GVSU sample

Cold-connection and mechanical motion/mechanism sample from my one-day workshop at GVSU. It was great getting to spend time with Renee Zettle-Sterling and Beverly Seley.

cam study for class

This is my cam and follower study / teaching sample for my Making a Mechanical Toy class. Their eventual assignment (beyond them having to do an initial study like mine) is to decide on a word that they feel represents themselves. It can be light-hearted or critical - their choice.

The goal is then to design something similar to what you see above, animating and illustrating their word. It's my version of assigning a "self-portrait" exercise.

Yes, the letters of my model are LOL - laugh out loud

latest eskimo kisser mechanism study

I actually finished putting this together about a week ago but I was having trouble uploading the video at that time.

new mechanical motion study...

Just recently I began thinking about designing more eskimo kissers. So, while thinking about that I decided to get the 'ol noodle working by building some new mechanisms that I've never experimented with and just have fun observing the potential for intimate interactions.

So, I've always wanted to try my hand at a mechanism that artist and toy-maker, Peter Markey, has used a lot in the past in his work. The above video is my first successful attempt at replicating that. While my example doesn't fully show the potential, it would allow 2+ parallel shafts to be activated simultaneously by only one crank handle...and without the use of gears! What I discovered was that you can't just have the linkage bar applied to "one end" of the shafts but also at the other end. In addition, the crank at the opposite end of the shaft needs to be at an adjacent angle to the cranks at the end with the handle. This allows both linkage bars to work together.

This mechanism and potential motion will definitely be in the next eskimo kisser.

mechanical motion samples...

I hope to get a compiled video uploaded soon of some student samples from the two-day mechanical motion workshop this weekend...but in the mean time, here are my samples. We focused mostly on levers, cranks, linkages, and cams.