Parts of a Gumball Machine – Labeled Diagram

All 14 parts on the diagram

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The whole machine 9

Globe It was first made of glass and is now most often plastic. It sits on the hopper and is fastened to it.
Lid It comes off so the machine can be filled again.
Lock It sits on top of the lid. It fastens onto the end of the center rod.
Center rod It runs from the base up to the lid. It holds the machine together, so lifting by the globe cannot pull the globe off.
Hopper Gumballs funnel down through it to the dispensing wheel. That wheel turns on a hub in its middle.
Body The coin mechanism and the chute are fitted to its front. The coins are kept inside it.
Chute door The gumball drops into the chute behind this little flap.
Base It closes the bottom of the body. On a machine with no cash box, the coins drop into it.
Stand The machine is bolted to the top of it.

Up close 5

Dispensing wheel A disc with pockets in the floor of the hopper. The handle turns it, and a gumball wheel has pockets that each fit one gumball.
Coin mechanism Operators call it the coin mech. Turning it carries the coin inside and lets it fall.
Coin slot Some mechanisms have two slots and take two coins for one turn.
Handle Turning it works the coin mechanism and the dispensing wheel together.
Cash box A tray fixed inside the body. It keeps the coins in the body, so they can be tipped out and not scooped from the base.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 and kept only where at least two independent sources use it: (1) a bulk vending machine maker's own parts diagrams, product page, maintenance page and FAQ, https://beavervending.com/round-beaver-parts; (2) a second maker's replacement parts as listed by two parts sellers, https://www.gumball-machine.com/collections/classic-gumball-machine-parts and https://www.candymachines.com/collections/rhino-classic-parts (one source); (3) Play Meter magazine, March 1998, bulk vending feature, https://archive.org/details/play-meter-volume-24-number-4-march-1998; (4) Wikipedia, text only: Gumball machine. The makers' pages were read for the names of parts only. No maker is named or drawn. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's product, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

The parts of a gumball machine on one classic globe machine, drawn on its stand from the front. A second drawing shows what the turn of the handle works: the coin mechanism and the dispensing wheel.

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From the lid down to the stand

Numbers 1 to 5 are the top half: the globe, the lid and its lock, the center rod and the hopper. Numbers 6 to 9 are the body with its chute door, the base and the stand. Numbers 10 to 14 are up close: the dispensing wheel in the floor of the hopper, the coin mechanism with its coin slot and handle, and the cash box inside the body.

The lock is on top, not on the front: unlock it and the lid lifts off for filling.
The dispensing wheel cannot be seen from outside. It lies under the gumballs, in the hopper.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a gumball machine called?

From the top: the lock, the lid, the globe with the center rod inside it, the hopper and the dispensing wheel, the body with the coin mechanism, handle and chute door, the cash box, the base and the stand.

How does a gumball machine work?

A coin goes into the coin slot and the handle is turned all the way round. The turn drops the coin inside the machine and moves the dispensing wheel, which lets one gumball fall into the chute behind the chute door.

What is the glass part of a gumball machine called?

The globe. The first globes were glass; most are now clear plastic. It sits on the hopper, and the center rod runs up through it to the lid.

Where do the coins go in a gumball machine?

Into the body. A machine with a cash box keeps them in a tray inside the body, so they can be tipped out. Without a cash box the coins drop into the base.