Virtual Mechanisms Animated with Java

16 classical categories of mechanisms are shown animated on this site. Many are useful for automata. I used the Scotch Yoke depicted here for my Flying Santa automaton. You'll also find examples of:

• Straight Line Motions
  
• Rotary/linear Motions
  
• Four Bar Linkages
  
• Escapements (including the Geneva Stop)
  
• Miscellaneous Mechanisms
  

The site references the following books:
1 - Elements of Mechanism
2 - Mechanical appliances, mechanical movements and novelties
3 - Machine design

The animations require that the Java applet is installed and enabled on your browser (not a big deal).

Check out the Animated Virtual Mechanisms