Motorized Automaton for 4th July
Lady Liberty celebrates by shaking her booty, waving a flag and burger.
Video, description and detailed photos below....
Video, description and detailed photos below....
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I'm currently making a motorized 4th July automaton for our front yard.
I designed it using my animation software (Moho) because I can't face the prospect of spending months learning how to use a CAD program. It uses a similar mechanism to the dancer in Peter Markey's Guitarist and Dancer, although I've made the linkages vertical, with the crankshaft inside a box that will ultimately hold the motor.
I made a prototype from 1/8-inch thick Baltic Birch plywood in early June. I started making a 5 times larger version from 1/4-inch plywood and a couple of wooden wine crates on 18th June 2022.
UPDATE on 25 June: I installed the motor yesterday. Everything worked really well when I plugged it in. This is probably because I'd made sure that the body parts were well balanced and the mechanism worked with minimal resistance before plugging it in. Today I'll start painting it and making the mechanism to wave 5 flags on the top of the motor box. More info as work progresses, so check back soon...
I designed it using my animation software (Moho) because I can't face the prospect of spending months learning how to use a CAD program. It uses a similar mechanism to the dancer in Peter Markey's Guitarist and Dancer, although I've made the linkages vertical, with the crankshaft inside a box that will ultimately hold the motor.
I made a prototype from 1/8-inch thick Baltic Birch plywood in early June. I started making a 5 times larger version from 1/4-inch plywood and a couple of wooden wine crates on 18th June 2022.
UPDATE on 25 June: I installed the motor yesterday. Everything worked really well when I plugged it in. This is probably because I'd made sure that the body parts were well balanced and the mechanism worked with minimal resistance before plugging it in. Today I'll start painting it and making the mechanism to wave 5 flags on the top of the motor box. More info as work progresses, so check back soon...
