Wind-Up Tabletop Spinner

Only until recently, the NWR Robot Contest made nonelectrical entries valid. For my entry, I created a type of toy using a mechanical motor. It's made to spin, but it can also jump around occasionally.


I am entering for the 13-18 category.

The following will be required:

- 1 toy car (use cars from Happy Meals that move by pulling it back
- 1screwdriver (standard head, but one that works on triangle heads is preferred)
- 2 Lego tires (size shown)
- 2 Lego spinning rotors

These pieces will be needed depending on how you build the toy:

- 8 (1x2) Lego blocks
- 4 (1x2) Lego flat panels

Take the toy car and unscrew it open. Normally these types of toys have special screws that use a certain screwdriver, but I have a small enough standard screwdriver that worked. If you have no choice, you can break it open. Remove the motor, which you will use later. There are different types of these motors, but as long that its function is the same any of them will work.

Take the toy motor, tires, and Lego rotors and put them together. Place the tires on the motor's wheels, making the edges even if possible. Then take the rotors and insert them in the tires.

You can skip this step, but you can place Lego pieces along the rotors to make them balanced. Use either blocks or panels for this step.

You're now done! Simply wind up the motor and place a rotor on the table to make it spin. Have fun playing with it.