As much as constructions that are grand and heavy are enjoyable, so too are the numerous possibilities posed by a mere 72 magnets. What makes this contest difficult is not just deciding which three mini builds to focus on, but also how to create visual harmony between the three, and where!

No post processing allowed aside from color balance and levels. That means no artificial blurring, no compilation photos, and no photo-shopped backgrounds.

• Zen Magnets only
• Three Sculptures 72 Zen Magnet to be shown
• 1 submission per person
• No collages or photo-manipulation beyond basic color levels and contrast.
• Deadline 9/30/2019

As usual, the judges will be your peers. Pay attention to resolution, focus, lighting, and framing. Unless you’re outside under the sun, avoid your bright reflective flash, and opt for a self timer and a tripod (or stand.) Sharp, high resolution pictures are preferred. $300 in prizes is up for grabs and distribution will depend on participation. There will be at least five winners. Prizes will be announced with judging. Everything you submit goes into the public domain. Submission deadline is the last day of September 2019.

Don’t forget the first and foremost requirement: Have fun!

To enter, follow the button to the submission form:

That’s one small step for man, a giant leap for mankind. – Neil Armstrong

The scope of the July 2019 contest is very narrow: imitate the structure of the Apollo 11 Lunar Lander, with only Zen Magnets, no quantity limit. Contest 69 is a throwback to Contest 2, the very first build contest that took place nearly nine years ago. Of course, 9 years ago the prize was two sets of Zen Magnets for first place, and one set of Zen Magnets for second place. Now it’s a prize pool of $300 and a guaranteed $100 in gift cards awarded for first place.

Summary of requirements:

• Must be constructed entirely of Zen Magnets
• No limit on number of Zen Magnets used
• Usage of metal building platform is allowed but not required
• 1 submission per person
• No collages or photo-manipulation beyond basic color levels and contrast
• Deadline: 7/31/2019

As usual, the judges will be your peers. Pay attention to resolution, focus, lighting, as well as framing. Use not your bright reflective flash, but instead a self timer and a tripod (or stand.) Sharp, high resolution pictures are preferred. $300 in prizes is up for grabs and distribution will depend on participation. There will be at least five winners. Prizes will be announced with judging. Everything you submit goes into the public domain. Submission deadline is the last day of July 2019.

But the first and foremost requirement, is that you have fun!

To enter, follow the button to the submission form:

“See! Levitation is easy if we all just keep our heads on the ground.”

-Anthony T. Hincks

The May 2019 contest is to create a sculpture with a levitating feature out of a maximum of 1728 Zen Magnets. Props to DanCJ for spawning the idea for this contest.

Technically, this is a partial levitation contest. We obviously don’t expect magnets to be hovering in the air without any physical support or contact. The “partial levitation” feature is achieved if a part of the structure is held in place by magnetic tension at a distance, without dependence on gravitational balance. Here are some examples of what does and doesn’t count:

This structure is hanging off the ground, but all of the magnets that affect it’s shape are in contact.

The edges of this magnet tulip are being held up by magnetism, but it’s not a tension (pulling force) that’s holding it up.

The wrecking ball is supported at only one end and being pushed outwards slightly. This is borderline, but it doesn’t quite seem like levitation

The magnets in the center are not making contact, and are pulling towards each other to stay up. Partial Levitation Success!

Hopefully that doesn’t make it more complicated than it has to be! The scope of this contest is relatively wide. You can build nearly anything you wish as long as it has at least one partially levitating feature.

Summary of Requirements:

1. Maximum of 1728 Zen Magnets may be used. Only Zen Magnets for this contest.
2. No other props, magnets, or objects may be used.
3. A part of the sculpture must be visibly held stationary with magnetic pulling force from a distance.
4. No photo manipulation besides basic contrast/brightness levels.

As usual, the judges will be your peers. Pay attention to resolution, focus, lighting as framing. Use not your bright reflective flash, but instead a self timer and a tripod (or stand.) Sharp, high resolution pictures are preferred. $300 in prizes is up for grabs and distribution will depend on participation. There will be at least six winners. (Or less if we get less than 4 entries like contest 66!) Prizes will be announced with judging. Everything you submit goes into the public domain. Submission deadline is May 31st, 2019.

Of course, the first and foremost requirement, is that you have fun! 

A homopolar motor is a type of electric motor, specifically one that uses direct current to power rotational movement. Typically, a simple homopolar motor requires a wire, a magnet, and a battery.

The goal of the March 2019 contest is to make a homopolar motor with only magnet spheres, and a battery. No wires. Or rather, the magnet spheres themselves must be used as both the source of the magnetic field, and the conductor of current.

This contest is over if/when a Homopolar motor is successfully made. Bounty: $200 + $50 per month after Mar 2019, up to a maximum of $1000 on Nov 2020. Winner takes all. If this post is still up, the solution has not been found, and the contest is still live.

You can – and may need to – use multiple brands of magnets. Electroplated magnets like Zen Magnets, Micromagnets and Electroplated Neoballs all conduct electricity, while Polymer Neoballs will insulate electricity. Thus through a pattern of conductive magnets and insulating magnets you can control the shape of the “wire”.

As far as battery selection, make sure it’s one we can easily obtain in order to confirm your design. You should probably just use some consumer grade alkaline battery, but being that we have no idea if this this possible, we won’t limit you. Just don’t pick a battery (like an 18650 or other high current lithium) that may cause an explosion. (Pro-tip, if searching “short circuit” with your battery size on Youtube results in a bunch of explosion videos, pick a different battery!) It would probably be easier to use one small coin battery than multiple big D cells, but that’s just a guess.

No jigs, frames, or non-magnet sphere supports allowed. Your motor should be nothing except magnet spheres and a battery sitting on a surface (no restriction on material or conductivity of that surface). Lastly, there must be some resemblance of stability in your motor. If magnets start flinging off and collapsing within moments of activating an electrical current, then it’s not quite a motor yet. Your motor must not self destruct, at least for 30 seconds.

If you think you’ve got it, take a video and shoot us an email with “Contest 65 Entry” in the subject line. We’ll reproduce your work to confirm it’s legitimacy.

Summary of requirements:

• No other magnets except neodymium magnet spheres.
• No wires, mounts, jigs, or fixtures that aren’t made of magnet spheres.
• Just magnet spheres kissing a battery sitting on a surface.
• Battery must be consumer available. (Don’t use a lead battery you brewed in your lab)
• Design must be reproducible.

Everything you submit for this contest goes into the public domain. As always, the first and foremost requirement is that you have fun!

The January 2019 contest is to create a sculpture using only 9-Triangle subunits. A maximum of 192 of these subunits can be used, in other words 1728 Zen Magnets maximum. Photos due at the end of January.

Building with subunits is great because they’re easy to take apart from each other, making sculpture modification and experimentation especially easy. Some subunits are a bit more stable than others. The 9-Triangle is relatively delicate compared to hexagon sheets, as the triangular corners shift back into a loop if you drop it, or connect them out of compatibility, or look at them too sternly. You might just be surprised how many objects can be fashioned by focusing on the surface curvature of triangle sheet quilts. This is a sequel to Contest 21 which took place in 2012.

Summary of Requirements:

• Maximum 1728 Zen Magnets. No minimum.
• 9-Triangle subunits only. All magnets in the sculpture must be identifiable as 9-Triangles.
• Deadline 1/31/2019
• Zen Magnets only, no Neoballs, Micromagnets, or other support structures.
• 1 submission per person

As usual, the judges will be your peers. Pay attention to resolution, focus, lighting as framing. Use not your bright reflective flash, but instead a self timer and a tripod (or stand.) Sharp, high resolution pictures are preferred. $300 in prizes is up for grabs. Distribution will depend on participation, but based on past participation we’re expecting to award an average of about $30 per contest entry assuming approximately 10 participants. First prize will get $100 or more. Everything you submit goes into the public domain.

Of course, the first and foremost requirement, is that you have fun!

To enter, upload your photo to this Google form:

Submit

Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning.

-Albert Einstien

 Spotlight on the Origins.

The December 2019 contest is to nominate 3 photos out of the first 1000 Zen Gallery photos, that best represent Zen Magnets. This is our annual no-magnets-required contest. $300 total prize pool, plus $100 bonus to the respective content creators. For taking the time to review Zen Gallery of 2010, you can potentially win $75.

There are more contests we want to try than there are months in the year. We want to run contests with: different props, many distinct subunits, impressionism themes, specific photography styles, engineering contests, and bountiful sequels to previous contests that we would love to re-run. But this month, take a look at passions of the past.

Step 1. Look at the first 1000 accepted submissions in the Zen Magnets Gallery by starting on page 61: https://www.flickr.com/groups/zengallery/pool/page61. If there aren’t 100 photos per page, or you see recent photos, try a different browser.

Step 2. Copy the links to your favorites for each category. The categories are:

Best Medium-Small Build Photo – One or two sets of magnets, maybe less. Imagery that would go well on the page for a Triumph set or Focus set. Make sure the quality is good at full size.

Best Large Build Photo – This is a photo you would want to see on the Mandala page, or in the Mandala guide. Keep in mind that some of the packaging has changed since 8 years ago.

Best Wallpaper – Something that looks good full screen. We may rotate it with Mathnetism’s current parallax background on zenmagnets.com.

Step 3. Enter the contest by nominating those 3 photos in this google form, along with brief comments:

Submit Here

Since the barrier to entry is low, and judging is especially subjective, the prizes will be distributed among more winners. Winners for each category will be decided independently. Similarly, prizes for each category will be awarded separately. Think of it as three mini contests in one, each with $100 on the line.

Contestants who nominate a top 5 photo, per category, will be awarded according to this schedule:

One form submission per person. Only photos past page 61 of the Zen Gallery qualify for nomination. Deadline is Dec 31st 2018. If more than one person nominates a photo, the prize will be split evenly. For example, if two people nominate the same 2nd place photo, $22 will be split between them for that category. Compared to most Zen Contests, this contest is hand-out.

The creators photos that win will also get a 33% kickback just for their past contributions to the Zen Magnets Gallery. If you’re interested in participating in the Zen Gallery yourself, one set of Zen Magnets is awarded weekdaily to adept imagineers and the photographically proficient.

Have questions? Ask us.

“Nothing is lost. . .Everything is transformed.”

― Michael Ende, The Neverending Story

$250 First Place

The November 2018 Zen Magnets contest is to capture footage of a magnetic mechanical exothermic reaction. #1st place gets $250. At least 5 winners.

Create a situation one small movement releases the potential energy of  many magnets through a cascading conversion to kinetic energy, and creating a small amount of entropy on the side.

In other words, make a chain reaction.

For Example:

Toppling Dominoes

Threaded Popsicle Sticks

Magnet Discs

Don’t worry about making the video loop in reverse like those examples. Nor should you worry about making your chain reaction as spectacular as the examples above. Seeing as how we know of very few ways to make such a chain reaction happen with magnet spheres, you should consider yourself impressive if you can figure out any such chain reactions where one small motion results in a lot of magnets moving.

Any brand of 5mm magnet spheres may be used. Slow-motion and editing of playback speed is allowed. The time limit for the video is 15 seconds max, so don’t build a gigantic rube goldberg machine.  If you have more to show than 15 seconds, link another video in your description because we’re sure to be curious.

Summary of Requirements:

• Any brand of 5mm Magnets Spheres.
• No other props that contribute energy may be used, aside from whatever is used to start the reaction.
• Video must be maximum of 15 seconds, submitted to youtube.
• Video quality must be at least 720p in resolution at 30fps.
• 1 Submission per person, no later than 11/30/2018. If you send multiple, the last one will be considered.

As usual, the judges will be your peers. There will be at least five winners, and possibly more depending on participation. The prize for first place will be $250 Zen Credit, and second place will get $100.

Submit Here

Everything you submit goes into the public domain. And of course, the first and foremost requirement is that you have fun!

It is your work to clear away the mass of encumbering material of thoughts, so that you may bring into plain view the precious thing at the center of the mass. – Robert Collier

The October 2018 contest is to create a sculpture that balances on two Zen Magnets, on a fixed popsicle stick. Not three, not four, only two Zen Magnets are to be touching the surface, with no other contact. “But two points of contact isn’t enough to achieve positional stability!”, you say? The trick is to ensure the center of mass for the entire structure lies below the balancing point in order to achieve stability.

First, get yourself a tasty popsicle treat. The normal sized one with a standard popsicle stick, not that dove magnum ultra bar with the thumb sized stick. You’ll know you have the right stick when it’s about 2 Zen Magnets wide, and 23 Zen Magnets long.

Anchor your Popsicle stick any way you want, but keep in mind that we need to be able to confirm that your structure counteracts gravity at only two points, with no other external forces involved. For this reason, we’ll have you submit additional views of your structure, in addition to the primary photo that will be judged by your peers. (Except for the bonus goal, which goes to the structure with the most magnets.)

If you’re among the three thousand getting voting notifications, you already know we just ask people to judge based on their own preferences. Our recommendation is to pay attention to resolution, focus, lighting, background and framing. Sharp, high resolution pictures are preferred. Remember that your thumbnail may be presented among others in a hexagon shaped crop. If you only want to participate in the audience and vote on the winners, subscribe to the “contests” interest on the Zen Newsletter.

Summary of Requirements:

1. Sculpture made of Zen Magnets only. No quantity limit.
2. A maximum of two magnets can make contact with the wooden popsicle stick.
3. Use a Standard size popsicle stick.
4. No adhesives, other magnets, or active balancing methods allowed.
5. No photo manipulation besides basic contrast/brightness filters.
6. One Submission per person, no later than 9/30/2018

There will be at least FIVE winners. The prize for first place in this contest will be $100 Zen Credits, usable on zenmagnets.com or neoballs.com. All Zen Credits are also exchangeable for half their value in Bitcoin Cash. Everything you submit goes into the public domain. Of course, the first and foremost requirement is that you have fun!

Bonus secondary goal:

$50 to the sculpture with the most magnets used.

[SUBMISSIONS CLOSED]

To enter upload your entry in this Google form:

Mathnetism’s entry. Click for more perspectives.

Rotational Symmetry Confirmed

Submitted on June 28, 5:11PM (MST), with 3490 Zen Magnets used, Mathnetism’s Cubic Figure-eight knot wins $200 in magnets.

And although we didn’t expect to have multiple winners, some really great submissions came in soon after. For example, Magnenaut’s submission which came in five hours later at 10:28PM (MST)

Magnenaut’s entry. Click for more perspectives.

Notably, Magnenaut’s entry uses the same thickness cubic rope, measuring 5 magnets across diagonally. The structure is similar to Mathnetism’s build but simplified with all connection lengths shortened as much as possible. Only 2618 Zen Magnets were used.

Rotational symmetry from above.

We’re granting Magnenaut’s $50 in magnets for the quick submission, excellent photos, and quality build.

Third was NealisNeal’s entry, shot a day after on June 28th, another unique submission that used even less magnets.

NealisNeal’s entry. Click for full size

Built with only 1404 Zen Magnets, NealisNeal uses a thinner connections measuring 4 magnets across diagonally. We’re giving NealisNeal $25 for a successful cubic figure-eight knot, that can be built with a single Mandala set.

Three impressive entries, all submitted faster than we expected.

For notifications on upcoming contests, subscribe to Newsletter>Contests on newsletter.zenmagnets.com

Wanted: A rotationally symmetrical Figure-eight knot with Face Centered Cubic lattice construction.

Bounty: $200 + $50 * Months after July 2018

The goal of the July 2018 contest is to make a Figure Eight Knot in the same cubic structure used in Mathnetism’s Trefoil Knot.

Historically, most monthly Zen Contests involve many submissions, a fixed deadline, public voting, and multiple winners. We’ll generally continue that format moving forward, but neither of the two re-launch contests will work that way. This contest is over once the object is successfully made, or the contest continues indefinitely.

Similar to the Non-Circular Planetary Gear and Gyroid contest, we have a feeling it’s possible, but we’re not sure and therefore there is no deadline. The bounty will increase by $50 each month, up to a maximum of $1000 on March 2020. Your peers will not be the judges in this contest.

In knot theory, the figure-eight knot has the third-smallest possible crossing number, behind the trefoil knot with three crossings, and open loop with zero crossings. And while the trefoil knot shown has 3-fold symmetry (it would be the same shape if you rotated it 120 degrees), the figure-eight knot shown has 2-fold symmetry (it would the same shape if you flipped the left to the right.) Order-2 rotational symmetry is a contest requirement.

The Face Centered Cubic (FCC) lattice structure is the same atomic structure found in aluminum, copper, and gold: atoms are located at each of the corners and centers of all cubic faces.

If you’re not familiar with building FCC lattice structures, we recommend going through Mathnetism’s actual Trefoil Knot tutorial, which takes about two hours at 1845 magnets to complete. Though the lattice must be FCC, your knot doesn’t need to bend at 90 degree angles like Mathnetism’s Trefoil Knot. For example, this Caduceus sculpture is also made from a FCC lattice.

Similar to the Non-Circular Planetary Gear contest of 2014, your peers will not be the judges in this contest. If you think you’ve figured out how to create a Cubic Figure-eight knot, tell us via email with “Contest 56 Entry” in the subject line. We’ll reproduce your work to confirm it’s legitimacy. If you’re the genius that is able to complete this contest, your bounty will paid once we are able to successfully recreate your design.

Summary of Requirements:

• Rotational Symmetry: Order 2
• Face Centered Cubic Lattice only
• Zen Magnets Only. Use however many as needed.
• Must be able to show how to recreate the structure.

As always, everything you submit goes into the public domain. Of course the first and foremost requirement is that you have fun!

Geometry Guesswork

Holy guacamole, this place has gotten dusty. Untouched since April 2015. We’ll work on sprucing up the whole contest ship while we’re in the air. For now, the Zen Contest revival launches with two simultaneous challenges: One low-ish effort, and one high effort. This will be the easier one that requires no magnets.

Contests.zenmagnets.com was born November 2010, with a magnet count guessing challenge. Now that we’ve lifted our legal burdens, Zen Contests will be reborn alike with Contest 55. This is part geometric math, and part intelligent guessing.

For a prize of $50 in magnets, the mission is to guess how many magnets are shown in the following photo:

Click for full size

To Enter, submit your guess via

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Maximum 1 guess per day, per channel. The contest will continue until there is a winner, who will be contacted directly. We’ll check all three social media venues daily until a winner is found.

Now check out Contest 56: Cubic Figure-eight knot

Contest & Gallery Hibernation Begins

This is the last contest we’ll be holding in the near future, and at the end of the month we’ll be discontinuing gallery prizes.

As many of you have already noticed, we’ve been a zero income company for the past few weeks. We can’t sell Zen Magnets because we don’t have any, and can’t import more. We can’t sell neoballs because we can’t import more, and our remaining supply was “tainted” by magnicube’s recall.

Starting the end of this month, photos accepted to the Zen Gallery are not guaranteed to be rewarded prizes, although may still be if we get back on our feet and are able to sell Zen Magnets again. Photos will also be accepted to the Zen Gallery at a much less consistent basis.

In case we don’t wake up from this nap, it’s been an incredible experience working with and supporting the magnet sphere community. In our now six year run, we’ve given away over two thousand sets of magnets to reward amazing feats of passion and intellect. Thank you for this amazing part we’ve had to privilege to play.

For more details regarding our current situation, stay up to date at newslettter.zenmagnets.com

1st Place: TehHippeh

“The goal was to present a spectral image, lit brightly from within, floating in front of the viewer. Folded 8 radius hexagon sheet. Lit by red from below and bluish-purple from above. Suspended in the air (no green screen) from the head of a small hammer. ” Very cool colors, with great effort spent on the setup. TehHippeh wins $164.90 of genuine Zen Magnets, equal to 5 Zen Sets.

2nd Place: GalaxyTraveler

“This was just the result of random playing with a hexagon-sheet while watching TV Illuminated with red LEDs to underline the look of a skull.” A must see at full resolution. A beautifully well shot photo with a sharp focus, minimal noise, and superbly flavored reflections. $131.92, equal to 4 Zen Sets awarded.

3rd Place: Tend2it

This alien face (or alien helmet) is one of the meanest things we’ve seen made from origami, mostly due to the gigantic aggressively tilted eyes. Well chosen plane of focus. $98.94, equal to 3 Zen Sets

4th Place: Fool

“After playing with various shapes, I kept coming back to this simple lotus design.” A refreshing natural scene is the only time direct lighting is reasonable. Crisp shot of some clean magnets. See full size by clicking it. $65.96 is two Zen Sets.

5th Place: Joe Magnet

“I experimented by folding, pinching sides together, and folding open sides. I did not have a particular design in mind, but was pleased with what my creation evolved into.” The result is a unique and interesting sculpture. One Zen Set worth $32.98 won.

* * *

These were only five of the 22 entries! See the rest below. If you haven’t already, click on the images to check out the original size. And keep in mind that contests held here are independent of the Zen Gallery. Magnet sculptors can always submit photos to gallery.zenmagnets.com, though rewards after the end of this month are not guaranteed.

Contest Winners, we’ll email you your prizes soon.

Vote Here

A great showing of 22 Entries for Contest #44! All are sculptures have been created from folding a single hex sheet of 216 Zen Magnets.

Click thumbnail to see full image.

1st Place: $164.90 Zen Credit, usable on ZenMagnets.com or Neoballs.com. Winning Zen Contests will be the only way to acquire Genuine Zen Magnets during our stop-sale period.

The rest of the prize scale will be announced with the winners.

Judges, remember that this contest is a photography contest just as much as it is a magnet sculpture contest, overall aesthetic does matter. Voting deadline is 4/30/2015.

Decide your favorite SIX entries, and

Vote Here

Magnet origami is often experimentation first, and object pareidolia second. Instead of trying to create with the intent of similarity, it’s more like cloud watching while your fingers stir the clouds. Magnet origami is one of the basic techniques that are uncommonly explored, yet alone presents possibilities one could never finish exploring.

Start with a sheet of Zen – 216 Zen Magnets in a hexagonal sheet, 8 radius, with a hole in the middle – and fold the sheet of spheres into a 3d sculpture. No tearing or ripping, meaning each sphere must continue next to the neighbors it started out touching.

Folding and pinching are simple. But the scenery and photography will be the lion-share of your consideration. Zen Magnets only for the primary 216 sphere origami piece. No limitations on background props.

As usual, the judges will be your peers. This is about the best photo, and less about the magnets that are the subject. There will be at least six winners, and possibly more depending on participation. The prize for first place will be $100 Zen Credit. Zen Magnets only in this contest. Again, this is a photography contest as much as a magnet sphere contest. Everything you submit goes into the public domain. Having fun is the most important requirement. Submission deadline is March 10th 2015.

To enter, load your full resolution photo on to imgur.com, and fill out this submission form:

Submit Here!

Fancifully proportioned castle, with stylistically coherent build pattern. The close packed parallel lattice pattern is found on nearly every surface, yet details are distinct and seamlessly integrated. A welcoming symmetry at the gates flows into a variety of believable buildings. Would love to see a time-lapse of this build. Simply titled Castle, Mathnetism wins $150 Zen Credits for first place.

2nd Place: Tend2it

Cleverly catered for the thumbnail, this multi-perspective image shows only the main night-time shot in the hexagonal preview. The scale that is implied by this castle sculpture is grand. With the front gate as a size reference, this fortress is a cramped metropolis with a skybridge from one side to the other. The Zen Castle is made with 1965 Zen Magnets, and earns Tend2it $125 for Second Place.

3rd Place: Poolshark

One of the few that took advantage of the option to use blue neoballs as a non-load bearing prop. Windows 1 magnet wide A great photo to view at full resolution. For the Dragon’s Keep, Poolshark earns $100 in Zen Credits, usable on ZenMagnets.com or Neoballs.com.

4th Place: GalaxyTraveler

This digitally post processed photo depicts a fortress that reaches as high as the Dolomite mountains nearby. Though what the front gate is sized to accommodate, is still a curiosity. Or perhaps the size of your front door has implications to how welcoming your fortress? Dolomites Fortress features surfaces of exclusively rectangular lattice. GalaxyTraveler is rewarded $80 in Zen.

5th Place: Dave

A highly detailed drawbridge is the first one would have to encounter to enter Dave’s Castle Keep. The massive towers must be designed for storing valuables. $60 prize awarded.

6th Place Tie: Teradonis

Though the tower named My House Obviously appears a lone forward defense tower, it’s allegiance is clear. Similar to Mathnetism’s design methodology, the entire visible structure is created from a close packed crystal lattice. The attacking paladin is the CPSC. $40 awarded.

6th Place Tie: Ffrangconator

The Ffrangcastle was an iterative process, that started out as only walls. Today, the center spire reaches to the heavens, or perhaps it’s for a visual range advantage. $40 in Zen Credits awarded.

7th Place: Teh Hippeh

The Fortress of Solitude is the only super abstract fortress among the contest 43 submissions. Made with relatively simple base units, this fortress is inspired by Superman’s home, and consists of free standing crystals on the Mandala building platform. $32.98 awarded.

Honorable Mentions

Rarely do we give prizes for unlisted submissions, but there were so many incredible entries in this contest. This time, a minimum of $15 is granted for everybody else who participated in this contest. Total of $732.98 worth of prizes distributed for this contest.

Contest Winners, we’ll email you your prizes soon.

If you haven’t already, click on the images to check out the original size. And keep in mind that contests held here are independent of the Zen Gallery. Magnet sculptors can always submit photos to gallery.zenmagnets.com to win magnets as well.

Spectators, keep your eyes peeled for the next contest, because you choose the winners.

Vote Here

 15 Great Entries for the January Castle contest.

Click thumbnail for original size.

1st Place: $150 Zen Credit, usable on ZenMagnets.com or Neoballs.com

2nd Place: To Be Announced

3rd Place: To Be Announced

4th Place: To Be Announced

5th Place: To Be Announced

6th Place: To Be Announced

7th Place: To Be Announced

Judges, remember that this contest is a photography contest just as much as it is a magnet sculpture contest, overall aesthetic does matter. Voting deadline is 2/28

Decide your favorite 5 entries, and

Vote Here

A man’s home may seem to be his castle on the outside; inside is more often his nursery.
-Clare Boothe Luce

The January 2015 contest (#43) is to make a castle or fortress with any number of Zen Magnets that you choose to.  What qualifies as a castle, is in the eye of the imagineer. The sculpture must be made only of Zen Magnets. Props are allowed as long as they do not provide structural support, however the building surface can be a ferric metal.

As usual, the judges will be your peers. So don’t aim simply to make the most amazing sculpture, try to take the most beautiful photo. There will be at least six winners, and possibly more depending on participation. The prize for first place will be $150 Zen Credit. Zen Magnets only in this contest. Again, this is a photography contest as much as a magnet sphere contest. Everything you submit goes into the public domain. Having fun is the most important requirement. Submission deadline is February 10th 2015.

To enter, load your full resolution photo on to imgur.com, and fill out this submission form:

Submit Here!

.. in designing a planetary gear set, with non-circular planet gears, using only magnet spheres. This was an expert build, of a genius design. $300 Zen Awarded.

Here’s his demo video:

And here’s our recreation of Mathnetism’s design, to confirm form and function:

The video above is already in red/cyan, since YouTube 3D seems less consistent with it’s YT3D feature. In case YT3D is working for you, here’s the same video in side-by-side format.

We followed Mathnetism’s tutorial video (here) the best we could, but what he does on camera in ten minutes, literally took us hours to recreate.

Creating the exterior ring gear was so much harder than Mathnetism’s tutorial makes it look. Starting with a wobbly 9 sheet, and converting it into a solid rigid configuration by laying down a precise line of magnets, is insane. Don’t even attempt it if you don’t have good chain manipulation habits, because your dominant hand will need to have a continuous feed of magnets that must not attach anywhere unintended. The base structure for the ring gear, built in the first four minutes of Mathnetism’s tutorial video, literally took us 2 hours to make, and we had to use a different method. We couldn’t get past solidifying the 3rd section of the ring gear without making a terminal error; in the end we built the sections individually and connected them. It was messy.

The planetary gears are a relief to construct, compared to the ring gear. Though, again, at 8:25, is wizardry that is beyond our skill level. “Whoa what the hell is going on.” The manner in which he shifts two columns of magnets in a ring, consistently, for a loop that is decreasing in diameter with every shift, is mind-blowing. Or perhaps our fingers are fat, and we never realized it until now.

To top it all off, Mathnetism slides the sun gear in there with a little bit of jiggling, as if a brain-surgeon’s precision isn’t a big deal. A few centimeters error in this part, will probably result in unfix-able situation that wastes some time.

Once everything is together, you’re still not out of the woods. The sun gears like some configurations better than others, and certain combinations of planetary gear position/rotation will result in slippage, which will then result is a gear that breaks itself. But there do exist positions that the planetary gears can be in that will allow the gearset to continue operating indefinitely.

Mathnetism makes this using only his two hands. No cards, no tools, no 3rd hard. That’s crazy. If you are up for a challenge and have a mandala set (or specifically 1206 magnets) give this try. It was a humbling experience for us. Our skills are apparently rusty. Or Mathnetism is a freaking magnet magician. Or both.

Bounty: ($200 + $50 * Months After September 2014) Zen Credits.

Fig 1. Wooden Non-Circular Planetary Gear Set

This is not a standard contest. Similar to Contest #12, we don’t know if what we’re asking for is possible, and thus there is no deadline. The contest is over once an object is successfully made, or the contest continues forever. The bounty will increase by $50 each month, up to a maximum of $1000 on January 2016. As always, Zen Credits are exchangeable for half of their face value in Bitcoin.

Fig 2. Magnet gears using frame. Click for source.

There are a few examples of gear systems made with Zen Magnets around the internets. Click on Figure 2 above to see the full video which contains a few more examples. Making subunits that can contact and affect other subunits is already a mild challenge.  But unlike most existing magnet sphere gear systems, this planetary gear  should not be supported by other materials, and the gears will not be round.

Fig 3. Planetary Gear Diagram

Requirements:

• Minimum 3 planetary gears.
• Planetary gears must be non-circular, meaning magnets that make up the edge of the planetary gears must not all be equidistant from the center of the gear. (See Fig 1)
• The Sun Gear must be able to be held by hand, and support the weight of the entire gear system. (Like Fig 1)
• The gear system should not fall apart, or otherwise become broken, if held horizontally by the sun gear.
• By applying force downwards on one end of the Ring Gear, the gear system should operate without magnets becoming dislodged. (Not like Fig 1, which shows force being applied upwards.)
• Zen Magnets Only. Use however many are needed.
• Must be able to show how to recreate the structure.

Similar to the Gyroid Contest of Nov 2011, your peers will not be the judges in this contest. If you think you’ve figured out how to create a planetary gear set, tell us via our Contact Form with “Contest 42 Entry” in the subject line. We’ll reproduce your work to confirm it’s legitimacy. If you the genius that is able to complete this contest, your bounty will paid once we are able to successfully recreate your design.

1st Place: Ffrangconator – $100

A colorful Link, formed to recognizable shape, with a few wonderful backgrounds. This scene was originally going to be in a stop motion animation, but was difficult to animate. Perfect match for this contest, however  The post processed background is great for the thumbnail view, though it’s a bit distracting at full resolution.  $100 in Zen Credits awarded, usable at Zenmagnets.com or Neoballs.com

2nd Place: Poolshark – $85

An impressive color rendition of Yoshi’s head, amazing proportioning and great detail. Even the nostrils are marked with different colored magnets. A somewhat dark shot, but very sharp at full resolution. Click to view. $85 Zen won, also exchangeable for 50% in Bitcoin.

3rd Place: DanCJ – $70

An incredible case of curvature control shown in this full body version of Yoshi. Those with experience working with magnets, will know how difficult this sculpture was to create. $70 worth of magnets won.

4th Place Tie: Tend2it – $65.96

One hungry hungry Kirby! Exactly 438 Zen Magnets were used to capture Kirby in the middle of his Inhale Attack. Neoballs were used for the colored eye, mouth and feet detailing. Each entry in this contest is quite impressive, so we’ve stepped up the lower tier prizes: $65.96 awarded for the 4th place ties.

4th Place Tie: Teradonis – $65.96

This is one of our favorites. A tall free-standing Link, visibly holding his shield and grappling hook. The shape of his hat is as distinct as his boots. Wish we could see it in 3D… $65.96 in Zen earned.

4th Place Tie: Jrcpalmetto – $65.96

A cute Pikachu, standing next to his pokeball. This was created with only 216 yellow neoballs, along with other colors. Jrcpalmetto says, “I ended up stacking irregular hexagons and rings on top of each other until I got the shape I wanted, and then went back and added exactly 216 yellow neoballs and a face and tail (also made of irregular hexagons a.k.a. 12 triangles).” $65.96 Zen won.

If you haven’t already, click on the images to check out the original size. And keep in mind that contests held here are independent of the Zen Gallery. Magnet sculptors can always submit photos to gallery.zenmagnets.com to win magnets as well.

Spectators, keep your eyes peeled for the next contest, because you choose the winners.

Contest Winners, we’ll email you your prizes soon.

Vote Here

6 Incredible Entries for the July 2014 Super Smash Bros Character sculpting contest.

Click for original size.

1st Place: $100 Zen Credit, usable on ZenMagnets.com or Neoballs.com

The rest of the prize scale will be announced with the winners.

Judges, remember that this contest is a photography contest just as much as it is a magnet sculpture contest, overall aesthetic does matter. Voting deadline is 9/30.

Decide your favorite TWO entries, and

Vote Here

Everything not saved will be lost.  – Nintendo “Quit Screen” message

The July 2014 contest is to create a 3D Sculpture of a character from Super Smash Bros Melee using a maximum of 1728 magnet spheres of any brand. It’s a pretty wide selection of characters from the Nintendo universe, and you can have a shot at any one of them. This is a relatively high skill contest, since none of the characters are represented by simple geometry, so we’re increasing the prizes a bit.

Although the limit is 1728, don’t feel obligated to use more than is necessary to represent the shape of the character. Nor should you feel required to use colorful magnets, as judges will be asked to primarily judge shape. No flat 2D builds allowed.

Use not your bright reflective flash, but instead a self timer and a tripod (or stand.)

As usual, the judges will be your peers. Pay attention to resolution, focus, lighting, background and framing. Sharp, high resolution pictures are preferred, but remember that your thumbnail will be hexagon shaped crop when presented among others. There will be at least FIVE winners, possibly more depending on participation. The prize for first place in this contest will be $100 Zen Credits, usable on zenmagnets.com or neoballs.com. All Zen Credits are also exchangeable for half their value in Bitcoin. Everything you submit goes into the public domain. Of course, the first and foremost requirement, is that you have fun!

Submission deadline is the end of  July

To enter, load your full resolution photo on to imgur.com, and fill out this submission form:

Submit Here

Simply titled Tree by Magnetism, and referred to by us as Tree of Reflective Wavy Foliage. “The main subunit for this design is a dodecagon [sheet] wrapped around a core. These wrapped dodecagons form the branches and leaves of the tree and are joined by a 6-ring stack trunk.”  The reflections on the inner trunk between the 10 side sheets are especially unique. The 10 second full resolution impression greater than the 1 second thumbnail impression. $65 in Zen Credits awarded.

2nd Place: Tend2it

This sculpture, titled Palm Tree v3 Colored, was created with 654 Green Neoballs and 246 Copper Neoballs. More shots can be found here. The shadow of a sunny beach day. Also one of the best presented as a thumbnail. If you’re wondering where Tend2it got copper neoballs, they were available over a year ago but were discontinued for being such an easily tarnished coating, but we may have them back soon. Tend2it wins $55 in Zen Credits, good at zenmagnets.com or neoballs.com.

3rd Place: VPavlov1953

A magnet sphere Christmas tree, adorned in Gold. A crisp high resolution shot, framed nicely, though slightly dark. $45 in magnets awarded, also redeemable for half of face value in Bitcoin.

4th Place: KylarF

Reminiscent of some of the trees (and mushrooms) in Super Mario World. This tree was made with 216 Green Neoballs, and 1013 Zen Magnets. “The hardest part was the crown but  after several tries I ended up with this based on double rings of 6 magnets.” A bright and exciting background, and well chosen plane of focus. $35 won.

5th Place: Dan Condon-Jones

The Bare Tree was once designed to be much bigger, but couldn’t support it’s own weight. A true creation of abstraction. The branches spurt out in a organic directions. Would be very difficult to recreate based on this picture alone. $25 Zen awarded.

6th Place: Jrcpalmetto

The Majestic Mandala Tree is quite a mesmerizing design connected hexagons, connected in a matter that represents branches, yet overall is shaped like a tree. However, arguably not a sculpture. $15 Zen won.

If you haven’t already, click on the images to check out the original size. And keep in mind that contests held here are independent of the Zen Gallery. Magnet sculptors can always submit photos to gallery.zenmagnets.com to win magnets as well.

Spectators, keep your eyes peeled for the next contest, because you choose the winners.

Contest Winners, we’ll email you your prizes soon.

Vote Here

13 Entries for the June 2014 Tree Sculpture Contest

Click for original size.

1st Place: $65 Zen Credit, usable on ZenMagnets.com or Neoballs.com

2nd Place: $55 Zen Credit

3rd Place: $45 Zen Credit

4th Place: $45 Zen Credit

5th Place: $25 Zen Credit

Judges, remember that this contest is a photography contest just as much as it is a magnet sculpture contest, overall aesthetic does matter. Voting deadline is the end of July!

Decide your favorite 4 entries, and

Vote Here