This project has turned into a question of "How much stuff can you do wrong" and "at what point do you stop and reevaluate, if you are still on the right track. So after deciding to build the entire mechanics such that the tape rolls free instead of being glued to a wheel I then quickly realized that the problem was not the tape on the wheel but the motor being way to fast. I then thought about a gear box (with rubber bands instead of cog wheels) to slow down the speed. The mechanics got more and more complex (I am a software developer, not a ... mechanics...builder....). I had to put the electronics on a separate layer, was printing gear wheels over gear wheels. Eventually I got it working but the entire construct was so wobbly and unreliable, the rubber bands where slipping and nothing run smooth.

 I was facing the question...does any of this still make any sense. The first option that came to mind was if I should ditch the motor and buy a separate one. But for some reason that did not feel right. I was moving further and further from the original cassette player.

That was until I realized...I could just print a new cassette and slap the small piece of tape I needed in that. I .... could just use the original cassette player instead of recreating the entire thing. After that the rest should be easy.

Soooooooooo...Back to the drawing board it is.