Artist Chris Fitch gives an in-depth explanation of the mechanics of his incredible swimming fish kinetic sculpture

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.

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Upcycled! A human-powered tree house elevator made from a bicycle and pulleys!

This human-powered elevator is cool on many levels. First of all, this guy needed an elevator for his tree house! That, in my opinion, is a good problem to have. Secondly, his solution is elegant and fun.

From the video description:

I have built a tree house (though it is not finished yet) that is nearly 30 feet up a tree. I got tired of climbing a ladder six and a half million times a day, so I made a bicycle powered elevator to solve this problem. Don't you wish you had one?

He's counter-weighted the bicycle on the pulley system so less power is required to raise and lower the rider. Next, he has threaded a thin cable that runs around the bike's back wheel and up a tube in front of the rider. When the bike is pedaled in the forward direction, the bike "rides" up the cable. The weight of the rider and bike, keep the back wheel tight against the cable. This means he can also used the hand-brake on the bike's back wheel when descending, as you will see in the video. This is a beautiful bit of engineering and I wouldn't be surprised to see it used elsewhere in the years to come.

Here's a link to a post about the bike elevator on the Colossal blog.

[ Thanks Christoph!]

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Laser-cut wood clamp for fusing your own belts with urethane belt material

Did you read my latest automton-making tips article? If not, it shows you how to fuse urethane belt material to make belts of any size for your mechanical projects. The method desribed works well and is much, much cheaper than purchasing a belt welding kit made for the job. Still, the method I present could be improved. Probably the trickiest part is pressing together the two ends of the just-melted belt material. If you are just a little off, or the ends slide, you will end up with a lumpy belt.

Michael Henriksen over at BustedBricks.com read my article and came up with a way to clamp the belts during the process. He's now offering a laser-cut wood clamp kit for a very reasonable £6 or about $9.00. Not only does it make holding the belts easier, but his new clamp allows you to use a soldering iron to melt the ends of the belting. Here's a shot of the clamp in action.

As you can see from the photo, the clamp makes the process easier and more consistent. It also allows you to use a a tool that many people already own or can get very easily. Check out this selection of soldering irons if you don't already have one. A basic model will do, though you might consider getting more than one tip and dedicating one to melting belt material.

Here is where you can get the new welding clamp for polyurethane belts.

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Hand-cranked wooden biplane automaton by Timberkits

Check out this new wooden biplane kit. It looks like it has a nice compound action. It certainly is a good example of how to use o-ring material as pulley belts to transfer motion across a distance and to change the axis of rotation. For more detailed instructions on how to make belts out of o-ring material, check out Number 9 of of my Tips, Tricks, and Techniques article series.

The Bi-plane kit shown here is another great product from TimberKits, who offers an extensive line of automaton kits.

Here is another place you can get the wooden biplane automaton kit.

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How to fuse custom-size urethane belts for your projects

In my latest Tips, Tricks and Techniques article for Cabaret Mechanical Theatre, I show you exactly how to make custom-sized belts from urethane material. It's an easy method that produces a strong welded joint. It just requires the right materials, a bit of preparation, and some patience.

Here is where you can read my latest article on how to fuse custom-size urethane belts for your projects.

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How to make your own pulleys and belts for small mechanical projects

The latest installment of my quarterly column, Dug's Automata Tips, Techniques and Tricks is now live on the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre site. To celebrate two full years of Tips, we'll have some fun with pulleys and belts. I show you exactly how to make small wooden pulleys for automata and other small mechanical projects, drawing on my previous article on How to Cut Wooden Circles for Your Automata Projects. I also show you what an O-Ring Splicing Kit looks like and how you can use one to create belts of any size to go with your pulleys. This should be all the information you need to start using pulleys and belts in your projects right away. I hope that it proves useful to readers.

Here is where you can read Dug’s Automata Tips, Techniques and Tricks No. 9 on Making Pulleys and Belts for Automata Projects.

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Get the "thumbs up" for any achievement with the turn of a hand-crank

Back in September, we had a sneak peek at the prototype of Brad Litwin's new MechaniCard titled Thumbs Up. The final version is done and here's the video to prove it. It looks even better with the final artwork.

Who would think that from a flat surface, a hand could rise, curl its fingers, and then raise its thumb -- all from the turn of a small hand crank? The mechanism is gorgeous, compact, and full of interesting components: gears, pulleys, belts, springs, strings, hinges, pivots, slides, and linkages. This one is shown with the optional display base.

Have you done something good lately? Do you know someone else who has accomplished something worthwhile? They deserve one of these.

Here is where you can see the full line of MechaniCards.

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Which Card Says 'I Love You' as Much as I Really Do? - Video of Valentine Automaton

As you may have heard by now, I will be exhibiting at the World Maker Faire in New York City this weekend, September 29 and 30, 2012. I know not all of you can make it, but that doesn't mean you can't see some of my pieces in action! I am pleased to announce that I'll be posting videos of some of my own automata over the next several days while I am getting ready for and participating in Maker Faire.

Presenting for the first time online, video of my piece titled Which Card Says 'I Love You' as Much as I Really Do?

I made this one quickly compared to most of my others. I like the general idea because I've been the poor fellow depicted in the scene. No commercial greeting card product seems to hit the nail on the head. Maybe this automaton does? The hundreds of miniature greeting cards took me nearly as long to make as the automaton itself. Here's a close-up shot of the cards in the display shelf:

The mechanism for the automaton is straightforward. The bouncing heart advertising display is driven by a two-lobed cam. The figure's head is turned from side-to-side by two offset cams hitting opposite edges of a circular driving plate. The rotating card carousel is driven by a small belt twisted 90 degrees from the rotation of the main axle.

The figure and the method of constructing it inspired my Tips, Techniques, and Tricks article #5 about a how to make a basic wooden head from simple shapes.

There appears to be a tradition among automaton-makers to make a piece related to Valentine's Day. This would be my contribution to the genre. Here's a round up of Valentine's Day pieces by other artists including Keith Newstead, Per Helldorff, Marc Horovitz, Rob Ives, Haruki Nakamura, and Paul Spooner. This list is by no means exhaustive; I know I've neglected many fine artists and examples.

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The Amazing Journey - a bicycle automaton with parallax effect

Automatist Keith Newstead has made many pieces featuring bicycles, but this one has got to be one of the most intricate and grand that we've ever see here at The Automata Blog. The automaton was a commissioned piece and is titled The Amazing Journey

Th Amazing Journey

Newstead explains the origin of the piece:

John Lau has asked me to make a different version of my automaton 'Brians Brilliant Bike'. He would like me to feature his wife, Vivien, surrounded by all of their pets. He wants the automaton to remember his wedding -- such a nice thing to do.

The depiction of the human characters, John And Vivien, is lovely.

The bold colors and menagerie of the animated creatures adds tremendous amount life to the piece. This is a video you can watch more than once. Did you notice the acrobatic mouse on the front wheel of the bike? The rabbit's swagger as it conjures? The gentle swaying of the snake?

Mechanically, there is a lot to take in: pulleys, belts, linkages, joints, rotating objects as well as the metal combined with wood. Most fascinating for me, is the extremely clever rotating background. By rotating several discs behind the scene at different speeds, Newstead has simulated a parallax effect with wood and paint!

As usual, the artist has some great in-the-making photographs of the automaton on his blog. Check them out.

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Antique miniature spinning wheel automaton made of bone

This interesting automaton of a woman spinning wool is currently for sale on ebay. When the handle is turned, the spinning wheel spins. The female figure lifts her left arm, pulling the wool, as she turns her head from side to side.

The piece measures 1-1/4 inches wide by 2 inches long and a little over 4 inches high. While the seller is not certain of its provenance, a search on the internet revealed similar examples that were described as "French Prisoner of War creations", which were made from scraps of cow and pig bone. The prisoner of war notion certainly adds a lot of interest and backstory if true. The piece is possibly from the 1840s.

I love the small spur gear and the mating lantern pinion. I also love the shape of the handle as well as the pulley that drives the spinning wheel. The material, whatever it is, is interesting and looks like it machines or carves well. A fascinating piece of kinetic folk art.

Check out a bunch of large, detailed photographs as well as the rather hot bidding action on this antique miniature spinning wheel automaton.

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Engino's mechanical toy system teaches the physics of pulleys

I've done short posts in the past about the Engino Toy System. The system uses a variety of cool multi-faceted rods and connectors that are designed to be connected on up to 6 sides at the same time.

Previous posts include educational sets focusing on gears, cams, and linkages. These seemed like good choices because they are indispensable to automata making. The set shown here focuses on pulleys -- another very hand mechanical device for automata making!

From the product description:

Learn how pulleys can be used to transfer force with reduced friction and how to increase force or speed at amazing levels. Build 5 working models including an oil drill, a stationary bike, cranes, bridges and a machine blender.

A 40 page book is included with the set providing experiment ideas and detailed explanations of the different technological principles involved in pulleys.

Here's where you can get Engino Mechanical Science: Pulleys.

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Mechanical Devices for the Electronics Experimenter

I don't dabble with electronics as much as I used to, but I do on occasion. Just this week I was doing some research and had to find some answers regarding the different types of motors, how to drive them, and how to understand their torque ratings. Mechanical Devices for the Electronics Experimenter came in very handy.

I'm not sure why the ratings on Amazon aren't higher for this book. True, it does not go into great depth on any of the subjects covered, but I suppose that's one reason I like the book. I was able to read up on DC motors, stepper motors, servos, and solenoids in a short amount of time. Of course there must be more to know about these topics, but for a concise summary and review, this book served me well.

And motors aren't the only thing covered. Other chapters include:

1. Basic mechanical principles - the physics you actually needed to learn!
2. Sensors - mostly for determining speed and position
3. Motors and Motor control - with circuit diagrams
4. Motor control - with some circuit diagrams included
5. Stepper motors - with info on using cheap surplus motors
6. Solenoids - including info on making your own
7. Gears and pulleys - a nice treatment of why the involute form is used
8. Mechanical components - info on bearings, shafts, springs, ratchets
9. Pneumatics systems
10. Vacuum systems
11. Hydraulic systems
12. Wheeled vehicles - getting into robot-specific territory here
13. Arms, legs, and hands - again, mostly of interest to the robot makers

The diagrams are simple line drawings, but they ARE clear. That's what matters. The author likes to throw in a lot of math, but I had no trouble just breezing past it when all I was after were the core concepts. If you happen to like math, well...it's in there. Also, the book makes sure to relate most topics back to electronics. You won't find that in every book.

So the book might be somewhat misnamed. It's really more about the basics of mechanical engineering. With this in mind, I think it's quite a good book. Here is where you can check out Mechanical Devices for the Electronics Experimenter.

If you are searching for something more nut-and-bolts practical, check out Animatronics: Guide to Holiday Displays which has a lot of good nitty-gritty info on the making of mechanical things and Making Things Move DIY Mechanisms for Inventors, Hobbyists, and Artists which is outstanding all around.

If you are in fact looking for in-depth introductory information on mechanical engineering (with even more math), then I recommend Mechanical Engineering Principles by John Bard and Carl Ross.

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Rhino Training - automaton by Dave Johnson

I have often said that many contemporary automata are animated three-dimensional single-panel cartoons like the ones you might find in the pages of The New Yorker. The piece shown in the video above is a perfect example of what I mean. A familiar scene such as training a dog to sit is turned on its head when the dog is replaced with a rhinoceros. The piece is by Dave Johnson who you may remember as the creator of the famous Buckyball-moving machine.

The artist explains the origins of the piece:

I got an email at work one day, and the subject was "Rhino Training". (We use a CAD program called Rhinoceros.) My colleague Arlen and I thought that was a hilarious image: trying to get a rhino to sit, with no effect whatsoever. All day long we'd say "Sit!" and then crack up.

So I made a machine about it.

Humor, sound, a slew of nifty mechanisms including the one for the word-bubble, and some truly organic twitching motions for the rhino's ear and tail. An excellent machine all around.

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