Author Topic: A kinetic sculpture I made  (Read 4553 times)

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Offline Kframe

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A kinetic sculpture I made
« on: June 02, 2010, 03:17:46 PM »
This is a great site, and it's been fun reading/seeing about some of the other interests people have here when they're not riding or wrenching on their bikes.  In the winter, I like to experiment with kinetic sculpture, here's one I made this past January but didn't get any decent video of it until last weekend.


It’s called “Blue Sine, Grinding” and is inspired by the art of Reuben Margolin, particularly his “Yellow Wiggle”.  (At 2:08 in the video the sound changes and you can better hear the electric motor, although the crappy mic on my camera makes it a bit more shrieking than it is really.)
I made this in two stages, first one was the drafting of the design, which I did over a week or so.  Once I’d settled on the measurements it took another three weeks of putzing with it in the evenings to finish.  First motor I had didn’t have nearly the torque required to turn the rotor arm, so I ended up using one from a Littermaid, so those of you that have one of those know what the motor sounds like.  In total there are 210 parts (counting the motor as one part).

:)
-Kris

« Last Edit: June 02, 2010, 03:22:11 PM by Kframe »
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Offline Kframe

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #1 on: June 02, 2010, 03:18:42 PM »
Here are the drawings I made of my design.  
First I had to figure out how “Yellow Wiggle” worked.  Margolin was featured on a show called Make TV and after a lot of pausing and rewinding, I was able to figure it out. 



Initially I had planned on making this human-powered, so the first drawings include a window crank, but after making it that way I decided a motor would be better (smoother operation).  The cumulative friction is pretty high, so I had to make slippery line guides from sections of polyethylene tubing, flared.



The string holder on the end of the rotor arm needs to rotate around the main axel, but not spin around its own axis.  So, two gears and a belt keep it oriented properly.



This next one shows the brass rods, bobbins and e-clips.




Lots of scribbling trying to figure out gear ratios and rate of revolution.  





And a few actual size drawings of the wooden pieces (measure twice, cut once).







I think the design/drafting stage was as much fun as the actual build.
« Last Edit: June 02, 2010, 03:27:27 PM by Kframe »
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Offline Kframe

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #2 on: June 02, 2010, 03:19:42 PM »
Here are the still photos I took last weekend (can’t beat Springtime in Minnesota!).



This is the rotor arm and gearbox.



A closer one of the end of the rotor, check out my homemade cotter pin!



Without the line guides in both string plates and the base, the friction would prevent this from functioning at all.



The line is actually Spectra stunt kite string, very low friction when sliding against itself, also has high strength and low stretch.  This is crucial because the 18 lines are in 6 groups of 3 that twist and slide back and forth – cotton and poly strings would cut through itself.



The pulleys  (bobbins) turned out to be one of my favorite parts of the whole piece.



Those blue balls are actually 1 inch glass marbles.  Using a diamond tipped coring bit, a drill press, lots of water and a light touch I drilled 1/8” deep holes in each one so I could fit them on the brass rods.  I broke six while drilling, what a PITA!  A bit of epoxy and they’re on there for good.



This was a lot of fun to make, the troubleshooting and redesigning on the fly was challenging and satisfying.  It was a good way to spend January in Minnesota – but my wife was sure glad to get the dining room table back after all that!

Hope you liked it!



:)
-Kris
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Offline sangyo soichiro

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #3 on: June 02, 2010, 03:31:50 PM »
That's the coolest thing I've seen in a long time!  Makes me want to try it.
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Offline Bob Wessner

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #4 on: June 02, 2010, 03:33:41 PM »
Very cool, interesting, clever.. neat all around. Minn. winters are good for something after all.  ;)
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Offline Kframe

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #5 on: June 02, 2010, 03:39:20 PM »
That's the coolest thing I've seen in a long time!  Makes me want to try it.

Go for it!  I don't have any specialized tools or formal mechanical training - all you need is an imagination and a willingness to improvise, it really is a lot of fun!
:)
-K
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Offline BlindJoe

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #6 on: June 02, 2010, 08:13:24 PM »
unique undulation

Offline mick750F

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #7 on: June 02, 2010, 08:26:00 PM »

   Very cool K. Now all you have to do is get bold and make one the size of a bus. How do your neighbors feel about the nut messing up the 'hood with aaahrt?  Looks pretty sterile where you live. ;D ;D

    Seriously though, you could take that sort off work a long way if you get really into it. Maybe you should post it in the art thread?

Mike
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Offline Kframe

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #8 on: June 02, 2010, 09:55:27 PM »

   Very cool K. Now all you have to do is get bold and make one the size of a bus. How do your neighbors feel about the nut messing up the 'hood with aaahrt?  Looks pretty sterile where you live. ;D ;D

    Seriously though, you could take that sort off work a long way if you get really into it. Maybe you should post it in the art thread?

Mike

You ain't kidding!  For the first two years I lived here, the Assoc. Covenant forbade parking in ones driveway.  You had to be in the garage w/ door closed, or gone.  Still, no pink flamingos, political signs, or outward appearances that you may be enjoying life to the beat of a different drummer.  

There's an art thread?  (I know, use the %^#$^% button, right?)

Nice thing about art is you can try an idea, if it works, cool, move on to the next project, if it doesn't work, cool, move on to the next project.  
The finished result is a cool thing, but the main enjoyment for me is the construction and also talking to people about how it's made and why I decided to go with bobbins instead of something else and so on.  
I like to think about things in non-standard ways, and use items (like the bobbins and marbles) for things they were never designed for.  And another fun part is when someone else is looking at the piece and notices those things and you see a light bulb coming on over their head thinking "How cool!  What a neat use of a ________" .

Making and enjoying art is a break from reality.  As you are designing or making, or viewing, you're not thinking about bills or IRA's or HMO's or the boss or the aching back or other stuff; it pulls you into the immediate moment and there is nothing else, if just for a minute.  
Much like motorcycling - you enter "flow", a state of both focus and relaxation.  
And that's what it's ALL about.
:)
-K
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Offline mick750F

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #9 on: June 02, 2010, 10:15:33 PM »
Making and enjoying art is a break from reality.  As you are designing or making, or viewing, you're not thinking about bills or IRA's or HMO's or the boss or the aching back or other stuff; it pulls you into the immediate moment and there is nothing else, if just for a minute.  
Much like motorcycling - you enter "flow", a state of both focus and relaxation.  
And that's what it's ALL about.
:)
-K

   You said it brother! I'm an artist and I enjoy wrenching on my bike when I'm not working on a project. I've got at least a couple of different flows going on at the same time. As a matter of fact right now I'm flowing some beer.  ;D ;D

Mike
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Offline scottly

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #10 on: June 02, 2010, 10:21:22 PM »
WAY COOL!!!
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Offline SD750F

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #11 on: June 03, 2010, 08:29:47 AM »
Looks great Kframe! And your post answered all my questions about the type of line used and how you reduced the friction.

What part of Southern Minnesota do you live?

Scott

Offline wannabridin

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #12 on: June 03, 2010, 09:35:11 AM »
seriously awesome!  what was the inspiration?  did i miss that in your first post?
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Offline Kframe

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #13 on: June 03, 2010, 10:33:11 AM »
Looks great Kframe! And your post answered all my questions about the type of line used and how you reduced the friction.

What part of Southern Minnesota do you live?

Scott

Thanks! 
I'm near Rice & Dakota counties.
About a half hour from the Wisconsin border and the Mississippi River Valley with all those awesome roads!

Yeah the kite string worked out really well.  Had I not already been into stunt kites I don't know that I'd have thought of it, but I have lots on hand so it was the natural choice. 
-K
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Offline Kframe

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #14 on: June 03, 2010, 10:42:04 AM »
seriously awesome!  what was the inspiration?  did i miss that in your first post?

The inspiration for my "Blue Sine, Grinding" came from a sculpture by California artist Reuben Margolin that he calls "Yellow Wiggle".
As you can see in his video, that sculpture is HUGE and has 120 elements, whereas mine has 18.  His also adds complication by having rotors on both ends with different rates/ratio of movement that makes a 3 peak sine wave cross a 4 peak sine wave.
Mine is a three peak sine wave, but because of how mine is constructed the troughs are missing, it's kind of like my wave is bouncing when it gets to baseline instead of dipping into the low "peak". 


His budget, workspace and available time allow him to make these huge sculptures. 
For me, I like making tabletop-sized stuff. 
Fits better in a home, his stuff takes over entire rooms in galleries.
-K
2007 Triumph Bonneville T100, ARK'd, Pods, TOR's, Napoleon's, Innovate G5 Air/Fuel Gauge, Ignition Relocation by D9, Stebel Nautilus, Avon Roadriders
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Offline SD750F

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #15 on: June 03, 2010, 01:46:25 PM »

Offline Kframe

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #16 on: June 03, 2010, 02:30:58 PM »
Kframe,

Here are some perfect guides for your Kevlar cords:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#ceramic-rounds/=7diufc
http://www.mcmaster.com/#ceramic-spacers/=7div7f

Scott

Thanks Scott, McMaster's is a very cool site, lots of oddball stuff that's hard to find elsewhere.
I'm sure ceramic would have a lower coefficient of friction, but dang at $2+ each that'd be about $80 in parts just for those!  Plus I don't know how you'd machine a bell on the front of them for the line to slide over, any edge would shred the line in no time.  Maybe a countersink drill bit? 
That's one thing that's so fun about making stuff from scratch, there are no rules, no right or wrong way to do anything.
:)
-K
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Offline le_sterls

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #17 on: June 03, 2010, 04:44:55 PM »
Wow. I'm impressed. I can tell you've much more patience than me. Winter in MI I just sleep alot, maybe go snowmobiling... But seriously, great work. If I were to attempt something like that, it'd be a year round project.
That's what I'd like to hear.
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Offline Ecosse

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #18 on: June 03, 2010, 05:07:44 PM »
very cool! kudos for your initiative and creativity!


how long before gerhed sees this thread?  ;D
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Offline tgtint

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #19 on: June 03, 2010, 06:04:44 PM »
Wow!  You should show that to some kids in a science class or something.. not sure if thats the right subject but any kind of tech ed class. 
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Offline gerhed

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #20 on: June 04, 2010, 08:03:56 AM »
That's the coolest thing I've seen in a long time!  Makes me want to try it.

Go for it!  I don't have any specialized tools or formal mechanical training - all you need is an imagination and a willingness to improvise, it really is a lot of fun!
:)
-K


Kris,

Fantastic effort there--You should be proud.
I think I see some of that mandatory ingredient
for this type of project--Obsession!
I've found it really helps getting a project finished when you are thinking about it
All The Time.
For me the most exciting time is during construction as each stage is completed.
It's a definite high.
When the project is finished--well-- it's-- finished.

A really beautiful piece of work.
You have inspired me to add or produce sound with my next effort.

Phil
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Offline BlindJoe

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #21 on: June 04, 2010, 08:10:37 AM »
[youtube=425,350]<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value=" name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>[/youtube].

Offline Kframe

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Re: A kinetic sculpture I made
« Reply #22 on: June 04, 2010, 05:14:33 PM »
Yeah Blindjoe, the stuff Theo Jansen makes is pretty awesome!

Another favorite of mine is Arthur Ganson, this one reminds me of some insane version of that Mousetrap boardgame crossed with Chutes N Ladders!

Arthur Ganson's "Untitled Fragile Machine"

I'd love to try making one like that.  The detail is incredible.  Did you see how he puts spots of solder on the wires so as they go over this "cogs" they engage instead of slipping past.  Genius! 
-K
2007 Triumph Bonneville T100, ARK'd, Pods, TOR's, Napoleon's, Innovate G5 Air/Fuel Gauge, Ignition Relocation by D9, Stebel Nautilus, Avon Roadriders
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1974 Honda CB550K, In rehab
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