[space size=] My original plan was to make Venus Fly Trap automata where you turned the handle and the leaves opened and closed but where’s the fun in that when you can make an actual trap!?
Enter the humble clothespin/clothes peg, sprung and ready for action.
I’m working on the prototype in two stages. The mechanism for opening and closing the leaf is fairly straightforward, the same as you might use on a flapping bird automata.
Squeezing the peg opens the sides. Release the peg and they snap shut.
I’ve tested the trigger in a separate model. A single wire paper clip shaped and slipped onto a section of cocktail stick held in place with a couple of card offcuts.
The long trigger wire moves down and unhooks the lower jaw of the clothespin when it is touched letting the Venus Fly Trap snap shut! The trigger will need to be lengthened and moved over the middle of the fly trap…
…something like this, I reckon that combining the two mechanisms will make a working Venus Fly Trap!
