Bing Bang Boing chain-reaction game from 1972

Back in 1972, the world was introduced -- with great fanfare, I might add -- to a "game" called Bing Bang Boing by the toy company Ideal. I had Mousetrap like many kids, but it wasn't much of game. It WAS, however, a great chain-reaction machine that worked reliably. That's all I ever did with it: set it up, set it off, repeat. I think someone over at Ideal must have noticed kids doing this (Mousetrap had been around since 1963) and made a new game that did away with the board game altogether.

As you can see in this video, the set can be configured in number of different ways, making it a more flexible chain-reaction system than Mousetrap ever was. They must have used many, many sets to make the ball bearing trampoline highway toward the end of the commercial. It would have been nice if you could buy each component individually, to replace broken ones, or build out contraptions to suit your tastes. Hmmmm....toy companies: contact me.

It sounds like the names of the various parts were inspired by the names found in the books of Dr. Suess. The various mechanical parts are named the Bingo-Flinger, the Hum-Drums, the Bango-Vator, the Ficker-Ticker, and Boingo-Bucket. The designers and marketers has some fun with this one!

While you can still get Mouse Trap Mousetrap, it would be a challenge to get your hands on a complete set of Bing Bang Boing these days. I vote for bringing it back! I'll even consider a deal so the makers can say "Approved by The Automata / Automaton Blog" right on the front of the box.

As a small consolation, here is one group's effort to rebuild the game from scratch. A noble pursuit! Here are some instructions on how to make a set of ball bearing trampolines much like those seen in the game.

[ Thanks Karl! ]

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Precious Robot Moments - a robot flies like a bird

I thought that the electronic butterfly in a jar had a realistic motion. Well, that it does, but now I'm fascinated by this robot bird modeled on a seagull. Needless to say, it flies by flapping its wings. But this is no basic up-and-down flapping like the classic Tim Bird wind-up flying toy. The segmented wings rotate on the way up to reduce the amount of air resistance. The construction and motion combine to create something functional and disarmingly lifelike

This incredible robot, dubbed SmartBird, was built by Markus Fischer and his team at Festo. The bird flies twice during this 6 minute TED lecture. You also get to see a stripped down version with its carbon fiber frame and gracile gear train.

I got a little choked up at the sight of a mechanical bird getting a standing ovation from the audience in attendance. Perhaps they are applauding the speaker, but it doesn't seem like it. I also love the look of pride on his face as the bird robot circles above the audience the first time. This episode of Precious Moments in the History of Robotics brought to you by TED and The Automata / Automaton Blog.

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Electronic firefly lights up a glass jar, doesn't die!

A while back, we spotted a very convincing mechanical butterfly in a jar in a store. Really, you have to see it; it's uncanny.

This firefly-in-a-jar version must be by the same folks. The illusion isn't quite as startling, probably because it is limited to a single firefly. Still, the effect is good -- especially at night. They show the firefly simulacrum at night later in the video below.

There your have it: a little bit of summer preserved in a jar for those urban/winter nights. No fireflies were harmed in the making of this film. I can live with the diminution of 3 AAA batteries (included).

Here is where you can check out the electronic firefly in a jar

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Virtual Kinetics and the Art of the Image exhibit

The video above shows a three-dimensional version of the famous Eadweard Muybridge photographic study of a horse. The piece is by multimedia artist and educator David Gordon. Inspired by the work of Muybridge, Gordon creates animated sculpture, video animation, photocollage and assemblage, many of which use mechanical means to create and demonstrate the illusion of animated motion.

From the exhibit description:

Much of the work presented in Virtual Kinetics, and the Art of the Image represents a peculiar decades-long collaboration between two gentlemen from different centuries, multimedia artist and educator Dave Gordon and Victorian inventor and photographer Eadweard Muybridge. Gordon continues the artistic work of "the father of film" by exploiting cutting edge technologies such as micro controllers and Hall-effect sensors to make Muybridge's motion studies interactive in a three dimensional environment. Inspired by Muybridge's images or wholly original, Gordon presents work in this show which lays bare the technology that all digital media uses to display images and mimic continuous motion.

The exhibit Virtual Kinetics, and the Art of the Image is on display at the Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation, 154 Moody Street, Waltham, MA. The show is on display now and will run through August 31, 2011.

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Ramp-walkers get a lift from an elevator machine

You know we love mechanical ramp-walkers here The Automata / Automaton Blog. Here's something we haven't seen: a system to raise the walkers back to the top of the ramp!

When asked to do a section of a chain reaction sculpture with Arthur Ganson, artist Hayes Raffle was faced with a challenge. The video above shows the solution.

The artist explains the design process:

I had been working on these little quirky walkers that have two feet and erratically make their way down a hill and I immediately thought to use them. My sculptures are generally cyclic but a chain reaction requires something linear, so it was a trick. I holed myself up in my studio for a couple weeks making all sorts of useless cyclical machines, and somehow thought to have the walkers all make their way into a big pot of soup like lemmings or soilent green.

I made an elevator that picked them up in sequence and set them walking on the top of the hill, and the machine ended up looking like a big fertility goddess ... she actually had a natural grace in the S-shaped movement she used to lift them to the top of the hill! The walkers are erratic and don't always make it to the bottom smoothly, but I did manage to design a couple that could avoid the edges of the hill, so that was an exciting innovation.

In the end, the crowd got very excited and cheered for all of my walkers' successes. When the fourth one dropped in the soup, the pot fell on a burner that ignited beneath it and triggered the next machine in the show.

Learn more about the inventions and designs of the amazing Hayes Raffle on his web site.

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Perplexus Epic - 3D marble maze puzzle

Back in October of 2009, I posted about three spherical labyrinth puzzles. The idea with these toys is to flip, twist, and spin the sphere such that a small ball bearing inside follows a complex path from a starting point to the finish. Think of it as a maze in 3D that challenges both your mind and your dexterity. Two of the three puzzles mentioned in that post were the Perplexus and Superplexus. Building on that line of puzzles, shown here is the Perpluxus Epic.

From the puzzle description:

You've mastered the Original - can you beat the new Perplexus Epic? Navigate the steel ball along the tracks, through 125 barriers of varying difficulty as you try to defy gravity. With gnarly new twists, turns and barriers, Perplexus Epic provides hours of challenging, three dimensional fun. 8 1/2" in diameter.

I have played with the original Perplexus recently and it is really fun! I have it on good authority that the Perplexus Epic is quite a bit more challenging. (If you are looking for a starter version, try the Perplexus Rookie.)

Here's a link the Perplexus Epic 3D puzzle.

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Photography-themed Rube Goldberg contraption

At 1.25 million views on YouTube as of this writing, this video of a Rube Goldberg contraption has certainly made the internet rounds already. It's worth reposting because of the interesting photography theme and some really clever mechanical elements.

[ Thanks Ron and Spiel und Kunst mit Mechanik! ]

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Walking Martian tin toy... and terrified humans!

I am glad that Schylling still makes toys like this walking Martian Tin Toy. The term "walking" is probably a bit generous. The 9 inch tall alien moves forward (slowly) by wiggling the two central feet. From what I gather, the design was inspired by toys produced during the 1950s. That being the case, I think the Martian toy can be enhanced by pairing it with the horrified B-movie figures shown below.

Put them together and you can have your very own 1950s sci-fi movie display and reenactment!

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Monster Head Study No. 3 - Wizened Old Man

Dug North's Monster Head Study No. 3

It's been a while since I shared with you one of my little monster head studies. The weathered and wrinkled old face shown here was the third that I made last winter. For a little background, here is where you can catch up on my posts about Monster Head Study No. 1 and Monster Head Study No. 2. Basically, I carve these heads when I feel stuck.

As with the first two monster heads, this one started out as a 1 inch diameter hardwood ball obtained in a package of 12. I believe they are birch. The are free of knots, which creates a nice clean look. However, they are very hard and difficult to hold and carve with conventional carving tools.

To deal with the hardness of the wood, I tried for the first time my tungsten carbide carving burrs. These 1/8 inch shank Kutzall carving burrs are made for rotary tools such as the Dremel or something like the higher-end Foredom rotary tools (also on my wish list). I used an inexpensive Dremel tool. I have a cylindrical one and a long tapered like the one shown in the photograph to the right. As advertised, the teeth on these burrs are sharp, remove material rapidly, and do not become clogged easily. Isn't it nice when advertisements turn out to be true? I am impressed with these burrs; I plan on buying the other shapes in time.

This carving didn't take me long to make, though I removed a lot of material -- probably because I was power-carving most of the time. For the dark lines above the eyes, I used a Dremel with a 1/4 inch Dremel sanding drum mounted in it. I allowed the spinning drum to burn the wood a little bit by leaving it in one place for a few moments. I like this technique for doing eyebrows, while simultaneously carving out the hallows for the eyes and defining the cheek bones. The squinty eyes were done with a basic woodburing tool.

By far the most human of the faces so far, this figure looks to be an old man. While experimenting with various things, used some black masking tape to create the pieces on his chin and sides of the head. I got used to seeing the head that way, so I eventually replaced the tape with thin pieces of black leather from an old wallet. In truth, I am not sure what those things are. The black piece on his chin might be a beard, but it could also be some sort of ceremonial false beard like those worn by Egyptian pharaohs as a sign of their divinity. In this fellow's case, I don't think it has anything to do with divinity! The pieces on the sides of his head could be ears or radically styled hair. Once again, my impression is this is a headdress of some sort. Together, the beard, headdress, weathered face, and grimace give me the overall impression that this must be some type of wizard, warlock, or alchemist. Whatever he is, I don't trust him.

I hope you enjoy these little carved monster heads; there are many more monsters to come. I have even worked on a new one recently, though I didn't do it because I felt stuck!

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Preview for the film The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Why -- you might be wondering -- would we be sharing the trailer to a motion picture here on The Automata / Automaton Blog? It's simple: this movie features an automaton! Back in the fall of 2008, I did a post about the novel from which this movie comes: The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. The automaton in the story is based in large part on the famous writing and drawing automaton by Maillardet, now housed at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.

From the film description:

The film tells the tale of an orphan boy living a secret life in the walls of a Paris train station. When Hugo encounters a broken automaton, an eccentric girl, and the cold, reserved man who runs the toy shop, he is caught up in a magical, mysterious adventure that could put all of his secrets in jeopardy.

Not only is the story good, the film is directed by Martin Scorsese and can list Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jude Law, and Christopher Lee among the many notable actors.

This preview was brought to my attention by Michael Start of The House of Automata whose considerable talents were put to good use; you see, he served as the Automaton and Horological Adviser to the film! Bravo!

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Classic acrobat toy driven by push button-action

Here's a nice version of a classic wooden folk toy. An acrobat figure is mounted by the hands to two twisted strings held between two upright bars. When the button is pushed, the bars are separated, causing the strings to untwist. It's this untwisting motion that makes the acrobat perform speedy somersaults. Unlike the more traditional version where you use your hand to squeeze the bars, the version shown in the video has been converted to operate via a large push-button. This clever adaptation of a classic toy is by Roberto Lou Ma, who was kind enough to share with us the plans for the ramp-walking robot and ramp-walking rhino.

For plans and instructions on how to make the traditional acrobat toy, I urge you check out the book Traditional Wooden Toys: Their History and How to Make Them. The book has sections on animated toys, balancing toys, climbing toys, wheeled toys, wooden dolls, rubber-band powered toys, spinning toys, optical toys, games, and many others.

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Video of a machine made out of styrofoam

Check out this crazy claw mechanism cut with looks like a CNC machine out of styrofoam. I'm guessing that might be a spinning spiral-toothed coping saw blade doing the cutting...or is that a hot wire of some sort? I am not sure. Either way, I love variation in the claw's motion caused by the two different gears working together.

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Animation shows the geometry of a Geneva Wheel

If you are curious about the geometry of a Geneva Wheel -- or simply want to know what a Geneva Wheel is, check out this animation created in Autodesk Inventor 2012 Professional by New Gottland.

See more sculpture by New Gottland on his YouTube channel.

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507 Mechanical Movements: Mechanisms & Devices

Book Review of 507 Mechanical Movements

There is a small, scared part of me that doesn't want to tell you about this book. You see, I fear that you will buy it, read it, and use it so quickly, and for so little money that whatever head start I have as an automaton artist will be lost!

But that's being paranoid, isn't it? You aren't all automaton makers out there. And even if you are, you will find a different use for mechanisms in this book than I will.

Copyright 1868...and I Love it!

This book is unchanged from the date is was published over 130 years ago. The title is so long that amazon's listing can't fit it all. Just so you don't miss out on the charm of it, here it is as written on the title page:

Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements, Embracing All Those Which Are Most Important In Dynamics, Hydraulics, Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, Steam Engines, Mill and other Gearing, Presses, Horology, and Miscellaneous Machinery: and including Many Movements Never Before Published and Several Which Have only Recently Come into Use

A Mechanism Gold Mine

One review of this book on Amazon.com's site, complained that book is "just a collection of line drawings". Right! That's why I love it. I think it's a great little book, certainly of great value to automaton makers.

Of a similar vintage to Ingenious Mechanisms for Designers and Inventors, this book deals with only individual mechanisms, rather than complex multi-stage machines. With about 9 mechanisms on every other page, this little book is a dense gold mine compared to the more text-heavy Ingenious Mechanisms -- a four volume set.

The left hand page of each spread shows 6 to 9 mechanisms or "Contrivances" as they were called. The page on the right side gives a short description of each of the mechanisms. Almost all of the mechanisms shown in this book are practical and straightforward. I have no doubt that they represent tried-and-true solutions to real-world problems.

Dover Does it Again!

For me, this book serves as mechanical inspiration, similar to the way I use Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook. I can browse through the pages to solve a specific problem. Or, I can start with a neat mechanism and design around it. At the time of this writing, Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements costs less than a quarter of Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook.

Yes, the pictures are black and white line drawings. Yes, the language is a tad archaic. That's part of the fun. Seriously!

The Bottom Line

Listen, if you are considering buying Ingenious Mechanisms for Designers and Inventors or the Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook but are not sure that you will find a way to use them, why not start with this book? Then, if this book works for you, you can invest in the more costly books of this sort.

If you are looking for mechanical inspiration and are short on shelf space, cash, or attention span, this book is a really good choice. Your best choice, actually.

Here it is: 507 Mechanical Movements: Mechanisms and Devices.

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Schoenhut clockwork picture of a man & mouse

I posted a video earlier this year showing a mechanical picture automaton of shoemaker's shop. The piece looked like one made by Albert Schoenhut found Mary Hillier's book Automata and Mechanical Toys. Albert Schoenhut, originally from Germany, set up shop Philadelphia, Pennsylvania not long after the Civil War ended.

From the Item description:

This clockwork driven picture features an old man dressed in his night cap and robe opening and closing his mouth as if to be yelling, and raising and dropping his arm as if trying strike a mouse which is darting in and out of the cupboard. Behind the scene is a strong brass clockwork motor driving an assortment of cams, a pulley, and wire levers causing the action.

Here is a link to the current ebay listing with a very detailed description for this Shoenhut clockwork living picture of a man and rat.

[ Thanks Jennifer! ]

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Clown pedaling a bike paper automaton

Here is a wonderful and complex paper automaton kit designed by the talented PaperPino. This one is entitled Wandering in the Sky.

From the automaton's description:

The three-gear train moves the wheels of the tricycle, and the scotch yoke mechanism moves the bird wings. Connected to the pedals, the clown's legs are linked with a lever system that moves the right arm and the head. With the Removable Inter-locking Pin System (RIPS), most of the parts are assembled without glue.

Here is where you can read more about the clown on a bike automaton on Paperpino.net. There is a small download link for this free model kit on the bottom of that page.

Want more on paper automata? Here's an older post with a round-up of paper automata resources!

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Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook

Here is my review of the book Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook, 4th Edition by Nicholas Chironis and Neil Sclater.

It's Love!
Though I like my 4-volume set Ingenious Mechanisms for Designers and Inventors, I like this book even better. I am man enough to admit that I fell deeply in love with this book the moment I opened it in a bookstore one day. I resisted buying it, but not for long.

Short and Sweet
My interest in mechanical devices does not typically involve elaborate multi-stage industrial machines. Rather, in the course of building an automaton I will come upon a design challenge that is limited in scope: How do I convert this motion into that motion? I wonder how one might use a gear here?

There are typically any number of potential solutions. This book gives you a great reference tool to explore your options. I find that by browsing this book, my brain is jogged into finding a solution, even if it does not come directly from the book.

Great Graphics
I'm one of those visual learners. This book is ideal for me. The text in this book accompanies a very nice graphic or two. It's concise; that means I'll actually read it rather than just skim over it.

The images in this book use a combination of line art and greyscale tones. This subtle difference really makes the images easier to decipher.

Easy to Use
My favorite method of searching through a book of this sort is to leaf through the pages randomly. However, I should point out that is book has both an excellent table of contents and a full index. (You can see the entire index at Amazon.com if you click on the 'Look inside this book' link above the book cover image.)

In Sum, Highly Recommended
This book is really, really, good. I know it's a little pricey, but it is pretty cheap as engineering textbooks go.

In addition to the stately hardcover, Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook is also available for you Kindle at a greatly reduced price.

I encourage you to order a hardbound copy of Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook, Fourth Editionat Amazon.com.

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Remote-controlled car transforms into a robot

Check out this remote control car with some surprising added functionality!

From the product description:

This remote-controlled sports car transforms into a robot that launches suction cup darts from a rotary cannon. At the touch of a button, the hood and front tires elevate 10" off of the ground, exposing the cannon that's integrated into the undercarriage. Drivers can fire the five suction cup darts in rapid succession, transform the robot back into its automotive form, and race the car forward and backward, execute hairpin turns, and perform 360º spins.

The cars can be set to run on three different RC channels, which means you can have three-car battles.

Here is where you an learn more about The Remote Controlled Transforming Robot Car.

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William Tell cast iron mechanical bank from 1896

It is amazing to see the various clever ways in which the designers figured out entertaining ways to get a penny into the bank. This bank features a classic scene in which the penny is shot from a crossbow over the head of William Tell.

From the ebay description of the mechanical bank:

The Bank features the figure of William Tell pointing a rifle shaped weapon at an apple on the head of a little boy who stands in front of a castle tower. To operate, the odd shaped piece on the top of the gun barrel is pressed back until it snaps into position. This "loading" of the mechanism also causes the head of William Tell to lower into a position that makes it appear he is taking aim at the apple. A coin is placed on top of the barrel just in front of the odd shaped piece. The boy’s right arm is pulled down bringing the apple to the top of his head. When the right foot of William Tell is pressed down he fires the gun and the coin shoots forward knocking the apple from the boy’s head as he raises his right arm. The coin is deposited inside the castle tower ringing a bell and the head of William Tell falls backwards. The mechanism here is in excellent working condition.

The William Tell Bank was patented in 1896 by Russell Frisbie and manufactured by J & E. Stevens for a several years.

Here is where you can see additional pictures and read more about this William Tell cast iron mechanical bank from 1896.

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