Balancerator: spool-supported counterweights

printer unavailable → use the discarded filament spools
rope carries the box, shaft pushes it. possible side issue: crooked spool = periodic wobble = fake body movement to the gyro?

fabrication constraint: school printing required supplying filament; the library printer was unavailable for about a month. The replacement structure uses discarded filament spools rather than printed weight-support parts.

Counterweight, spool, support rope and shaft geometry.

load path: rope passes around the circular spool and suspends the weight box. The motor/shaft pushes the box to change its position while the rope carries the suspended load. This separates support from actuation and reduces the need for the servo housing to bear the counterweight directly.

related notebook locations: Day 7 for the support concept; Day 8 for the spool substitution; Days 10–12 for the boxes, ropes and upper support housing.

review questions: rope slip, rubbing against the spool, box rotation and unequal rope lengths could change the effective pendulum geometry. No measured friction or structural safety factor is recorded in this entry.