Hand-cranked automaton plays 'When the Saints Go Marching In' on the xylophone

Check out this automaton which plays When the Saints Go Marching In on the xylophone...or is that a glockenspiel because they are metal plates? In any case, the machine design and fabrication are outstanding!

OK...I did some quick research. It is a glockenspiel. Here is the word from Wikipedia:

A glockenspiel (German pronunciation: [ˈɡlɔkənˌʃpiːl], glocken:bells and spiel:play) is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, thus making it a metallophone. The glockenspiel, moreover, is usually smaller and higher in pitch. In German, a carillon is also called a Glockenspiel, while in French, the glockenspiel is often called a carillon.

Show above is the GP Percussion Bell Kit. It looks like a good deal because it comes with the 30 note glockenspiel as well as a heavy duty stand, practice pad, beaters, sticks, and nylon carrying case.

It's nearly back-to-school time. If you order any instruments from Amazon, consider doing via the link you see here for Musical Instruments. Thanks!

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Actor Steven Fry and magician Derren Brown marvel at wine opening machine

Some time ago, I featured a video of the absolutely astounding sculpture by Rob Higgs that can open a bottle of wine, then pour a glass. Here we some some British celebrities -- Steven Fry and Derren Brown among them -- operating the machine and delighting in the experience.

[ Thanks Christopher! ]

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The automatic creation of automata: the computational design of mechanical characters

This could be a game-changer in the world of automaton-making. I don't think I've ever had the chance to say something like that.

I caught wind of this project some months ago, but the recent news of this incredible video comes to us by way of Falk Keuten at the excellent blog Spiel und Kunst mit Mechanik. This computer program created by a team at Disney Research, Zurich accepts a desired input motion and then generates the necessary gears and linkages to realize that motion.

From the research paper abstract:

Given an articulated character as input, the user iteratively creates an animation by sketching motion curves indicating how different parts of the character should move. For each motion curve, our framework creates an optimized mechanism that reproduces it as closely as possible. The resulting mechanisms are attached to the character and then connected to each other using gear trains, which are created in a semi-automated fashion. The mechanical assemblies generated with our system can be driven with a single input driver, such as hand-operated crank or an electric motor, and they can be fabricated using rapid prototyping devices.

And it's not all theory or computer simulations, either! The team demonstrated the versatility of the system by creating a bunch of mechanical characters, several of which were manufactured using 3D printing technology. The results are amazing, some showing subtleties of motion that are very difficult to design, but incredibly valuable to the final effect.

Here is the Disney project web site. Here is a link to the research paper (PDF) titled Computational Design of Mechanical Characters.

[ Thanks to John, Falk, and Fred ]

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Theo Jansen and his incredible walking beach creatures featured on CBS 'This Morning'

Who can get enough of graceful mechanical creatures created by Dutch artist, Theo Jansen? His 'Strandbeests' are wind powered walking creatures part art, part engineering, and certainly inspired by nature.

If you find these creations as fascinating as I do, you may want to study one (a small one) up close and personal. The good news is, you can. The Japanese company Gakken offers a number of working models of Jansens's kinetic creatures.

[ Thanks John! ]

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Support The Automata Blog by using the Amazon links on the site

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All the best,

-Dug North, The Automata Blog

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Clever use of an auger drill bit as a worm screw to drive a wooden gear

A worm drive mechanism can be very helpful for slowing down a gear train. Just two components can change the ratio drastically -- a task that would require a gear train with many more gears. This can also provide a great deal of mechanical advantage.

Here's a clever use of an off-the-shelf auger style drill bit. The bit is a 7/16-Inch solid centre auger bitdesigned to go into a bit brace like this one.

The end portion of the bit was modified using a Sherline micro-lathe and a Dremel tool with an abrasive cut-off wheel. We don't see how the gear itself was created, but it is modified with a Dremel and sanding drum to better mesh with the worm screw.

From the maker's description:

The wood screw, spurs and cutting edge at the end of the bit would need to be removed as well as the first flight of the auger, which had a shorter pitch. I ground away the bulk of the unwanted material on the bench grinder. The first flight was removed so the remainder of the auger would be of consistent pitch. The center shaft and inside areas of the flutes of the wood auger bit are not uniform. I saw making a helical gear as being a bit problematic for this purpose and decided to use a standard spur gear modified to run as a worm wheel. Since this would be used in a low speed low torque application, this simplified version of the worm wheel should be quite adequate. Because of the inconsistent form of the auger bit, a good deal of trial and error fitting was required.

If you feel like learning all there is to know about worm drives, check out The Theory and Practice of Worm Gear Drives (Kogan Page Science Paper Edition). As the title suggests, this book covers both theoretical and practical design aspects of worm drives. The excellent book Making Things Move by Dustyn Roberts covers the topic adequately for the average mortal, as does the affordable Basic Machines and How They Work.

If you'd rather just tinker a bit with a model (and I would, if I were you), check out Tamiya's Worm Gear Box. This worm gear can produce extremely low speeds of rotation. It has two selectable gear ratios of 216.1:1 and 336.1:1!

See more amazing creations by Ron Walters on his YouTube channel.

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Short video profile of automaton artist Richard Hackney

Check out this wonderful short film about British artist, Richard Hackney, and his automata. Up-cycled copper boilers and light bulbs never looked so good!

See more automata by Richard Hackney on his web site.

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Automaton of feasting raccoons by Al Conquergood

The Lee Valley woodworking newsletter this month features the automaton art of Al Conquergood of Etobicoke, Ontario. Here is one of his automata titled, Urban Terrorists. The miniature book is an especially nice touch!

From the video description:

This piece features two raccoons, Boris and Ursula fine dining in a local galvanized garbage can, the norm before modern recycle bins. They each turn their heads, move their eyes, open their mouths, waggle their tongues and move their arms and wag their tails. Boris waves a rotting grape around excitedly and clutches a wiggling fish protectively in his hand and hiding it from Ursula who seems a little more casual about dining. Occasionally a mouse "lounging" on a piece of fresh cheese rises to the can's brim to survey the neighborhood. Dinner is served amongst a wide variety of garbage including banana peels, decaying grapes, bottles, rancid tomatoes, a pop can, bones, rotting apples, a broken gear, washers and a discarded instructional book on building automata.

Here is where you can see more automata by Al Conquergood.

[ Thanks Charles and John! ]

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Richard Garriott shows Martha Stewart automata from his collection

Did you know that legendary video game creator Richard Garriott collects automata? Here's a clip in which he teaches Martha Stewart about various forms of automata using examples from his own collection. Garriott's automata collection, features antiques as well works by almost all of the modern makers. The automata collection, vast as it is, can only be covered in part. We do get to see the works of three artists who surely deserve the limelight.

Here is a video that shows much more of Richard Garriott's automata collection.

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Perplexus Twist, three-dimensional puzzle game

I've posted in the past about the various maze games in this family including the Perplexus, Perplexus Epic, and the giant version of the the Superplexus (selling for a whopping $30,000). Here's another in this popular series of 3D maze games, The Perplexus Twist. As with the others, it is a maze game where players must maneuver a small marble around challenging barriers inside a transparent sphere.

From the Perplexus Twist product description:

Puzzle fans ages six and up will find a fun challenge with the Perplexus Twist, a three-dimensional puzzle game that exercises eye-hand coordination, dexterity, and spatial reasoning. This marble maze, encased in a 7.5-inch transparent sphere, features three perplexing tracks, 30 obstacles, and many ways from start to finish. With a variety of obstacles and ways to play, Perplexus Twist offers a versatile, travel-friendly option for play.

This one boasts some new features such as different solution paths of varying difficulty and a multi-player option. This company continues to innovate on this very interesting and highly rated game/puzzle concept.

Here is where you can get the Perplexus Twist.

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Laser-cut marble machine kit with a catapult lifting arm

Check out this nifty little marble machine kit from the folks at RetroTime. The most unique feature of this little marble track is the arm that lifts the ball bearings to the top of the run. A geared hand-crank powers a small arm, something like one you might see on a catapult. No, it doesn't throw the ball bearing. (Sorry, if I gave you the wrong idea.) It simply places the steel ball at the top of the track with a smooth motion. It looks as if you can effortlessly keep marbles flowing down the track at more that one per second. It creates a nice rhythmic motion and sound that I find soothing.

The kit includes laser cut wood components, steel balls, a screw pack, sandpaper and wood glue. The product page for the kit also features a nice tutorial video.

Here is where you can get this laser-cut marble machine kit.

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