fellow PEs...
after a few weeks of exploring paper engineering, i've decided to try my hand at it.. i have an idea for a model, but it would involve using vertical crankshafts.. so far, none of the pre-printed automata i've assembled have used anything like a vertical crank..
are there any drawbacks with this twist?
i'd be please to hear any comments concerning this design strategy..
thanx,
robert
thanks Roger....
i plan on locating my main gear at the bottom of the gearbox and my hand crank at the top of the base.. all of my mechanisms will be positioned below the top of the base.. at last count, i think i'm up to about 2 dozen mechanisms in this particular automata..
when completed, the whole piece will measure roughly 24" by 17".. the main gear alone is almost 9" in diameter.. 4 of the mechanisms would run directly off of the main gear and another 4 run off of those..
i can't wait to finish this so i can take it for a 'spin'......
Robert aka Gum
Dear Robert,
following backside your discussion about crankshaft position I'm curious about your models...Do you have a sketch or pictures about your explanation? It would be illustrative and didatical for everyone. Could you post any of the mentioned resources? Good trying.
Robert,
Wow, that size? And it's all card?
Please tell us more...........!
Roger
hi Roger et al....
its turning out to be slightly bigger than i had imagined.. about a foot-and-a-half by 2 feet.. all card stock and white glue.. i work at a print shop, and we refer to the paper as 'cover stock'.. i just use whatever we have scraps of.. 60lb, 80lb.. it makes no difference to me.. i just want to design and build..
the engineering is just about finished and soon i'll be going into production.. last night, i started designing the individual parts.. this alone will probably take a month with well over 100 parts.. my main gear alone is almost 9 inches in diameter so i had to have that one printed at a service provider down the road from us.. because of the larger size, i decided at the last minute to make the piece modular too.. 2 or 3 sub-structures that will connect to make the entire piece..
i have generated all of my notes on FREEHAND software.. the engineering portion takes up 6 press sheets (17-1/2" x 23") i imagine the parts could fill up 20 legal size sheets (8-1/2" x 14").. i really don't feel like posting anything until i have a 'functioning' model... then, my notes will become available one way or another....
Happy Building!!
Gum
This sounds like a fascinating project! Please keep us up to date!
Rob
Hi Rob...
is there any way to upload PDF files? i've attached a PNG version of my bridge layout design...
hope its not too confusing....
as always, Happy Building!!
Gum
maybe this is better.....
So you are starting with a simple project the :-)
This looks fantastic! Have you made any of the parts yet? Can you post pictures? I'll have a go at adding .pdf files to downloads.
hi Rob...
well, compared to that paper clock i made 10 years ago, this seems like a piece of cake.. hehe....
i'm just about finished designing all the parts for the gearbox.. i suppose the next phase will be the infrastructure of the roadway (mechanisms and framework for the lock pin and traffic gates).. and then the bridge itself.. the one part that i'm not looking forward to is all the little finishing pieces that have nothing to do with the animation at all (ie - the control tower, cars, possibly the much larger bridge that sits right next to this one in the canal).. i have some ideas about the finished look but i'm much more interested in the mechanics and the engineering. to date, the part count is up 102 and thats about a third of all the parts....
and thanks for addressing the PDF file issue.. as a print shop graphic engineer, all of my film service providers are asking for PDF's now instead of the InDesign or Quark publishing files (which is mainly what i work with).. at least i kinda feel like my AutoCADD degree is coming in handy now..
Happy Building!!
Gum
Hi and thanks for your interest..
initially, i didn't want to post anything but then decided, so what... if you go back to this posting, you'll see a PNG file of my main design.. it may look confusing but most 3-dimensional objects shown in 2-D have that effect.. if i had a stronger graphics application, i'd be able to show you clearer what i'm up to..
keep your eyes peeled for more to come...
take care, robert
the gearbox is coming along nicely.. some design ideas have been scrapped, but overall i'm very pleased with how its moving.. more than likely though, it'll be months before this project is completed.. so far, over 150 "parts" have been designed and constructed.. some are simple but most are very complex and time-consuming.. i still have plenty of glue but my exacto blades are running out quickly..
i hope to have more updates as the piece progresses..
Gum
maybe you want to see this, maybe you don't.... its coming along just as i planned...
Happy Building...
Gum
looking really good Gum! Do you have any bigger pictures? So we can see details?
Thanks Rob...
at the moment, my photo-ability is limited to my friend's 'piece-o-crap' cell phone.. if i try to enlarge the pics, i lose all of my detail.. maybe in the next few weeks, i'll get my hands on an actual camera so that i can post better pics..
i'm hoping that i can get the gearbox finished this weekend so that i can move on to the roadway and traffic gates.. that'll be fun to do 'cuz i'm gonna get to use those u-joints...
I'll keep ya posted...
Gum
Hi Rob....
attached is a jpeg image of the finished gearbox for the Swing Bridge.. 2 of the 4 mechanisms that run off of the main timing gear work nicely.. the other 2 are going to need some tweeking..
after seeing your latest blog on the pulley device, i'm wondering if that might have been better than using a gear drive for the timing gear??
OK, back to my 'bridging'.... be good....
Gum
Wow! Now that looks just gorgeous! Good luck with the next stages!
Rob
ay Rob, the golf game is back in the toilet so i'm putting some time back into my project i started last fall.. i basically scrapped all of the fantasy mechanics and replaced them with actual mechanics.. Hope all is well on youe end, i'll keep in touch with updates when i get the chancew... Gum
Robert,
I guess that crankshafts are usually horizontal so that the turning handle is on the side or front of the model. A vertical crankshaft, unless you're using a fancy 90 degree bevel gear, means that the turning wheel will be on top. That would work, but then you have to locate the bottom of the shaft inside the base of the model.
Good luck,
Roger