How to build simple machines with paper clips

Wanting to come up with a simple and inexpensive project teachers could use to teach their students some aspect of technology, Instructables user biochemtronics came up with this hand-cranked paper clip machine.

From the creator's comments:

For educators this project is a great way to teach students the physics of mechanical machines including cranks, levers, fulcrum points, rotary and linear motion all while stirring their curiosity and developing their mechanical aptitude.

What he has really done is conceive of an inexpensive platform for building machines that requires some scraps of wood, paperclips, pliers, and a small drill. The result is not only educational but beautiful as well. Ingenious.

Here is the Instructable the hand-cranked paper clip machine system.

[ Thanks Aaron and Ron! ]

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Automata in the news: CBS Sunday Morning feature

It seems everyone is talking about automata -- even CBS Sunday Morning. Here is a nice piece featuring automata from this week's program.

You get a great out-of-the-display-case look at the Maillardet automaton at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The automaton, dating to around 1800, can draw four pictures and write three poems. The automaton is the mechanical marvel that inspired Brian Selznick, author of the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which Martin Scorsese brought to the big screen as the Oscar-nominated film Hugo.

Additional context on the history of automata is provided by Jere Ryder, Conservator of the Guinness Collection of automata located at the Morris Museum, in Morristown, New Jersey. He shows off a humorous automaton of a man and a pig as well as a clown performing a magic trick.

Have you seen the automaton at The Franklin Institute? What did you think of the movie Hugo? Finally, when will you make a trip to the Morris Museum to see hundreds of automata? Tell us about it in the comments!

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CBS Sunday Morning program to feature automata

Behind the Scenes at The Franklin Institute - CBS Special Feature - The Automaton, a photo by Darryl W. Moran Photography on Flickr.

Fans of automata will want to make time to see this Sunday's (Jan. 29th, 2012) airing of CBS Sunday Morning news program with Charles Osgood. The show will have a special feature segment about the automaton depicted in the recent film 'Hugo' by Director Martin Scorsese, the Maillardet automaton at the Franklin Institute, as well as the magnificent Guinness Collection of automata at the Morris Museum!

CBS Sunday Morning airs 9-10:30am EST. Check your local listings.

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OscylinderScope sculpture allows you to see sound waves

The OscylinderScope is an interactive sculpture by Norman Tuck that explores the nature of sound in a visual way. The OscylinderScope uses a moving black and white striped background to show the behavior of vibrating strings.

How the OscylinderScope works:

Spin the black and white cylinder and pluck the guitar strings. When you look at the strings, the wavy lines that you see show you how the strings behave when they vibrate to produce sound. Both the tension and the length of a string effect the frequency of vibration (pitch of the sound). Shorter or tighter strings vibrate faster to make higher tones. Longer or looser strings vibrate slower to make lower tones.

There are over a dozen OscylinderScopes around the world. The one shown here is located at San Francisco's Exploratorium.

Read more about the OscylinderScopes and where you can find one on Norman Tuck's web site. Also check out many other amazing kinetic sculptures by Norman Tuck.

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Engino mechanical science toy series: Linkages

Here is another toy in Engino's series of toys that teach mechanical principles. These are the folks that created the set on cams and cranks. The Engino toy system is a construction toy made up of of multi-faceted rods and connectors that can be connected on up to 6 sides at the same time. The design allows dense or open construction methods, simple or complex models, and the need for a smaller number of different components than other three dimensional building systems. Linkages seem like an idea application.

From the toy description:

Engino Mechanical Science: Linkages. This Engino set introduces young engineers and physicists the concept of linking levers to connect to moving parts for complex motion. Build 6 working models including a mechanical, extendable arm, a lifting platform, a pantograph, a folding ladder, a parallel weighing scale and a moving toy. A 40 page activity book is included with innovative experiments and detailed explanations of various technical and scientific principles and how they are applied.

Here is where you can get the linkages experiment set.

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Africani - automaton by Lorenzo Cambin

Take a look at this rich and colorful automaton by Lorenzo Cambin entitled africani. The three figures have such wonderfully elaborate dress. What a great video of the piece too! The back of the piece where you get a glimpse of the mechanism and its cams is fascinating, but brief.

See more automata by Lorenzo Cambin on his YouTube channel.

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Mechanical Principles - film of mechanical movements in action

Check out this 10 minute segment of a longer piece by Ralph Steiner featuring classic mechanical movements. I haven't cross-referenced them yet, but most can be found in the book 507 Mechanical Movements as well as the larger, but similar 1800 Mechanical Movements, Devices and Appliances.

Some interesting movements shown in the film include:
 • Counter mechanism
 • Gears engage on diagonals
 • Square gears
 • Variable speed transfer
 • Rotary to linear action with a 4 tooth cog

[ Thanks Gary! ]

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The sculpture of Arthur Ganson at the MIT Museum

If you happen to be in Cambridge, Massachusetts, you will want to stop by the MIT Museum which features an exhibit of Arthur Ganson’s kinetic sculptures.

If you are unfamiliar with Ganson's work, he uses the elements of machines, found, and fabricated objects to create though-provoking interactive kinetic sculptures. The sculpture shown here, Cory's Yellow Chair, depicts random yellow pieces floating in space. The pieces suddenly assemble into a small yellow chair for an instant before exploding apart once again. I could watch this for hours.

From the MIT Museum web site:

His sculptures explore the nature of oiled surfaces, object manipulation and slow explosions, and are created from a range of materials that he fabricates or finds.

Here is where you can learn more about Arthur Ganson and the exhibit of his work at the MIT Museum.

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The worlds largest and most detailed model railway

Check out this incredibly detailed and ambitious model roalroad. To call it a "model railroad" though is kind of insufficient because it depicts so much more that trains. Simply incredible.

[ Thanks Will, Bill, and Thomas!]

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Book on rare and unusual German Black Forest clocks

The Black Forest Region of Germany produced an amazing assortment of inventive and finely crafted clocks. While there certainly are books on the subject, most are in German. Rare and Unusual Black Forest Clocks by Justin J. Miller is the definitive guide for English-speaking clock enthusiasts. The book features over 700 images that showcase clocks, movements, components, catalogs, and literature related to Black Forest clocks. It also includes detailed biographies of notable clockmakers and clock-making firms.

From the book description:

The text provides much needed information on preeminent clockmakers Johann Baptist Beha and Emilian Wehrle, which place this among the best comprehensive single volumes ever produced in any language. This work also explains the various mechanisms and guides collectors and others trying to identify individual clocks by type, production era, and maker. The engaging text also vividly brings to life both the rich, romantic history of families and entire communities of craftsmen cooperating to create these unique timepieces that have drawn increasing numbers enthusiasts to the excitement of Black Forest horology.

Here is where you can get more info or pre-order the book Rare and Unusual Black Forest Clocks.

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Singing bird automaton in progress by Bliss Kolb

Here's the latest bird-themed automaton from artist Bliss Kolb. Pictures for now, but video is on the way, so stay tuned.

From the artist:

The bird has six movements and sings a simple bird song. Still to do: the branch will be covered with paper mache and filled out with leaves. The bird, branch, base, and handle will be painted.

See more sculpture by Bliss Kolb on his web site.

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Large-scale automata inspired by the fauna of Costa Rica

The large-scale wood automata shown the this video were created by a company called Toc de Fusta for International Festival of the Arts in Costa Rica, under the name of Cruso's Friends. The six automata were inspired by the fauna of Costa Rica. Fantastic stuff!

You can see videos of the building process of the large wood automata on Toc de Fusta's Youtube channel.

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Brass astronomical skeleton clock with 8000 parts

This clock is astounding on many levels: complexity, beauty, and craftsmanship. What is perhaps even more astonishing is that it is only 25% complete! About 2000 of the expected 8000 parts have been assembled. The finished product will be truly incredible.

From the Youtube description:

What you see is about 25% of the completed clock movement in terms of parts count, about 2000 of a total of 8000 parts. This project has been in construction for about 1.5 years and has another 2 to go. Much of the most difficult subassemblies are done as the going train contained a large amount of novel mechanical concepts: dual remontoire mediated by differential, dual escape wheels, compound fly fans, compound going barrels.

[ Thanks New Gottland! ]

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Film about the making of a huge wooden automaton village

Here is a short documentary on the making of the amazing wooden village automaton created by Jozef Pekara from Rajecke Teplice, Slovakia. This giant woodcarving was created by Jozef Pekara over the span of 18 years. This huge, village scene uses 150 animal and 170 human figures to depict the history and traditions of Slovakia.

[ Thanks Les! ]

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Hand-carved wood automaton depicts an entire village

I don't know much about this incredible automaton other than the title of the video, Slovenský betlém. The entire thing is wood, carved by masters of the craft. Everything in the village is animated: sawyers, farmers, farriers, cobblers, coopers, threshers, spinners, miners, weavers, carpenters, potters, vintners, washers, diners, musicians, worshipers, assorted animals, and children playing. I'm certain I missed many things too! Amazing. Beautiful. Just...wow.

[ Thanks Karin! ]

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Book on humor in craft to feature automata art

If you've spent any time reading The Automata / Automaton Blog, you know that an element of humor is common to many automata, especially the contemporary ones. This fact wasn't lost on the creators of the book Humor in Craft. They have included the work of at least one automata artist, namely Jim Kransberger. One of his pieces is shown on the cover (the red-headed potter). Three others will be found within the book which can be ordered now, though it is due out in March of 2012.

From the book description:

What happens when professional craft artists are allowed to let loose – when they get to explore their mischievous and irreverent sides? Find out in this groundbreaking book, which, for the very first time, reveals an entirely different side of "serious" craft. Hundreds of images and essays from all over the world allow you to gain insight into the creative minds of contemporary artists like never before. A variety of traditional craft media are shown, such as furniture, ceramics, glass, fiber, jewelry, and metal, as well as a number of unique, nontraditional techniques.

Here is where you can get the book Humor in Craft.

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How to glue something to a wooden axle without gluing the thing next to it!

The folks at the Timberkits Workshop have taken a bit of time to share this helpful hint for gluing collars to a wooden axle. In this case, the collars of the Drummer Timberkit need to be located as close as possible to both sides of a lever. The collars must be glued in place to keep the lever from shifting, but the lever must NOT be glued. How do you glue the two collars without gluing the lever? The answer is shown in the video!

Timberkits wooden automata kits can be ordered online:
For the United States visit: http://www.timberkitsus.com/store/
For the UK and Europe http: xhttp://www.timberkits.com/Home/

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Automaton depicting the end of Moby Dick

Check out this nicely made automaton by Tim Donald. Titled Ishmael's escape in a coffin, the piece is based on the end of Melville's book Moby Dick.In addition to some lovely carving, the piece features a crank, several pulleys, a bell-crank, and some clever linkages. I also love the old sailor turning the crank below decks.

See more automata and whirligigs by Tim Donald on his web site.

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Page-turning Rube Goldberg contraption

In case you've missed it, here is a video of a REAL Rube Goldberg machine designed to turn the page of a newspaper. The creator, Joseph Herscher, must have really studied Goldberg's drawings because the ridiculous contraption incorporates, falling balls, flames, a tipped vase, strings, a flyswatter, a live hamster, and a dozen other household items. It's very authentic, if I can use that term here.

Learn more about Joseph Herscher on his web site.

[ Thanks to Aaron Kramer! Also found on Spiel und Kunst mit Mechanik ]

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A skeletonized pocket watch broke my heart

I was lucky enough to have received an Amazon gift card this holiday season. I was clicking around the site and the watch shown here caught my eye. It was mixed in among the 140 other skeletonized pocket watches -- many of which are quite affordable. All too quickly, I got my hopes up.

The bad news: it costs $2,875.00.

The good news: it comes with FREE SUPER SAVER SHIPPING!!!

Alas, my gift card -- even with the generous shipping offer -- won't quite be enough. I think I'll keep looking for an antique Waltham pocket watch.

If you feel like punishing yourself here's the page for the Catorex Argent Massif 925 Skeletal Pocket Watch.

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The tiny Fairy Ship automaton music box

This tiny mechanical marvel is brought to us by Michael Start from The House of Automata. The tiny ship not only moves, but at one time also played a tune -- probably rising and falling notes coordinated with the ship's movement. The mechanism, dating to around 1830, would have been mounted in a case with a piece of paper or cloth serving as the rolling sea.

See more incredible antique automata at The House of Automata web site.

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Woodworking show episode about making whiriligs

Head on over to the PBS web site to see a full half-hour episode of The Woodwright's Shop that shows you how to make wind-powered whirligigs!

Here's a link to the Woodwright's Shop episode on whirligig construction.

[ Thanks Charles! ]

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Cast iron magician bank makes coins disappear

Here is a very authentic-looking antique reproduction cast iron bank depicting a magician doing a stage performance. Start by placing a coin on the table. Next, push down on the magician's top hat, and then press the spring-loaded button beside him. Your coin will disappear! This mechanical bank is based on a design originally made by J & E Stevens Co., designed by Charles A. Bailey, circa 1900.

Here is where you can get this cast iron magician mechanical bank. Here is where you can view an assortment of mechanical banks.

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