The Geneva mechanism is named after the city of its invention where it was used in the construction of clocks.
The Geneva mechanism is used to provide intermittent motion, the white wheel turns continuously, the pin then turns the tan colourer cross quarter of a turn for each revolution of the drive wheel.
The crescent shaped cut out in wheel lets the points of the cross past, then locks the cross in place when it is stationary.
In this paper version of the Geneva mechanism, the cross section is a five-step wheel. The drive pin, located in the blue section, advances the red crosspiece by one fifth of a turn with each crank rotation.
The Geneva mechanism is commonly used in film projectors to move the film forward one frame at a time.
Make your own Geneva mechanism here!
