The PIE Mini was conceptualized when we needed a demo that we could travel with.

Fabricated with simple, off-the-shelf, plastic gears (bought online) and a piece of 1/2 inch (12.5mm)

steel tubing. All pins are mild steel 3/16" (4.75mm) rods.

The early stop design was used because of its simplicity. It can jam on startup, but it works fine as a demo unit.

Driven from underneath by a plastic belt and pully setup.

Powered with a cheap cordless rechargable screwdriver. Runs fast enough to work but slow enough to see its action.

The PIE Mini was demonstrated live on the APEC conference February 26th, 2022. The demo unit was modified by removing the main board from the carriage and putting it on thin metal rails.

The main "engine" is now removeable from the heavy carriage.

This was demonstrated live as being able to move on its own with the carriage.

Then we did the same test without the carriage, effectively removing more than half of its mass.

The thin rails were allowed to move freely on light copper tubes as rollers.

Then, knowing what the result would be, the PIE Mini was turned on with the reduced mass.

Result was the PIE Mini would only shake! For those still thinking it is a "stick-slip" drive, this demonstrates that the only requirement is enough mass.