Check out artist Aaron Kramer's drawing machine. Using two large cams, a parallel linkage, and a great to deal of experimentation this machine is able to draw the artist's face with a single line over the course of about 15 seconds. It is still a self-portrait if a machine draws the picture? I think so...
Do any of you out there remember the Spirograph drawing toy? The "Cycloid Drawing Machine" shown in the video is like its cooler big brother. Various wooden gear and linkage combinations are used to produce a huge array of different drawings.
The drawings are also kind of a neat way to study the output motion resulting from different gear and linkage combinations. I love that it is hand-cranked. The machine is all wood and looks to be very well made.
The Cycloid Drawing Machine is currently a Kickstarter project seeking funding. There are two funding reward levels, both of which get the backer one of these nifty machines. Here is the Kickstarter page for Cycloid Drawing Machine.
Check out this amazing software designed by Disney which enables character shapes and their desired motions to be generated very quickly.
From the video description:
We propose an interactive design system for rapid crafting of planar mechanical characters. Our method combines the simplicity of sketch-based modeling with the ease of defining motion through extreme poses. In order to translate these digital designs into fabrication-ready descriptions, our method automatically computes the mechanical structure that makes the characters move as desired. We achieve real-time performance by limiting the mechanical structure between pairs of components to simple building blocks that define, trim, and propagate their motion. By focusing on shape and motion, our system emphasizes the creative aspects of character design while hiding away the intricacies of the underlying mechanical structure. We demonstrate the flexibility of our approach on a set of virtual designs and physical prototypes.
By paring things down to just a character's outline and motion, the program is able to quickly generate 2D prototypes that focus on the underlying mechanical structure. The third dimension (depth) and aesthetic considerations can come later and benefit from a different set of tools. I like what they've done here. Linkages can produce some astonishing output motions from some simple inputs. Figuring out these linkages is far from intuitive however.
Time to take your engineering knowledge up a notch? Check out this book I discovered on Amazon the other day. For the non-professional engineer it may be a little weighty, but boy...it's all there! (This fourth edition is aimed at senior undergraduate or graduate students in mechanical engineering.)
Theory of Machines and Mechanisms
covers the study of displacements, velocities, accelerations, and static and dynamic forces required for the proper design of mechanical linkages, cams, and geared systems. The authors present the background, notation, and nomenclature essential for students to understand the various independent technical approaches that exist in the field of mechanisms, kinematics, and dynamics.
The book includes a CD with working model animations of many figures from the text to help students visualize and comprehend their movement. A companion website for instructors provides additional information and resources, including PowerPoint-based slides of figures from the text.
Artist Chris Fitch took the time to of put together a video in which he explains the mechanics of his limited edition piece titled, Tantalus Mackerel. I don't need to say much more here, because his explanation is so good.
As for the piece, here is what Chris Fitch as to say about it:
The story of Tantalus has been, since its Greek origins, a consistently applicable metaphor for the human condition. Tantalus angered the gods by trying to feed them the flesh of his own son, passed off as ambrosia. For this, he was chained to the bottom of a lake that reached to his chin. With luscious grapes drooping from vines above his nose, starving Tantalus was unable to enjoy either food or drink, as they were pulled away whenever he reached. I won't go on about how I think this relates to American culture today, which suffers from a kind of self-inflicted hunger from unrealistic expectations. Nor will I attempt to make any connection between the story of Tantalus and our current global problem with mercury levels in deep sea fish, and how we are our own gods and are punished by our own actions when we poison our own food supply. Let me just say, instead, that this piece is about a frustrated fish trying to catch a bug.
It's an incredible piece in every way: the narrative, the artistry, the mechanics. He only made three of these beauties, and (as of this writing) one is still available. For more videos and photos of sculptures by Chris Fitch, visit http://www.chrisfitchsculpture.com.
Nguyen Duc Thang is a mechanical engineer with doctorate located in Hue City, Vietnam.
He has used Autodesk Inventor 2008 to create all a YouTube channel FILLED with animated mechanisms. Shown above is his model for a barrel cam mechanism in which a rotational motion is converted into linear reciprocating one.
He has models for things I've never even glimpsed as a static image, much less a moving model. Check out this Archimedean spiral gear and pin gear (below). How on earth would you accomplish something like this another way? It not only reduces the speed of the rotating axle, but does so nearly in-line with the original input motion -- and all with just two interlocking parts!
He has modeled interesting cams, gears and linkages as well as, complete machines and machine tools. This is a treasure trove for the mechanically minded. Check out Nguyen Duc Thang's YouTube Channel.
Here is another delightful hand-cranked contraption in the mechanical series that artist Gina calls Mechanical Confections.
As ususal, there is a satisfying assortment of mechanical components: a periodically engaging set of bevel gears; a ball bearing on a shifting incline plane; a Geneva wheel; a pair of offset cams causing two followers to toggle up and down; a chiming bell; and, of course, a spinning wooden block with various items printed on its faces -- one of which shows a birthday cake.
Here's an fascinating automaton to start your week. This piece, titled Delmar, was created by artist Chris Cole. The hand-cranked automaton depicts a fish. The kinetic sculpture features a chain drive, a fanning dorsal fin made of wrenches, several cranks, exposed linkages, and eyes made from sprockets. This fish is mechanical inside and out!
The father and son team of Lance and L. J. Nybye have come up with a wonderful line of mechanical add-ons for common light-switch covers. The mechanisms are typically cut with a laser from high-quality plywood and finished off with brass hardware. Additional decorations are engraved/burned into the parts with the laser.
From the online shop:
These mechanical light switches transform an ordinary appliance into the perfect flourish for your secret library, steampunk chalet—or wherever your imagination lives!
The mechanical switch covers install easily over a standard switch plate using the existing screws. In addition to the excellent lever-based switch shown in the video, they have a couple of other lovely designs.
Here is their one based on planetary gears...
And another design based on the rack and pinion mechanism...
Here is an early Black Forest clock recently restored by Kevin Wright. Information on piece the is nonexistent -- or at the very least, extremely hard to find. To make the restoration even more of a challenge, the clock's automaton was missing many pieces.
When Wright received the clock the monkey was missing his right arm and hand, his left foot, mirror, razor. He was also missing his eyes. The clock didn't have the typical worm governor, so the speed could not be controlled. Wright knew he had only about 9 seconds of motion to work with and decided to have the monkey shave his chin,look in a mirror, and scream/smile. The cam shaft, cams, second wheel and all of his linkages all had to be reverse-engineered and fabricated. Brilliant work!
For more on unusual Black Forest Clocks like this shaving monkey, be sure to check out and order a copy of Justin Miller's new book, Rare and Unusual Black Forest Clocks. The book contains over 700 images showcasing the finest examples of clocks made in the region. It also explains the various mechanisms and guides collectors trying to identify individual clocks.
Kinetic Creatures are walking cardboard animal sculptures which use the clever mechanical linkage, popularized in Theo Jansen's Strandbeest. By turning the wire handle the creatures come alive with a simple mechanical motion.
They also offer gear kits which allows the animals to be powered by a small electric motor and laser-cut wooden gears.
The Creatures -- Elly the elephant (above), Rory the rhino, and Geno the giraffe -- are made up of cardboard pieces that you assemble using tabs-and-slot construction.
The creators have been seeking support on Kickstarter in order to cast the patterns onto die-cut-tools at a local cardboard manufacturing facility. Using a die-press, the time-per-kit will come way down. That means they will be able to share the Kinetic Creatures with hundreds or thousands of makers!
They have already reached their Kickstarter goal, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't pledge in order to get one of these creatures for your own! Here is the link to the Kinetic Creatures Kickstarter page.
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.
Another crazy and wonderful motorized-driven wall-mounted kinetic piece from Brett Dickins. It's a head-spinning assemblage of turning wood gears, linkages, and an exploding wooden frame. Awesome.
Here is a fantastic new kinetic piece by Dave Johnson, which advances spherical rare earth magnets (AKA Buckyballs) around a course using a variety of creative techniques and mechanisms. At one point, he uses the magnets' ability to form a chain to wind them up a dowel. Also, be sure to check out the clever use of the large plastic drywall anchor!
From the YouTube description:
This machine manipulates small spherical rare earth magnets, slicing one at a time from the end of a long chain, moving it around a bit, then dropping it back to re-connect at the tail end of the chain.
It also demonstrates a little snippet of science called eddy currents. Watch how slowly the magnet falls through the aluminum tube compared to falling through air: the falling magnet generates an electrical current in the tube, and that current in turn generates a magnetic field that opposes the movement of the magnet, slowing it down dramatically.
I used a plastic drywall anchor for the main screw drive that pulls the chain of magnets through the machine. The 2 other driven axles -- the slicer and and the lifter -- are geared directly to the screw drive. Steven Garrison's gear cutting method was invaluable to make the gears operate smoothly. The lifter is based on a standard four bar linkage (a film advance mechanism) but was modified to dip very low before lifting back up and stroking its straight vertical line at the top.
Dave Johnson points out that these magnets are currently a popular toy, and can be purchased on the web or in stores -- usually in a set of 216 (for a 6x6x6 cube). There are many different brands: Zen Magnets, Buckyballs, nano dots, NeoCube, and more.
Woodworker Ken Schweim built this collection of wood mechanisms and titled it Convolution. It is a wonderful assortment of drives, linkages, and gears. Well done, Ken!
From the video description:
This is a collection of wood mechanisms driven by a common wood crank. The entire project is wood, no nails, screws, wires, etc. Each assembly is removable. The wood is primarily common pine with some black walnut. Total time required was about 4 months with the majority in the design phase. I was going to add more to the open sides and the interior but decided against it for two reasons; one - it would require more cranking power and two, it would make it difficult to see the existing interior mechanicals. Plus, it now leaves the door open for another possible project to explore more wood mechanisms. In reviewing the audio I mistakenly said there is wire in this thing but not so, it is all wood.
