Mechanical Toys: How Toys & Automata Work

Here's a good book for you: Mechanical Toys: How Old Toys Work, by Athelstan and Kathleen Spilhaus (New York: Crown Publishers Inc., 1989).

The line between automata and toys has never been clear, but the principles of engineering that animate them have always been the same. This book explores how mechanical toys work.

The chapters survey the history of toys, material types, methods of construction, sound producing devices, and energy delivery systems. While not overly detailed in its technical descriptions, the reader gets a chance to see many black-and-white and color photographs of exposed toy and automata mechanisms.

Keep an eye out for this one. You may be able to get Mechanical Toys: How Old Toys Work second-hand at a book sale or at Amazon.

Stumble It!

Recriprocating Motion from Rotary Motion Device

This is a somewhat unexpected way to get reciprocating (back-and-forth) motion from rotary motion (circular). What's so interesting about this design in how compact it is and that it requires no return springs or counter-weights (positive drive).

Check out this post for 5 great books mechanical reference books.

Stumble It!

Geneva Mechanism, Maltese Cross or Geneva Stop

The Geneva Drive is also called the Maltese Cross or the Geneva Stop.
The Geneva mechanism was originally invented by a watch maker from Geneva to prevent the spring of a watch from being over-wound.

The most common use of the mechanism is to convert a continuous rotary motion into an intermittent rotary motion. In operation, a drive wheel with a pin enters into one of several slots on the driven wheel and thus advances it by one step (or "station"). The drive wheel also has a raised circular disc that serves to lock the driven wheel in a fixed position between steps.
Historically, this mechanism is was often used in movie film cameras and projectors to increment the film one frame at a time. Many automata use the Geneva mechanism for various purposes. In my own piece, The Birthing Engine, I used a 4-station Geneva wheel to control the appearance of the four babies that emerge from the mother.

Here is an 3-D animation of a shifter system that uses a Geneva mechanism:The mechanism in the animation above is patented by Barloworld CVT Technologies and is used in their positive drive CVT as a ratio shifting mechanism.

Here are some books that show various forms of Geneva mechanisms:

• Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements
• Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook
• 1800 Mechanical Movements, Devices and Appliances
• Pictorial Handbook of Technical Devices
• Machine Devices and Components Illustrated Sourcebook
• Cam Design and Manufacturing Handbook

Stumble It!

Mechanisms from The Sands Mechanical Museum

The Sands Mechanical Museum -- restorers of coin operated arcade machines -- contains coin-operated games, pinball machines, horse race games, arcade video games, and shooting games.

They mean it when they say "those things hidden from the player are almost as fascinating as the things visible. The motors, gears, electrical wiring, and gadgets have an appeal all their own."

Indeed, they offer an extensive section called Mechanisms Explained in which they have documented, photographed, animated, and described how a wide range of arcade machine mechanisms work. They offer mechanism explanations for the following:

• Ball bearing baseball "runners"
• Bingo display screen (mechanical)
• Various coin payout devices
• Coin counter units
• Coin rejector workings
• Coin slide mechanisms
• Credit recording unit
• Gear box based hunting game
• Photo booth camera with Geneva mechanism
• An early score keeping unit

The Sands Mechanical Museum is an extremely well documented online mechanical reference source.

Thanks bhaaluu!

Stumble It!

Video: So You Want to Make a Wood Gear Clock?

Here's a low-pressure introduction to making a clock from wooden parts -- gears and all. Along the way, you learn many important techniques that could be used for automata making as well as clock making. The narrator discusses tools, specific methods of work, and the construction process in general. The film gives you a good feel for what you are getting into if you decide build a clock of your own. Don't rush this one...save it for when you have a few minutes to savor this charming video.

You may also want to learn how to fix existing clocks, so take a look at Clock Repairing as a Hobby: An Illustrated How-To Guide for the Beginner

Stumble It!

Making Mechanical Marvels In Wood - DIY Book

Here's a book that should interest you makers out there. Making Mechanical Marvels In Wood

This book is not unlike Making Wooden Mechanical Models which I reviewed here. There are, however, some important differences between the two books.

Like Making Wooden Mechanical Models, this book isn't specifically written for automaton makers. Both books feature basic wooden machines as finished projects in themselves.

Making Mechanical Marvels differs in that many of the projects in this book are key building blocks to making contemporary wooden automata. For example, projects such as the cam and follower, the Scotch yoke, the fast-return actuator, and the Geneva wheel are all elements often found in an automaton.

The projects in this book are very handsome and would make nice gifts. There's something inexpressibly classy about machines made of wood.

I bought Making Mechanical Marvels bundled with Making Wooden Models from Amazon.com and I'm glad I did. The two books really compliment each other. I consider this book to be Volume 1. This book has very clear instructions and drawings to get you up to speed making wooden mechanisms. Making Wooden Models is equivalent to Volume 2 in which you tackle some more complicated projects.

The book has well-drawn line diagrams and a series of color pages in the center. The instructions are very well written; I would feel good about giving this book to a new woodworker or youngster looking for a science fair project.

The book concludes with some handy shop tips and jigs -- a nice bonus. I have learned a great deal from this book. Don't overlook it as a resource for building wooden mechanism.

Here is where you can order Making Mechanical Marvels In Wood.

Stumble It!

Wood Catapult Toy Kit Can Hurl Small Objects

This is the first in a two part series reviewing the working wood catapult kit made by Pathfinders. In this first part, I will tell you about the kit and give you some assembly tips. In part two, I'll tell you how I went about making the catapult look like it truly belongs a medieval battlefield.

ThinkGeek.com offers more than one model; this review refers to the one advertised as "Catapult Kit". It sells for $19.99.

Where did kit come from?
The product is sold by ThinkGeek.com in their Geek Toys section under the Cube Warfare subsection by the name of Wooden War Engine Kits.


What do you get in the kit?
The kit comes with nearly everything you need to assemble the catapult. The only material you need to provide is white Elmer's-type glue. The kit comes with a small swatch of sandpaper and suggests that you have a ruler and scissors available. The kit arrived in a slender cardboard box with instructions and parts separated into two plastic bags. No excessive packaging, no impossible-to-open-plastic-clamshell. I like that.

The kit contains just over a dozen wooden parts, two washers, some string, a small bit of wire, and some soft Play-Doh type clay -- otherwise known as "ammunition".

The wood is a clear-grained pine. Just one of the pieces of my kit had a medium sized knot in it. It had been filled with a little plastic-wood type filler to keep things solid and smooth.

How were the instructions?
The instructions are printed in black and white on 8 pages. There are instructions in English, French, and German which is nice, though they are intermingled in a way that requires a bit of scanning and rescanning. I found the directions to be very good, though there were a few vague spots. I'll address these very minor pitfalls in the next section. The line drawings in the instructions are simple and clear and serve as the primary means of instruction.

What helpful hints do you have?
Overall, the kit itself took me a little over half an hour to make, though they suggest that you set aside 1 to 2 hours. The kit is suggested for ages 9 and up. That sounds about right to me.

Here are a few helpful hints for the assembling the catapult kit:

1. Read the entire instruction manual all the way through, paying attention to the drawings. This won't take long and this will prevent any possible confusion.
   
2. At first, I wasn't sure how to tell the crosspiece that the holds the trigger from the upright braces. It's quite simple really: just read the directions (I hadn't yet). Note that they have thoughtfully placed red marks on the crosspiece and the base with which it mates.
3. The kit is held together with pegs that are glued in place. There are 18 total. Be sure to sift through the lot to find the two that a just a bit longer than the others. These are used to add tension to the string.
4. I found that the pegs fit rather tightly. The glue helps to lubricate them a bit. I gently used a nonmarring hammerto tap the pieces together. Alternatively, you could use the included sandpaper to slightly taper the ends of the dowels and ease their entry.
5. Add a safety/trigger - The trigger arm didn't always want to hold the throwing arm in place when under tension (OK, yeah...so maybe I have it wound too tightly). I rigged up a small diagonal piece of wood that fits in a notch to keep the trigger arm from swinging. By pulling this diagonal piece out, the trigger arm is free to swing and the catapult will fire. (See image below for my safety/trigger addition.)
   
6. A small hobby or razor Sawis handy if you want to trim some of the dowels that are left a bit over the surface of a few parts.
7. Consider staining and/or sealing your model to increase its beauty and lifetime. More on this in part 2 of this series.

So...does it work?
The packaging claims that the catapult can throw a soft clay ball over 15 feet. This is absolutely true. I easily achieved distances over 20 feet and don't think I have put undue strain on the model. Should you choose to add extra horsepower to your model (and this is just my speculation), I believe some added string and a reinforced crossbar would allow you to throw a grape twice as far as advertised.

The Verdict?
This is a well proportioned and historically accurate catapult. More specifically this is a mangonel variety of catapult that uses twisted fibers for its power source. I gather that many had a sling on the end rather than the spoon shape we typically see. (You can learn more about catapults from The Art of the Catapult: Build Greek Ballistae, Roman Onagers, English Trebuchets, and More Ancient Artillery)

Everything that was promised was delivered and the model outperformed the advertising copy. When was the last time you purchased a product that did that?

I give the Authentic Working Wood Catapult from ThinkGeek.com high marks.

What's next?
In the next installment of this article, I'll show you how I made the catapult model look ancient and ready for a siege.

Stumble It!

Clark Collection at Boston's Museum of Science

Clark Collection of Mechanical Movement Models is a set of working models designed by American engineer William M. Clark in the early 1900s.

Originally numbering over 200, these models were displayed as the Mechanical Wonderland in New York in 1928 and at the Century of Progress Exhibition in Chicago in 1933. Today, 120 of these mechanical models remain in working order and on display at the Museum in Boston.

Based in large measure on designs laid out in Henry T. Brown's 507 Mechanical Movements (1871), the Clark models include gear mechanisms, pulley systems, cutaways, and cross sections of a variety of machines. They illustrate methods of converting rotary to rectilinear motion and rectilinear to oscillating motion, as well as solutions to a variety of mechanical tasks. The models continue to be of interest to a range of Museum visitors, from young children to mechanical designers and tinkerers

Cornell University Library and Boston's Museum of Science are collaborating to integrate the entire Clark Collection into the Kinetic Models for Design Digital Library (KMODDL). For now a good sampling is available here.

Stumble It!

Reciprocating Motion from Rotating on Same Axis

One reader of The Automata / Automaton Blog wrote to me with an interesting question. He wrote:

"I'm looking for a simple mechanism to convert rotational motion to reciprocal motion along the SAME axis as the rotation, not perpendicular."

I decided to investigate potential solutions in one of my favorite books on mechanisms, Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements. Below are some of the solutions I found listed by the numbers that appear in my copy of the book (Astragal Press, 1995).

• 95. Oblique disc imparting rectilinear motion to rod resting upon its surface
• 106. & 107. Uniform reciprocating rectilinear motion produced by rotary motion of grooved cams
• 136. Crown tooth gear with rod pressed against rim
• 143. Sliding worm screw and toothed wheel
• 165. Circular to rectilinear motion via waved-wheel (or cam)
• 167. Drum or cylinder with endless groove and follower
• 237. Crown-ratchet (driven by crown, not pawl)
• 272. Beveled disc with follower on its circumference.
• 351. Partially toothed pinion and rack with return mechanism

I have probably missed a few in the book, and there are certainly many more possible solutions.

Order your own copy of Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements: Embracing All Those Which Are Most Important in Dynamics, Hydraulics, Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, Steam Engines...

Stumble It!

Making Wooden Mechanical Models

Not for automata makers specifically -- the mechanisms found in Making Wooden Mechanical Models could well be used for automata, provided the reader has a bit of ingenuity.

The models themselves are nicely proportioned and well designed. Any of these models would be a welcome addition to the desktop of a mechanically inclined person.

I have read this book from cover to cover and browsed the drawings for inspiration. Beautiful color photos in the center of the book demonstrate the skill the authors have great in fabricating with wood. I have found this book to be very useful in this regard. Note: some of the projects in this book are best accomplished with a lathe.

Should you choose to buy this book and make the some of the models, you will find that it contains good project lists and plan drawings from which to work.

Amazon has a nice "Search Inside" this book feature for this book to let you preview the book's contents.

Take a look at Making Wooden Mechanical Models: 15 Designs With Visible Wheels, Cranks, Pistons, Cogs, and Cams.

Stumble It!

Featured Mechanical Artist: Jason Lane

Here is a piece by artist Jason Lane entitled Dragon With Flapping Wings.

He has created a series of mechanical sculptures ranging from hand-propelled works to a large scale human hamster wheel which generates electricity and plays old fairground organ music. Pretty cool.

Check out a portfolio of Jason Lane's work. Discovered via BoingBoing.net

Stumble It!

Ingenious Mechanisms for Designers & Inventors

The title alone basically ensured that I would buy these books one day. I mean, just by owning them, it's like I am a bona fide inventor. The title says so!

There are lots of multi-component mechanisms described in great detail in this four-volume set. For automata makers, it may be a lot to digest, but there are hundreds of mechanical elements that could be used.

These books offer multiple solutions for each category of machine. The organization of the material is a little funny; you will need to browse all four books to cover all the possible solutions.

The drawings are very good -- clear and well labeled line art reminiscent of patent drawings.

Be prepared to do some reading...these books require some careful reading of several pages to understand how a given device works. It's not exactly a quick reference.

I have not used much from these books directly in any of my projects, but I feel that they have greatly improved my understanding of complex machines.

The machines depicted are of an historical nature. This is not a shortcoming, however. Mechanisms of the sort found in these volumes were state-of-the-art at one time. They are a testament to a certain real-world ingenuity that most of us can't comprehend.

These book make an impression on one's bookshelf. Seriously: a numbered set of four hardcover books in bright orange. It's impressive and sure to attract attention.

Learn more about Ingenious Mechanisms for Designers and Inventors (4-Volume Set)

Stumble It!

Automata Mechanisms and Pegasus Automaton

Here is a nice video of several useful automata mechanisms including a crank and piston, a ratchet, and a Geneva mechanism.

The latter half of the video features a beautifully done Pegasus. The piece appears to be driven by the music box movement. I am told that this piece is part of a collection on display in Guma, Japan and is by artist Minoru Takahashi Akira Murakami. Look at all those gears! Well done.

To learn more about making mechanical toys and automata, check out Making Mechanical Toys.

Stumble It!

Automaton of Leonardo's Mechanical Hammer

Here's a nice looking model from the folks at PaperPino. This is a paper model made up of 44 parts that can be assembled without glue. A system of removable interlocking pins holds the model together.

From the PaperPino Site:
This is one of the simplest machines designed by Leonardo in order to improve the human performance. A lever connected to the hammer is moved by means of an eccentric cam. At each turn of the handle, the hammer gives a stroke. As a matter of fact, the real hammer is supposed to be powered by a water paddle-wheel. An implementation with a paddle-wheel powered by sand is planned for the next future.

Check out Leonardo's Mechanical Hammer paper model.

Stumble It!

Beautiful Hand-Cranked Orrery

Take a look at this beautifully made orrery by artist Eugene Sargent.

Here is Eugene Sargent's web site. [via MAKE]

Stumble It!

Gear Lab - Cool Gear Toy Set

The folks over at Edmund Scientifics have an interesting gear toy. The Gear Lab consists of a gears workbench, an assortment of pulley wheels and gear cogs, long and short axles, cranks, and a cord. The entire set is contained in its own storage box. Nice.

This Gear Lab looks like fun to me!

Stumble It!

Flash Animations of Mechanisms for Offline Use

This new product is a download that gives you the ability to use the mechanisms part of the Flying-Pig.co.UK site on a computer not connected to the internet.

The download contains a .ZIP file of over forty web pages with over forty animations. The pages provide information on many types of mechanism and movement.

A great educational and reference resource!

You can can download the latest version with new mechanisms at any time for twelve months with no charge!

Order the Mechanisms Offline from Flying-Pig

Stumble It!

HiTec RoboNova-1: Robot, Toy, Automaton, Art?

I have been asked publicly and privately where I draw the line between robot and automaton. As of yet, I do not have a well-reasoned answer. I have also been asked about the line between objet d'art and toy. Again, my answer is a murky one.

While this blog isn't about robots, I have a great fondness for them; I have made a few myself. With all of this gray area, why not show you an autonomous toy robot?

This 12 inch tall mechanical man can walk, run, do flips, cartwheels, and perform dance moves. At $1300 (or $1000 for an unassembled kit version) one hesitates to call it a toy. Perhaps because it can be programmed, we would also hesitate to call it autonomous. Just because it is sold en masse, are there not elements that qualify as art?

All I feel certain of is that RoboNova-1 is a technological marvel. I have no doubt that watchmakers, engineers, magicians, and automata-makers of old would have found this thing as fascinating as I do. I would love to have one (in order to do a proper review for you, of course).

Check out the HiTec RoboNova-1 at Edmund's Scientifics.

Stumble It!

Book: 1800 Mechanical Movements, Devices and Appliances

I am always an the lookout for books featuring mechanical movements. Dover publishes one of my favorite little books on mechanisms: 507 Mechanical Movements in Dynamics, Hydraulics, Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, Steam Engines, Mill and Other Gearing.

Here is another Dover publication that boasts to represent 1800 mechanical movements. Needless to say, I just ordered it. I love how affordable the Dover books are!

There is a post on The Proceedings of the Athanasius Kircher Society that has a great round-up of mechanical reference books. Be sure to read the reader comments for all the good sources cited.

Check out 1800 Mechanical Movements, Devices and Appliances (Dover Science Books)

Stumble It!

Trevithick Locomotive Model with Paper Gears

Though not as well-known a name as Newcomen or Watt, Richard Trevithick was a British inventor and engineer who built the first working railway steam locomotive...in 1801!

Here's a great site that features a model of Trevithick's steam locomotive. The paper gears are very nicely done (as is the entire model).

You can see a gallery of the model and download .PDF plans to make it yourself (for a $5).

Stumble It!

Ingenious Mechanisms for Designers & Inventors

A Weighty Set of Books
These books are very comprehensive. There are may multi-component mechanisms described in great detail for mechanically inclined people. For automata makers, and beginners in particular, it may be a bit too much to digest, but certainly there are hundreds of mechanical elements that could be used.

The drawings are very good -- clear and well labeled line art reminiscent of patent drawings.

Complete
These books offer multiple solutions for each category of machine. The organization is a little funny -- since you will need to browse all four books to cover all the solutions. You'll learn a lot along the way.

Be Ready to Do Some Reading
These books will require some careful reading of several pages to absorb how a given device works. It's not exactly a quick reference.

If you are more of a visual-learner -- as I am -- I would suggest that you buy Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook, which shows an isolated mechanism and places one, short paragraph of text immediately next to it. If you are on a budget, you might consider 507 Mechanical Movements in Dynamics, Hydraulics, Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, Steam Engines, Mill and Other Gearing

The machines depicted in Ingenious Mechanisms are of an historical nature. This is not a shortcoming, however. Mechanisms of the sort found in these volumes were state-of-the-art at one time. There were no electronic sensors and computer controls at the turn of the last century. Everything had to work -- and had to work mechanically. It's a testament to a certain real-world ingenuity that most of us can't comprehend.

I feel these four volumes they have greatly improved my understanding of complex machines.

Learn more about Ingenious Mechanisms for Designers and Inventors (4-Volume Set) (Ingenious Mechanisms for Designers & Inventors)

Stumble It!

Hand Cranked Marble Machine with Wood Gears

Matthias Wandel, the same guy that has one of the only detailed online articles about cutting wooden gears, has made an amazing marble rolling machine.

I don't normally post about rolling ball machines because they are a complete topic unto themselves with some great web sites fully dedicated to the subject.

This machine stands out for two reasons:

1 - It has wooden gears, so I HAVE to post about it.

2 - It is hand cranked like many automata.

Here's a link to the Marble Machine 2 page. I learned about it from the blog over at Make Magazine (my favorite).

Here's the video of the Marble Machine.

Stumble It!

Master of Windmills and Whirligigs

Whirligigs are a form of automata -- to my mind at least. They depict an animated scene with a person or animal. The only distinction between a contemporary automaton and a whirligig is that the latter are outside and are powered by the wind.

The folks over at The Proceedings of the Athanasius Kircher Society have a great post about a man with a passion for windmills and whirligigs. The man's name is Vollis Simpson, an 87-year-old retired mechanic from North Carolina. Simpson's back yard is filled with dozens of his wind-driven creations.

A quote from Simpson:
"The main part of doing anything that turns is to get it centered".

Truer words were never spoken.

Check out the post on Vollis Simpson's Windmill Farm at the Kircher Society blog.

Here's a list of books on how to make whirligigs:

• Making Animated Whirligigs (Woodworking Whirligigs)
• Easy-to-Make Whirligigs (Woodworking Whirligigs)
• Whimsical Whirligigs (Woodworking Whirligigs)
• Action Whirligigs: 25 Easy-to-Do Projects (Woodworking Whirligigs)
• The Art And Craft of Whirligig Construction

Stumble It!

Wooden Gears Supplier Online

I've been reminded by fellow automata-maker Dan Torpey over at Barking Dogs Automata that wooden gears can be purchased from Patriot Mill Cogworks in New Hampshire, USA.

I ordered some of these a few years ago, but had lost track of their website. I'm glad to have found it again and to share it with my readers.

The cherry gears I ordered have mineral oil finish and are still beautiful. Look closely inside my piece A Boybot and his Dogbot and you will see three of these gears. (This is only piece I used them on to date.)

Though their site features educational kits composed of wooden gears, axle pegs, and pegboards, I believe you can order individual gears, as I did.

Happy Cranking!

Stumble It!

Amazing Pocket Watch with Wooden Movement

I have seen many nice all-wood clocks, but this was beyond my imagination...a pocket watch made entirely of wood.

I am not talking about the face or the case, but nearly all of it -- gears, escapement, ratchets.

They were apparently made in Russia around 1900. I wish I knew more about it, especially the size, type of wood, how many were made, and if it still works.

I learned of this amazing bit of artistry via a long series of links. In order of discovery they were:

BoingBoing.net to...

The Watchismo Times blog to...

Odd Watches

Stumble It!

Automata-Makers: Add a Coin Mechanism

Here's a nice little article on how to add a coin activation mechanism to your automata. Find a public location for your masterwork (retail store, library, restaurant, etc.) and you may be able to put that automaton to work for you earning $$$.

This comes from Tim Hunkin of Cabaret Mechanical Theatre fame. He's the maker behind many of the larger interactive automata. He's also been a cartoonist and had a TV series called The Secret Life of Machines.

Check out the Coin-op tutorial [via] that is itself [via]

Stumble It!

5 Best Mechanical Reference Books

Here is a list of 5 great reference books for automata-makers and people that love or want to learn more about mechanisms.

1 - 507 Mechanical Movements: Mechanisms and Devices (Dover Science Books)-Henry T. Brown

2 - Ingenious Mechanisms for Designers and Inventors (4-Volume Set) (Ingenious Mechanisms for Designers & Inventors)- Franklin D. Jones

3 - Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook- Neil Sclater and Nicholas Chironis

Also the improved Mechanisms and Mechanical Devices Sourcebook, Fourth Edition - Neal Sclater and Nicholas Chironis

4 -Illustrated Sourcebook of Mechanical Components