Sisyphus industries.

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Seattle2LA2dallas t1_iwo11w7 wrote

Meanwhile I'm over here wondering if I need a prescription for penicillin

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Wannagetsober t1_iwmzerm wrote

How big is it? I imagine it’s good to take one’s mind off things for a bit.

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JonnyComebacks t1_iwmufm6 wrote

I have one of these. It’s amazing. Literally stare at it for hours. You can buy it for like $299 at Homedics.com.

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RogerPop t1_iwpfaam wrote

>Homedics.com

The product is called "drift" on their site.

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Alex_Sisyphus OP t1_iwmw046 wrote

Homedics stole the idea from the og artist : ( I prefer the features and look on the Sisyphus industries one personally.

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JonnyComebacks t1_iwmx1zx wrote

So a guy with the username Alex_Sisyphus who only post Sisyphus products on Reddit who clearly works for Sisyphus prefers the Sisyphus brand rather than the more cost effective alternative. Checks out

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aChristery t1_iwn85d9 wrote

Wait. You think this guy, u/Alex_Sisyphus, works for Sisyphus Industries? Idk bro seems like a pretty big stretch to me.

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lloyddobbler t1_iwn7ml7 wrote

Fair point.

FWIW, I also have one of the original Sisyphus side tables. Got it via their initial Kickstarter. And having seen the Homedics tabletop version in person, can hands down say that the Sisyphus model is better. IMO, well worth the extra cost.

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bmg50barrett t1_iwn7wc6 wrote

These tables, while cool, are astronomically overpriced.

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Critya t1_iwq06k2 wrote

That’s relative to the person buying it.

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Shutterstormphoto t1_iwrmuh2 wrote

Sounds like you can build one for $400-1000 and a week or two of work. Doesn’t seem overpriced to me… I guess it depends on the precision and quality of the build. I’m sure you could make one with Lego mindstorms if you want to.

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Nimyron t1_iwmx6ty wrote

Ngl I was expecting a "send nudes" or a rickroll when it zoomed out.

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Pival81 t1_iwmyl9n wrote

"Marion Wheeler! I owe you for the lake!"

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Fa6ade t1_iwnhk0c wrote

Can someone edit this so it’s dickbutt when it zooms out?

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zachariah120 t1_iwns54j wrote

I wish I could just buy a huge one and not care about the price but holy shit I don’t want to pay $3k for a coffee table

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UrungusAmongUs t1_iwnzlj2 wrote

Neat design, but I have to say having it controlled by a robot feels decidedly un-zen.

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Combustablemon210 t1_iwoisje wrote

This gives me some kind of trypophobia-adjacent creepy crawly feeling and is decidedly un-zen for me personally, but I could see the appeal for people for whom it does creep out.

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Alex_Sisyphus OP t1_iwq3abm wrote

Sorry about that! Next time i'll be more conscious when posting potentially triggering gifs

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NatefromOgden t1_iwoooa8 wrote

Saw a tabletop device doing this at Costco just tonight. $65. Can’t say more about it except it had adjustable LED lights around the perimeter.

I thought it was very cool. The spousal unit thought it was dumb and monotonous.

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Alex_Sisyphus OP t1_iwq2kpr wrote

Homedics ripped off the original artist (Bruce Shapiro) and is very limited in what it can do. You are unable to create your own tracks nor does it have adjustable multicolor options

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ATSmithPB t1_iwmsd0r wrote

Can you explain how you designed/generated the path? Is it an algorithm of some kind? You must also have a very good understanding of the sand displacement behavior. Amazing work.

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Alex_Sisyphus OP t1_iwmtlf8 wrote

Thanks! The track shown here was made in grasshopper with THR code. I personally make my tracks in Adobe illustrator and convert it to an SVG file for the table to read it. Everything needs to be one continuous line, and I need to be conscious of how thin/thick I make certain areas so that when the shadows cast it will show what I intend. If the sand in my table is too thin, it looks fine, but the shadows aren't as deep and the art looks flatter/thicker sand loses detail work. It was definitely a learning curve, but it's a lot of fun! Its very meditative for me.

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Barnowl79 t1_iwo0v8r wrote

For those of us who don't know what thr code is, could you enlighten us? Is this basically a very fancy version of the turtle program in the 80s, where you could say "turn right 90°, forward 2, etc..."?

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Alex_Sisyphus OP t1_iwq5yif wrote

Yeah actually you basically got it. So THR is THeta (circle) and Rho (straight lines). So I tell the table to spin, then go forward/backward or curve to a certain degree. I'm not the best at code, so I find it a lot easier to draw in illustrator and make the file a SVG. Everything needs to be one continuous line, otherwise the ball gets lost in the sauce

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tifosiv122 t1_iwnz4ni wrote

I have your coffee table - the two ball version. It's amazing - I think the part that really got me is that I wasn't expecting the unique patterns from the layered patterns in between the reset sand. You never really know what it will produce!

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Alex_Sisyphus OP t1_iwq7ve6 wrote

Yeah! When you just let the ball go ham it can produce some really cool stuff! I love to layer the OG tracks with some of the really intense patten ones to see what will happen.

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B34RD t1_iwnzonc wrote

I've had an email from the makers in my inbox for years as I saw the kickstarter after it had already completed, and sent them a message asking if they'd be available for purchase outside of the kickstarter as well.

Haven't been able to justify a couple grand on one yet, but I still intend to someday!

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Alex_Sisyphus OP t1_iwq7n2r wrote

That's amazing! The tables have come so far since its Kickstarter days. I have one of the little guys at home (along with a side table, but I mostly use it for drawing) and I think its so cute. It lights up my room and it feels so cozy now that its cold and snowy.

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rayt880 t1_iwo1z79 wrote

I have one of these.

https://sisyphus-industries.com/customize/

I bought the 3 foot metal coffee table version, you can get a sweet ass 4 foot, hardwood version for like 10 grand.

It is legit though, looks even cooler than the videos in real life, and it will catch your guest's attention every time, they'll sit and stare at it. If you're artistically talented you can design custom patterns, and there's a big library of user submitted art available.

It has been pretty reliable so far (1.5 years), haven't ever had to open the glass to reset the ball or anything. Sometime the app controls can be kinda flaky, and one time I did have to unplug it to get it to hard shutdown and restart.

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[deleted] t1_iwo2v9q wrote

No idea what's going on here...

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Alex_Sisyphus OP t1_iwq3ulm wrote

More or less there is a robot under the sand with a magnetic arm moving the ball around in the patten you see. Theres like over 2000 different designs it can do and you can even make your own!

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black-rhombus t1_iwodh9x wrote

Like the opening of Rings of Power.

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Papa_Raj t1_iwouj8r wrote

Like $300 at Costco.

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Deho_Edeba t1_iwp2t1b wrote

I have never heard of these tables. What's the "droplet" thing moving? It doesn't seem to be pushing the sand but I might be wrong.

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strangway t1_iwpf33q wrote

Miles O’Brien has entered the chat

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Mundane-Flounder-765 t1_iwpfb6x wrote

That middle bit is what I see when I put my hands over my eyes, surely that’s a coincidence

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Miru8112 t1_iwpff01 wrote

I might get a lof hate for this... But does anybody know a less expensive alternative to sisyphus-industries, bonus points for locations in Europe?

This is really ool, but the smallest is 900+ USD with shipping, without import Taxes (which are ~20% in my country) so its an absolute nope to me at this conditions.

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vincent3878 t1_iwpsino wrote

Homedics drift sand table, its around 400 bucks for a 55cm version.

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ekimeza t1_iwruoag wrote

all day ... all night

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SAF974 t1_iwtguhb wrote

Nangs

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shebringsdathings t1_iwoqifi wrote

They have $300 versions of these at Costco in the PNW USA right now. May have to invest for Christmas

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reizueberflutung t1_iwpwo2r wrote

This is not Zen, this induces Trypophobia.

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Alex_Sisyphus OP t1_iwq3d8m wrote

Sorry about that : ( I'll keep an eye out for potentially triggering gifs next time

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reizueberflutung t1_iwqulbu wrote

I mean, that was kind of a joke (kinda not, cause it literally looks like an example for Typophobia), but it‘s always good to keep others in mind! Much love <3

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10EBBE01 t1_iwnydda wrote

They have this at Costco for like $300-400…it’s cool but I’ll down a bottle of wine, feel zen and save $290-390 bucks

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Alex_Sisyphus OP t1_iwq8kx9 wrote

Those are from homedics, which is a rip off from the OG artist, Bruce Shapiro. Theyre also rather limited in terms of customization with like designs and lights

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