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Animated Beautiful Machine

IAT 106 Spatial Thinking and Communicating Project Overview Inthecoursefinalproject,youwilliterativelydesignanAnimatedBeautifulMachine(ABM).AnABMisamachinethat combines mechanical components to amplify the effects of human effort—yes! but also, and moreimportantly,presentsapleasantandsurprisingoutputmotion.AnABMlooksbeautifulonitsownevenwhenit’snotoperatedandsurprisesitsviewers/operatorswhentheyinteractwithit.

Whatisconsideredbeautifulcanbeapersonal,culturalorsociallyagreed-uponconstruct.Inthelecturewewilldiscuss‘whatisbeautiful’byexamples.

ABMsandsimilarsystemshavebeenbuilt forcenturiesfordifferentreasons:sometimesto imitatenature,sometimestoimpressaking,orsometimestoentertainchildren[1].Today,theyarebuiltbycuriouspuzzlesolvers,artists,educators,engineersandscientists[1-7].Ithasevenbecomeabusinessformanycompaniesthatdesignready-to-buildkitstomarketandsellonline.Yes,itwouldbeeasytopurchaseandassembleone,butyouwouldmissthefunofmakingyourownandyouwouldlosetheopportunityoftestingyourknowledgeandskillsinspatialthinkingandcommunicating.Still,youcanlearnalotfromtheseexamples.

ABMsare funtowatchandplaywith,but,more importantly,designingandmakingsuchmachinesrequireknowledgeandskillssimilartothoseyouarestudyinganddevelopinginthiscourse.ABMscanbefoundindifferentsizeswithandofdiversecomplexity.Forthisproject,wewantyoutomakeasimplebutfunctionalABM.Forthispurpose,wepreferthatyouuseandselectmechanismsthatwediscussin lecturesand labstocompleteyourABMsinthegiventime.

The best ABM would be the one that integrates the mechanical components with the housing (support-system/figure/walls/box holding the mechanical components) such that together they make a beautifulmachine.TherearethreewaystoachieveasuccessfulABM;

1. Thehousingismadebeautiful(e.g.inspiredbytheartoforigami–facetedfigure),allmechanicalpartsareembeddedinsideit.Themechanicalcomponentsconnectdifferentpartsoftheflexiblehousingtogenerateabeautifulmotion.SeeCategory01examples.Inthisscenario,themechanicalpartsshouldNOTbeentirelyhidden.Themechanismshouldbevisibleatleastfromonesideforinstructorstosee.

2. Themechanicalpartsarevisibleandareintegratedwiththehousingsuchthattheyenhancetheoverallvisualbeautyofthemachineanditsmotion.SeeCategory02examples.

3. ThemechanicalpartsAREthebeautifulmachine.SeeCategory03examples.

Pleasenotethatnoneoftheabovewaysincludeaseparatemechanicalboxtoholdthemechanicalcomponentsinside.

Constraints 1. Themachinemustbeunder40cmlength,40cmdepth,40cmheight.Smallerisbetter.

2. TheresultantmotionoroutputshouldbeinspiredbyNature(human,animals,wind,water,plants,etc.).

3. TheABMshouldbeactuatedbyhandusuallythroughamanualcrank.

4. TheABMmustNOTusebevelgears.

5. TheABMmusthaveatleastonekindoflinkagemechanism(preferably3+linkagemechanisms).

6. TheABMmusthaveatleasttwomechanicallydistinctmotions(inotherwords,itcannothavesamemechanicalmotionrepeatedmultipletimestogenerateitsoveralleffect).

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Category 01 ABM – housing holds the mechanical parts (Housing is made out of paper, folded and glued to achieve origami effects)

Category 02 ABM – the mechanical parts integrate with the housing to create the overall effect. In this case the skull and the complexity of ideas in one’s head are depicted using complex chains of gears, cams and linkages.

Category 03 ABM – the mechanical parts are the machine. No extra part is added without a mechanical function/output. The mechanical parts move in a motion inspired by a crawling insect, when the crank shaft is operated.

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Category 01 ABM – housing holds the mechanical parts Housing is made out of cardboard. Once again it is made beautiful by using geometric shapes to represent a curvilinear chameleon.

Category 02 ABM – the mechanical parts integrate with the housing to create the overall effect. In this case the linkage mechanism is used outside the elephant’s body to represent its legs creating a beautiful walking motion.

Category 03 ABM – the mechanical parts are the machine. No extra part is added without a mechanical function/output; except the arches repeated to represent insect’s body perhaps. The mechanical parts move in a motion inspired by a slithering snake-like insect.

Purpose Thisisamoreadvancedprojectthanyourfirstandsecondcreations(referringtothegolfballcaseprojectandthefour-barlinkageproject).Inthisproject,youwillcreateandcombineseveraldifferentpartsintoaworkingassembly.Itisdesignedtoadvanceyourawarenessofspatialthinkingwhileimprovingyourskillsincreatingand using different kinds of representations (sketches, SolidWorks models, physical models). This projectintegratesandmakesuseoftheindividuallabexercisesyouhavebeendoing.Youwillcarryoutthisingroupsoftwostudents(seeFormatsection).

Attheendofthisproject,eachgroupwillgiveapresentationwithademooftheirABMduringthelastlabofthecourse.Throughouttheproject,themostrelevantspatialthinkingissuesyouexploreare;

• Definingindividualobjectsaspartofanassembly,

• Determiningobjects’properties--dimensionsandshape,

• Spatiallyrelatingtheirrelationshipsandinteractionwitheachotherintheassembly,and

• Describingthefunctionsofeachpartandthecompleteassemblywhentakenasawhole.

Asyoupracticeand learnaboutspatialthinking,youwillbegin to see that it bothrequiresandhelpswithcommunicatingideasaboutspatialobjects,inboth2Dand3D.Youwillusetherepresentationtechniquesandtoolsyoulearnedandpracticedearlierinthecoursetoexploreyourideasindividually,tosharetheseideaswithothers, and to demonstratewhat you have learned. These techniques include sketching, digital modeling,physicalmodeling,andcomposingdifferentrepresentationstomarketyourdesigns!TheTAandinstructorwill

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helpgroupsastheymakeprogress. Thisprojectisdesignedtohelpyoulearnhowtoworkinagroupwhilefollowingaplanfromtheconceptualizationstagetothefinalproduct.

Objectives Theproject’soverallobjectivesare:

1. AnalyzeexistingABMswithrespectto theirstructure,parts,andassemblies,inorderto infertheirfunctionalityandcategorytheyfallunder(refertoABMcategoriesinthetableofexamples).

2. CommunicateyourideasaboutABMwithyourotherteammemberinordertocreateconceptsforanewABMtogether.

3. RefineyourABMdesignusingsketchingtechniques,suchasmulti-viewandisometricdrawings.

4. Usingyoursketches,convinceyourTA,instructor,andclassmatesthatyourideawillwork.

5. Using your sketches, model the parts in SolidWorks and then create a working assembly thatdemonstratesyourABM’sfunctionality.

6. CreateaphysicalmodelofyourABMusingyoursketchesandSolidWorksmodelasablueprint.

7. Present and demonstrateyour ABM to the class using sketches,your SolidWorksmodel, physicalmodels,screenshots,animations,etc.

8. Prepareanindividualsketchbookrecordingyourthoughtsandworkabouttheproject.

9. PrepareashortvideodemonstratingyourphysicalABM.

Process You will complete the project through incremental and iterative phases. The main weekly instructionsdescribingtheobjectives,deliverables,andassessmentaregivenbelow:

Week ObjectivesandActivities

Week8 StudyandanalyzeexistingABMs,sketchyourABMindividuallyin severalways,presentyourdesigntotheTAandyourgroupmateandlatertotheclass.Makeindividualsketchbookentries.

Week9 RefineyourABMdesignbasedonthediscussionfromWeek08.Comewithmulti-viewdrawingsandisometric drawings of your final chosen design. Each team member starts sketching the partsindividually.Makeindividualsketchbookentries.

Week10 Startmakingeachpart inSolidWorks,basedonthesketches.Submitthefirstsheet for laser-cuttingbytheannounceddate. Allowablesheetsizeis6”x6”perteam.

Week11 StartworkingonSolidWorksassembly.Startcollectingmaterialforphysicalmodel(nuts,bolts,glues,rods,wiresetc.).Makeindividualsketchbookentries.Submitthesecondsheetforlaser-cuttingbytheannounceddate.Allowablesheetsizeis12”x12”perteam.

Week12 ContinueworkingonyourdigitalassemblyandstartworkingonyourphysicalABM.Eachteammusthave50%oftheirphysicalABMscompletedbythisweek’slab.

Week13 CompleteSolidWorksassembly,completephysicalmodel,completeyourindividualsketchbookandpreparefinalpresentation(includingashortvideo)andfinalteamreport.PresentanddemoyourABMinthelaborannounceddateandlocation.

Althoughtheprocessislistedlinearly,wedoexpectthatsomeaspectsofyourABMwillchangethroughouttheprocess. Forexample,whilecreatingyourassembly,youmaydiscoverthatcertainpartsneedtobemodified.Slightmodificationsthroughouttheprocessareacceptedwhilemajorchanges,suchasacompleteredesign,arenot. Ingeneral,significantchangesafterobtainingTAapprovalofyourdesignarediscouraged.Ifyourunintoproblemsandfeelchangeisrequired,youmustobtainpermissionfromboththeTAandinstructor.

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Format Youwilldothisprojectingroupsoftwo,whichyouformonyourowninWeek8andmaynotchangeyourgroup. InWeek8,eachgroupmustsubmita‘groupcharter’,(draftversionisin“Lab08_ABMDesign.pdf”)whichoutlinestherulesofthegroup.EachgroupmembermustsignthecharterbeforesubmittingittotheirlabTA.ThegroupmembersshouldworktogetherincompletingtheprojectthrougheachweekbecauseeachmemberwillbeequallyresponsibleforallaspectsoftheABM.

Sketchbook Eachstudentisresponsibleforhisorherownsketchbook.Sketchbooksrecordideas;thoughts;notes;sketches;andproblemsandtheirsolutions(andlotsofotherthings).Agoodsketchbook,richinitsrecord,isanabsolutehallmarkofaneffectivedesigner.ShowyoursketchbookeachweektoyourLabTAandbringittothefinalreview.Improvementfromweektoweekwillcount!

Assessment & Deliverables TheABMprojectisworth15%ofyourfinalIAT106grade. Eachweek’shandoutwillclearlylisttheassessmentmarks. Onthedayofyourfinalpresentation,eachgroupisrequiredtosubmitalldigitaldeliverablestoCanvasandthegroup’sphysicalmodel.Theoveralldistributionofmarksisasfollows:

Deliverables Points

SketchesofABM,oralpresentation 75

SolidWorksparts 75

SolidWorksassembly1stversionofphysicalmodel

100

Physicalmodel,SolidWorksmodels,Video&Presentation 250

TOTAL 500

Assessment of Physical model In this project, we intend that you use only simple, easy-to-work and cheap materials such as cardstock,corrugated cardboard, foam-core, Styrofoam and simple wood dowels as materials. Connectors are lessrestricted,forexample,wire,string,screws&glue.Wewillprovidetheopportunityfortwolasercuttingjobsforeachteam,eachofarelativelysmallamountofmaterial.

Wewillassessyourphysicalmodelaccordingtothefollowingcriteria.Eachwillbeequallyweighted.

1. MechanicalSimplicity.Weencourageteamstousesimplemechanisms.Ifthesameoutputorresultantmotion can be achieved using a simpler mechanism, then the students will be given fewer points.Unnecessarilyaddingcomplexitytoasimplemotionwillhavenegativeimpacts.

2. Smoothnessofoperation.DoestheABMmovesmoothlyandwithlittleeffort?

3. Robustness. Is the ABM likely to break? Here are examples of some features that will, in and ofthemselves,reduceyourmarkonthiscriterion:

• Cantileveredaxles(theseareinherentlyweak)

• Directcamfollowers(useanintermediarylever)

• Bevelgears(theseearnanautomaticzeroonthiscriterion–theyaretoohardtomakewell)

4. TechnicalAppeal.AreallpartsoftheABMcarefullymadeandinwaysappropriatetothematerialused?(e.g.,MDFiseasytomachineaccurately,butisnotverystrong.)Arealljointswell-designedgiventhe materials uses, and well-constructed? (e.g., Tension connectors should be more than knots instring.)Doesthedetailingofthepartsandassembliesmakesenseasawhole?(e.g.,arepartsstronger

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orweakerthantheyshouldbegiventheentireABM?)

5. VisualAppeal.ThefinalABMmustbeoneofthethreecategoriesexplainedearlier.Visuallyitshouldappealtotheaudienceandbefunandsurprisingtotheoperator.Wedounderstandthat“visualbeauty”isrelatablebutcanbedefinedwithinacontext,hencecanbearguedon.ThisassessmentcriteriamaybegradedincomparisonwiththeotherABMsubmissionsfromyourclassmates.

6. Cost.Wewillassignapenaltycosttoeachmodelthatwillbereducedfromyourfinalprojectmark:

Cardboard,foam-core,paper,wire,glue,string,elasticbands… 0

“Junk”forwhichyouhavesoughtpriorapproval 0

Wooddowels 0

LasercutMDFwithinstandardcourseallocation 0

LasercutMDFoutsideofstandardcourseallocation(persq.inch) 10pnt

3Dprintedobjects(percubicinch,min1cubicinchperpart) 50pnt

Evidentuseofpowertools(peroperationorpart) 10pnt

Woodotherthandowels(percubicinch) 10pnt

Manufacturedgears(each) 10pnt

Bevelgears(perpair) 1,000pnt

Other(seekadvicebeforehandfrominstructorsoncost)

Hint:Don’tusebevelgears!AbevelgearisANYgearpairthatchangesthedirectionoftherotationalaxis.

Yourdescriptor.YouprovidetousanadjectiveoradjectivalphrasethatcapturesanimportantqualityofyourABM.Herearesomeofthethousandsofpossibledescriptors:cool,crisp,sharp, funny, ironic,spooky,silly,playful, modernist, baroque, medieval, ethereal, urban… This adjective or adjectival phrase MUST occurprominentlyinyourpresentation.WewillevaluateyourABMbasedonhowwellitmatchesyourdescriptor.

Thegroup’sworksubmittedthroughouttheprojectmustbetheirown.Incaseofplagiarism,theproceduredefinedinSFUpoliciesasnotedinthesyllabuswillbefollowed.

References and Useful Links 1. http://automata.co.uk/mainpage.html:Commercialandeducationalmechanicaltoysproducts

2. http://flying-pig.co.uk/index.php

3. http://www.cabaret.co.uk/

4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzQp-9GDpu8<NewscliponCabaret>

5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Azg1tsTpVo4:Dogfigureplayingwithball>

6. http://www.mechanicalmonkey.co.uk/

7. http://www.zuko.to/kobo/english/e-works/e-ctop.html:JapaneseKitwebsite

8. http://www.walterruffler.de/index1.html:Papermachines:exhibitionandartofWalterRuffle