Ramp Based Rapid Marble Swap - Marble Clock Seconds Display Pt.1

[@tituszban]

I feel there is a strong correlation between marble projects and madness. Based on a sample size of 2 youtubers I love...

[@Sejiko]

both have lost their marbles by now!

[@mvadu]

Couldn't agree more😂

[@111elf1]

​@@Sejikoi bet they are on the floor! 😂

[@matthijsvandeweerd1415]

which 2?

[@merbanan]

Wintergatan ;-)@@matthijsvandeweerd1415

[@Wintergatan]

Now do ms🎉❤

[@illustriouschin]

He needs to ham up a pity party for decades so he can get that massive ego fed like city-scale garbage incinerator.

[@illegaloli]

Oh hi Wintergatan! What are you doing here? Did you heard rolling balls here?😄

[@jessefurlan5585]

Ha, my first thought after watching these videos was that I bet Wintergatan was also watching them

[@ramoncf7]

Yes, and add some gunpowder to the mechanism 🫠

[@everywhereinnevada]

its going to be the same difficulty as recreating fl studio using your musical marble machinery prowess

[@budgetmerch]

Man, when this clock is finished, it needs to be on display somewhere for public viewing; it is fantastic.

[@scaredyfish]

Hearing protection recommended

[@portalwalker_]

​@@scaredyfish*required

[@psychopiper8224]

I think this would be great in a museum if it can stay running for a long time without too many issues

[@cdigames]

Imagine if it toured with Wintergatan and just counted the time of the performance

[@tin2001]

​@@scaredyfish These sorts of displays are almost always placed behind glass or perspex screens to reduce the sound significantly - and also stop curious children from trying to throw M&Ms into it.

[@bragee]

Grande. "I lack the knowledge to stay alive" is a great line...

[@WhitedevilEE]

I think the sentence before is more impressive. going "full nile red" is such a compliment imho!

[@disposablehero4911]

Knowing that you don't know is all you need to know.

[@malamalinka]

So was: “This is not a process. It’s a lifestyle choice.”

[@michaelhill6451]

Someone please buy this poor guy a clock.

[@SangheiliSpecOp]

lmao

[@EnzoDiscoveryMoonLight23]

it’s worth it

[@mattydoble]

He literally only needs to look at his wrist..

[@NoahHoufek]

He already has a clock…

[@SangheiliSpecOp]

@@NoahHoufek no......

[@Particelomen]

There are some smart corners that could be cut for this project. Firstly, there are 5 marbles that will always stay black or white (chrome) through all digits. The two black marbles in an 8 will always stay black, and three marbles in the right most column; the top, middle, and bottom, will always stay white. Secondly, not all marbles change from one digit to another, but many marbles stay either white or black. The numbers of changing marbles for each transition are: 0 → 1: 7 marbles 1 → 2: 8 marbels 2 → 3: 2 marbels 3 → 4: 4 marbels 4 → 5: 4 marbels 5 → 6: 1 marbels 6 → 7: 7 marbels 7 → 8: 6 marbels 8 → 9: 1 marbels 9 → 0: 2 marbels This has an average of 4.2 marbles per transition, instead of 15 marbles for a full update.

[@NoriTheBlackCat]

You must add the change from 5 to 0 for seconds and minutes. And if you use a 24hours clock it needs the change from 23 to 00

[@Particelomen]

@@NoriTheBlackCat That's a very good point! It turns out that each of these transitions only needs three marbles to change: 2 → 0: 3 marbles 3 → 0: 3 marbles 5 → 0: 3 marbles

[@GordieGii]

@@NoriTheBlackCatOnly the seconds digit has to change once per second. So for the 10 seconds digits you only change 1.5 marbles per second, if you do all of them.

[@PaulChambers-GadgetMechanic]

I was about to add a comment in the same vein. Only need to 'update' the marbles that need to change color. Then you can simply have alternating 'white'/'black' marbles in the run behind each pixel. No selection mechanism necessary, marble sorting on the return path gets way easier, etc. It does mean you need 'per pixel' gates, though you could still use a variation of the mechanical matrix you built already - just drop the selector, since there's only a single run behind each pixel. I was wondering if you could hold the ball bearings magnetically. I'm thinking one coil beneath each run, staggering them between runs so the magnetic fields don't interact. Might need to play around with the field strength, as holding a ball bearing that's already stationary doesn't take nearly as strong a field as stopping the next marble (and all its friends behind it) once it started rolling. It this be a case where separating the bearing release mechanism (magnetic) from a two-stage 'airlock'-style gate mechanism which ensures only a single ball bearing would roll forward each time, and only it the position in front was vacant (because it had been released by the electromagnet). It would be easier to draw than to explain in words :) Though on second thoughts, there may be a simiper mechanical way of just letting one marble roll forward if there isn't a marble in front (i.e. stopping the run of marbles behind it from increasing the momentum that needs to be stopped).

[@Jimmlad]

I tested the permanent marbles and I've found that yes, the right most column's top, middle and bottom marbles can stay white, but only if the number one goes to the right most column. Otherwise, there are only 3 permanent marbles.

[@ABentPaperclip]

how can we make the marble clock even louder? ah yes, electromagnetic solenoids and metal balls lol

[@anotherdrummer2]

next you'll be suggesting adding music instruments to play a song on the hour

[@jorgenr]

⁠@@anotherdrummer2But what if the musical instruments were also played by marbles? Perhaps he could have it play by some kind of encoding wheel?

[@jasperkleine120]

I don't know for sure, but that sounds familiar 😂

[@georgesokolov4155]

Awesome work))))

[@MelroyvandenBerg]

WHATT?? I don't hear you anymore.

[@sigmundwong2489]

lol that coloring process... The level of sanity this man is willing to sacrifice at his viewers' behest!

[@DontScareTheFish]

I was thinking rather than a blow torch a kiln to heat up a bunch of marbles at once

[@eric8737]

This is insane. I have complete confidence you'll be able to pull it off, but it's still absolutely bonkers.

[@ddhdk5414]

But he will lose his marbles in the process...

[@dave7038]

8:07 "That's not a process, that's a lifestyle choice." I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Bravo.

[@MrMichaeldwatson]

That is truly the most amazing quote of all time

[@oscarn-]

I knew this comment was coming but nevertheless I nearly choked laughing. 😂

[@JaredConnell]

He's made a lifestyle choice, and since he wears protection it's really none of our business what he does with his balls!

[@cadekachelmeier7251]

One advantage of the design you discussed around 2:14 is that you could build it without making any sorting mechanism. Just keep the marbles in the same channel and loop them back up to the top. It would effectively work like a flip clock.

[@Aweoe]

Yeah that's lame

[@OwenSkarpness]

​@@Aweoe performing extraneous operations is gigalame

[@jpeglucy]

​@@OwenSkarpnessthis entire project is an extraneous operation, thats the whole point

[@Erbmon]

then you whould have channels in front of the clock defeating the point of the project namely a cool cloock

[@Bubu567]

The programmer's solution to all problems. If you don't have enough time to do something, just 'cache' it.

[@xgr8648]

I can't wait until he realizes he needs way more than one number.

[@jim2386]

I can’t wait until someone brings up “I need a marble stopwatch to the millisecond

[@nick.100]

Maybe he can use his hour and minute one and some how incorporate this one next to the minutes so he only needs two numbers

[@voncornhole]

Only one is changing once per second

[@brambopaus]

9 to 10? 19 to 20? etc.@@voncornhole

[@jammiewins]

What are you on about? Obviously when someone asks the time they want to know the single seconds digit and nothing else

[@DrSerpiente86]

I'm getting some Wintergatan PTSD. 🤣

[@grott3n0lm]

I literally thought the same!😆

[@monomo108]

Use a heating oven and put 50 Marbels inside at ones to improve the Productionspeed.

[@ivanmirandawastaken]

To be honest, I'm getting some too.

[@link7417]

hey at least this guy finish projects X3.

[@insertcreativenamehere492]

If I had a nickel for every time a youtuber spent an obscene amount of time and effort on a marble contraption, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.

[@Badge124]

Whenever I get fed up and bogged down in a project, I think of Ivan and his inspiring perseverance.

[@Insert_Bland_Name_Here]

"And that's why I shouldn't be trying to do thi- (cut) And that's why we need to find another way..." Your dedication to making this project work is ridiculous in all the right ways. I love it

[@ludditzthrell]

So, I've started painting minis again after many years, and I was feeling discouraged at how long the process can take. Then I found out how long it took Ivan to make black marbles. I'm no longer discouraged and am going to go back to painting, now. Thanks, Ivan, for your .. genius.. madness.. perseverance is probably the right word, honestly. I wish you luck with this, as I know soooo very little about engineering. I'll keep watching, though!

[@satwick4331]

cant you just coat with electrolyte?

[@alex-q8-q9]

Imagine having this as an alarm clock 😂 you would never even fall asleep

[@lasagnahog7695]

The trick is to learn to hear it as white noise so that when it's going nothing will wake you up since nothing on earth is louder.

[@enotbert]

It gets crazier and crazier with every episode. Give me more!

[@thingswelike]

I feel like we're watching a slow descent into insanity!

[@TinyMaths]

Just when I think my own projects are getting a bit difficult, I come here to be reminded that there are projects out there that are orders of magnitude higher than my own, in terms of insanity-making capacity. Genuinely floored by this project, and your stubborn determination to see it through.

[@stranostrani9212]

16:19 wow this is so satisfying! it feels like a physics simulation, but this is even better because it's done in real life. It's truly beautiful!

[@scoobtoober2975]

Mark Robber eat your heart out too. This guy actually builds it. Not a fancy team sponsored by us.

[@lynnwilliam]

Mark Robber is so annoying.

[@archys7]

@@lynnwilliam wtf, He made him self popular, by his work and brain.

[@lynnwilliam]

@@archys7 yeah Mark Robber is a genius and very talented. but he just annoys me. nothing against the guy.

[@thaariqahmed3983]

@@lynnwilliam why?

[@archys7]

@@lynnwilliam it is ok, thats personal choice.

[@DrLazerbeam]

This is the level of procrastination that men achieve when they're supposed to be doing the dishes or taking out the trash.

[@NickCombs]

If you can control the lip at the end of the final ramp, you could have only marbles in the positions of the digits. Hopefully that idea helps prevent you from having to blacken any more of them!

[@curiocheerio]

Also would mean he doesn't have to have a mechanism for sorting the marbles.

[@NickCombs]

@@curiocheerio good point 😎

[@nnnnnnnnnn5654]

But then how would they be switched?

[@NickCombs]

@@nnnnnnnnnn5654 Sorry I don't understand the question. We're switching the stopper at the end of the rail. Like have it go up and down. The gate system behind can simplify down to handle one type of ball and just release all of them each second. Some balls roll off, leaving the ones that make up the digit.

[@AlexandruVoda]

@@NickCombs I also thought of this idea but it kinda feels like cheating. Using blanks as black pixels does not feel in the spirit of the rest of the clock(the hour and minute part). Nevertheless, it is a good idea.

[@aaronp51mustang]

I love the way you think "That's impossible to do" "That's impossible to do THIS way"

[@geoffbuss3699]

You're a maniac, mate. Love it. Idea: since you are now using steel balls, could you use the electromagnets directly? In other words, dispense with the actuator rod and spring on the solenoids and just use the magnet directly as a stop/release mechanism for the balls. Magnet on - ball stops and is held in place; magnet off - ball is released. Cheers from Geoff in France.

[@Galerak1]

He'd probably have to rig up a demagnetiser circuit then otherwise all the balls will end up just sticking to each other.

[@geoffbuss3699]

@@Galerak1 Good point. And a magnet strong enough to stop a rolling ball would probably interfere with other balls nearby.

[@hoshiro.exsharaen]

And when I thought the marble clock project is done, this video pops up randomly in my feed. You earned my subscribe 😁

[@88Marc10]

Engineering the rotary selector would have been pretty easy with solenoids. The neutral position is kept with an spring in both ways. now add a solanoid on the right and one on the left. On activation of one of the solenoids you push the selector to one side which selects the corresponding marble. Now use a spring to bring back the selector to the neutral position and release the marble. Greetings from a swiss mechanical engineer ☺️

[@neojaxie2804]

Hi, not a mechanical engineer here but trying to understand solenoids. would 5/3 solenoids work as well? they have 3 output positions, so left, right, and neutral, would that be usable for this application?

[@MikeyFirst]

I admire your persistence in designing and building these monstrous projects! Keep going, you inspire lots of people.

[@TheFishstick9983]

I’m interested in seeing how you separate the colored marbles and position them back in the queue.

[@quinterbeck]

I love that the marble clock series is continuing like this! I'm curious to see how you will fit the digits close to one another when the unit is so wide...

[@CadeTrigon]

The amount of dedication to this clock. I like the process of trial and error.

[@vijaykrishnan7797]

This man has grit, I appreciate the level of patience and determination it takes to not give up or rage quit.

[@Puyax01]

Get exited to see his videos pop up. The best parts are the trial and error process and his explanations. Plus he is a great teacher

[@claytonsanchez5264]

I have an idea for turning the bearings black. Run them through an abrasive tumbler to remove the chrome, then dip them into blueing fluid.

[@PhilipBlank]

Dude, I’m half way through this and the insane understanding and skill to accomplish all this is top notch! Incredible!

[@tobiasd.1277]

You're an absolute chad for even trying, really cool project.

[@stephenoran2019]

Every step is a little more amazing than the last. You are brilliant, sir. And your tendency to consider the advice in the comments just adds to the value of your videos! Thank you!

[@speedy3d524]

You put so much work into this designing each track multiple times and programming, not to mention coating all the marbles. I appreciate it as it inspires me and keep up the awesome work!

[@ktalbot270]

I thought it was done BUT YOUR ADDING SECONDS! YOU ABSOLUTE MAD MAN! Mad respect

[@phairlyoddparent3972]

The entertainment value you bring while guiding us through your thought and build process cannot be understated. Thank you for your efforts and creations!

[@jaydenyamada2916]

This rapid testing with prints is absolutely my jam, great work

[@TheMallow81]

I LOVE watching these videos. Thank you for showing your thinking, fails, adjustments, and successes. I can't wait to see the next steps!

[@IdahoReloader]

Couldn't understand a word but guess I didn't have too. Well done sir.

[@billalexandrakis8280]

I have an idea that can help the clock go faster. Prebuild all digits from 0 to 9 with maldes. Like that you can change the digit every second and you dont have to wait until the the next number is made

[@ImperialKneazle]

Thank you so much for making and sharing your journey with the marbles. Utterly fascinating 🙂

[@DoubleD132]

Nice to see that the track length timer for the marble machine X is coming along nicely :D

[@kylemills7161]

You'll get no criticism from me, I just love seeing your awesome designs and I appreciate all of the work you put into each build. I also appreciate that you don't sugar coat any of the obstacles that you run into. It is great to see you overcome them so you can "make something"

[@brusseles]

I cant wait to see this part working alongside the other minutes and hours

[@paraujo1974]

Well, that's the idea I just told in the Pt4 from the previous clock! You are way ahead of me! lol

[@PeaceOfThePuzzleGaming]

I'm sure a million people have said this already, but you'll never need white marbles in the middle of rows 2 and 4, so these channels could be left out completely and save yourself a bunch of black marbles. That said I love your dedication to the cause - great work. Looking forward to seeing more :)

[@curiocheerio]

Ive been trying to think of a simpler way to sort the black and white marbles other than optically as was done with the other marble clock. If you could use a slightly smaller marble for the black marbles, you could sort them mechanically via a sieve.

[@Drazil100]

If you pay close atteattention to, you can see him slowly losing his marbles as the project continues. Joking aside, this is absolutely incredible. I love watching these videos. I can’t wait to see how this project turns out. Hopefully you can maintain your sanity as you make all those black marbles.

[@BaresarkSlayne]

I'll be honest, this is probably the most interesting and pure channel I watch. I love every second of this, you are a damn genius, I'm in awe.

[@madsmith1352]

If you intend this to work every second, I think you might want to add a second set of gates so you have a second buffer. You have the displayed digit. The next digit which is ready to swap. And a staging digit after that which is being loaded by the ramps. This will give the marbles an opportunity to dissipate their kinetic energy coming down the ramps, so that they’re not bouncing and ready to immediately slide through the gate into the buffer position.

[@fortris]

Genuinely an inspiring amount of effort goes into these projects, love watching these updates

[@-ugety-]

This project is getting better and better. I think that if instead of changing all the marbles you only changed the marbles that need to change color, you should gain speed.

[@clementita54]

This is sooo much work, I hope you find solution to reduce the time it takes you to maintain, fill and build everything !!

[@Wildest_Wahoo]

Haha just have this do this 5 more times and figure out how to conveyer belt the marbles back up to the top again each time. Can’t wait to see how you do it! ❤

[@markjust86]

Your dedication to marble clocks is insane!!! Love it though, have been infatuated by this idea since your first clock video!!

[@Request_2_PANic]

To sort them after they're replaced, half could be non-magnetic and drop down to where they're stored while the magnetic ones roll along a suspended path above as they go to their storage space. In addition, there could be a second sliding part that moves in the opposite direction of the other, using the same solenoid, to drop them out as the new set takes its place.

[@Shannon-Smith]

Honestly, this is a genuine work of art!

[@ailaG]

This is wonderful and your energy is wonderful. Technically if you want to move individual marbles instead, you don't need to change them all every second. For instance, from 2 to 3 you only need to change 1 black marble and 1 white marble. But the rhythm will sound different.

[@braindefragment]

I am a game developer and watching another person suffer like me, makes me feel better. Your videos are like a pain relief for me. 😅 Thank you.

[@MattGrayYES]

Every part of this design is so clever!

[@alfabsc]

Thanks for sharing your project. I look forward to the sorting mechanism that will separate the black and white marbles. Steel marbles is a good choice. They are uniform size and mass.

[@axiezimmah]

This is a really interesting blend between genius and crazy

[@cravenr77]

I have a few suggestions: 1. Just use a single colour of the marbles, so you do not need to combine/seperate them. 2. Use several layers of the externally printed marble gates for presetting the next numbers to come up. Every second all gates are moved and the new number is displayed in the front. 3. Just exchange the digits that change from number to number. 4. Use some kind of a release (drop, poke out etc.) mechanism to remove the marbles on the display level 5. Think about which digits change from number to number, so you just have to remove/add a single marble (5 to 6 or 8 to 9) 6. If you keep using the glass marbles, you will not have any magnetic issues.

[@BersekViking]

😮😮😮I love the overengineering being done on this channel! 🙂

[@GlishaSo]

bro the time which you invest in this is insane! amazing project!

[@Menown7]

wow the dedication you give this project is insane!

[@tyrelirwin]

I'm glad this series is back!

[@yellowporte]

Thanks Mate from Sydney Australia loved your explanation and delivery! Keep it up! Cant wait for the rest of this series and your future challenging projects. Carl

[@biggrayalien4791]

I'm thinking somewhere down the line you can set up your clock to have a buffer, so that the next second is always primed, and the second before that pushes the previous second into the primed position, since it looks like you'll be using all 15 spaces continuously. I do not envy the work you have to do, but it is very cool, I can't wait to see what you come up with next time :) Glad I found your channel!

[@martinfillola733]

Tus diseños y manera de entender la ingeniería me han llevado a ser líder de Powertrain en mi equipo de Formula Student. Seguro que gracias a ti la Universidad de Exeter llegará a lo más alto de la competición en Silverstone este verano. Grande

[@P8qzxnxfP85xZ2H3wDRV]

I think the display in the front would work much better, if it were pre-loaded with multiple marbles. Then when a new marble comes from behind, it will push one marble off the front. That way the front marble would be much more stable and not wiggle around so much.

[@magiman1988]

You can cut down the number of black marbles by not using the centre column 2nd and 4th raw. Non of the digits use them. Also, having 2-to-1 merging channel at the digit release step, takes away one solenoid valve movement (so 1 instead of 2 for each change) thus giving you more time to select the right marbles and queue them properly. One the other hand, why not have a separate selecting solenoid valce for the left-right selector? This way you could have a separate color marble queues. Great work! The front to back digit change is a great idea!

[@AmirTapir]

I love how every video states something impossible to do YET and then making it real!!! - - - Tengo sangre Gallega y me encantaria ir a estudiar a España (actualmente buscando becas!) Saludos desde Costa Rica hasta la tierra madre!!

[@DennisCarr]

I think I have an idea for feeding the marbles to the reserve channels. You'll still have the down ramp to a recovery pool, but a) lifting involves something that's basically an Archimedes screw to lift the marbles to the distribution point to three different chutes - one for black, one for white, one for return to pool (to account for the possibility of all of one color's channels being full at any moment). From there, just have the black and white runs set up to lock out full channels and round-robin the reserve channels with accommodations for channels with fewer marbles - and counts of marbles can be had with a few optical sensors. This will simplify the distribution of marbles, but the idea I have is going to create more than just a bit of complexity, and more than one sorting elevator to maybe help speed things along.

[@thirryharlin4663]

I can't wait to see the next step in this build. I'm hooked.

[@jesse-dg8yx]

I love how 3d Ivan and human Ivan tilted when the machine tilted at 1:30

[@marsrover001]

A "bolt buster" induction heater would have sped up your coloring process so much faster. Also this is SO incredibly satisfying.

[@crisarn94]

You should ask around at some local metal working shops about the marbles. They could probably upscale what you're doing and get what you need done in a day.

[@BigReecey]

I appreciate you documenting your decent into absolute madness

[@person0192]

I knew the last episode wouldn’t be the end of the marble clock!

[@lasinhouseinthetrees1928]

Your outro makesme smile every time. Pure joy

[@cameronb851]

Fantastic video. I love the creativity and imagination, combined with the engineering problem solving! Amazing.

[@SoIstDassAlso]

Hey I got an idea for the vertikal marbelclock. You don't need to discard the displaced marvels. Just use them again in that exact order. And build a loop. But your more chaotic system approach might be more fun :)

[@jacobpeters392]

This just keeps getting better

[@AlexSwavely]

A couple things to improve efficiency: there are six slots that don't need switching at all; and since you're ejecting from the rear, ejecting the entire matrix isn't strictly necessary - just the delta.

[@jeremyfmoses]

An observation that might help, though I don't know how yet: each individual segment of the marble display only ever needs to switch from black to silver or vice versa. This could mean for instance that you could have only one ramp feeding each segment, or maybe it could reduce the number of solenoids needed.

[@bondwoman44]

unbelievable commitment to a project

[@baconthevainglorious7371]

you are an amazing human ivan. Please keep it up, I am boosting your algo as muhc as possible

[@GoF1ns]

I love this clock series. Also this guys videos are intellectually humbling 😂

[@jsanledes]

Muy bueno, Iván! Deseando ver la continuación del proyecto...

[@Mark-kt5mh]

Very good sponsor integration! I viscerally hate advertisements, but this was good.

[@TarickWalcott]

Great idea. Love the video. You started off strong but as a mechanical engineer, I could safely say there are a lot of inefficiencies with this design. Looking forward to seeing how you solve them in the next video.

[@justincarawan-carawanco.pu1639]

Between separating the marble selection and adding a return feeder system, this clock is going to be the size of a room by the time it's done! Also, the blackening project might just take another month in itself! Can't wait to see what you come up with! lol

[@Teofilohasit]

I love Ivan's Engineering design and testing!

[@NOLAfugee]

8:30 sums up pretty much the whole project. Fun to watch, though. Keep up the good work.

[@dave7038]

Just some ideas: The first style of marble selector gate which is three position could be held the center position with spring force and a mild detent. A spring attached to the armature of a push-pull solenoid holds the armature in approximately the center position. A mild detent (such as a ball detent on the armature shat) can provide positive centering if necessary. The armature can be actuated as pull to move the gate one direction, and actuated as push to move the gate the other direction. Two regular pull solenoids can perform this push-pull task by arranging them back-to-back with the armatures connected. In this case the control circuitry is simplified by connecting the two coils together as a single center-tapped coil. The center tap is connected to the positive supply and each end of the coil is connected to ground through a switch (relay, MOSFET, etc.). The mechanism can then be actuated in 'pull' mode by activating one switch, or in 'push' mode by activating the other switch. A snubber diode is necessary to control coil inductive kickback when the switch is disconnected. The solenoids can be connected to the gate with a light-weight Bowden cable (the thin sort used in RC model aircraft) so that the solenoid size would not affect the geometry of the gate mechanism. This setup requires one push-pull solenoid (or two pull solenoids) and one or two control lines per channel (with a few external components per channel one tristate output can handle both push and pull switches). For a 3x5 matrix that is 15 push-pull solenoids (30 if using two pull solenoids as a push-pull) and either 15 or 30 control lines. If the matrix is simplified for 7-segment display then 11 push-pull (or 22 pull) solenoids and 11 or 22 control lines are required. If control lines from the microcontroller are scarce four 74HC595 8-bit cascading shift registers can be used to convert a serial bitstream into a 32 bit parallel output (some cheap AVRs with a simple program could also handle this task). That's a lot of solenoids. It would probably be cheaper, smaller, and require less electronics to use hobby servos. The servos can be controlled with an ATMega or a PCA9685 16 servo control board. As a bonus small hobby servos are compact enough that they could probably be mounted directly on the gate. The main advantage of this would be speed. All elements of the matrix can be actuated at the same time.

[@nurmr]

> All elements of the matrix can be actuated at the same time. I think this should actually be avoided because of the simultaneous power draw. If they are actuated at slightly different times, then the total power requirement is not as high.