The Automata / Automaton Blog

Paul Spooner talk: mechanical jokes for people with short attention spans

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 08:09:36 PST

Renowned automata artist Paul Spooner will talk about his work at the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society in Falmouth, Cornwall on February 16th at 7.30pm.

From the event description:

Paul’s career as an automata maker ("making mechanical jokes for people with short attention spans") has included commissions for the Science Museum and Louis Vuitton, as well as a television programme, Mechanisms, on Channel 4. His work combines humour and an obsessive attention to detail with delightful and intriguing mechanisms. Every now and then, he puts together a dossier on his career so far and shows it to a group of people hoping that somebody will be able to spot any kind of progress or system. The last time this happened at The Poly was about eight years ago. Let's have another try.

Here is where you can learn more about the talk by Paul Spooner and book tickets if you will be in the area.

Carving Faces Workbook: Learn to Carve Facial Expressions and Characteristics with the Legendary Harold Enlow

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:02:10 PST

Here's a recently published book that provides detailed instruction on carving faces in wood. Written by the renowned caricature carver, Harold Enlow, the book is directed at the caricature carver, but is a solid foundation for realistic carving as well. The author provides photos and step-by-step instruction on how to carve some of those tricky areas of the face such as the eyes, mouth, and ears. In addition to covering these specific parts, a few complete example faces are also included. This book is a valuable reference that comes highly rated!

Here is where you can get Carving Faces Workbook: Learn to Carve Facial Expressions and Characteristics.

Dozens of free mechanical paper toy plans from the 1920s

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:59:01 PST

The Barnacle Press has posted a set of mechanical paper toy plans created by Dan Rudolph for the LA Times back in 1922 and 1923. The plans show you how to make moving toys by cutting out and articulating the parts of various cartoon characters. Shown here is an example of the plans, this one titled The Village Blacksmith. There are over 25 plans in all including sports figures, tradesmen, kids, and assorted animals. This is a great resource and looks like they would be a lot of fun to make.

Here is where you can get these free papercraft mechanical toy plans.

[ Thanks Brian! ]

Tiny Tabs Indigestion Tablets mechanical window display

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 04:58:32 PST

Protected for years in its original shipping crate, this early 20th century window display advertises "Tiny Tabs Indigestion Tablets". The mechanical sign features a clockwork motor that allows the center body portion to spin and the ball on top to swing. When the swinging ball approaches the upright post on the left, the string gets caught. The ball is carried around the post, wrapping the string with it. The string then unwinds, freeing the ball, allowing it to swing again. I've seen a clock that uses a similar principle as a regulating pendulum.

From the eBay description:

Measuring 21" wide at the base by 29 1/4" tall to the top of the spinning wood balls, this early 20th century, Advertising Automaton advertises for "Tiny Tabs Indigestion Tablets." After some searching on the net I found that this product was made by the Peace Remedy Company, which was a small Brooklyn NY Company. There is very little on the net about this company never mind another advertising sign of any sort. The advertisement of a cartoon character, with a Tablet Body is very close to the "Speedy Alka Seltzer" character who came later.

The seller has a much longer description and a ton of interesting photos of the Tiny Tabs Indigestion Tablets mechanical window display.

Another contraption-filled music video by the band OK Go!

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:15:01 PST

Remember that insane music video by the band OK Go in which a massive chain reaction accompanies the song? Well, they've done it again, only this time the band plays a much more active part. In fact, strapped inside of a Chevy sonic, they ARE the reaction in this chain of events as they drive the tricked-out car through a musically rigged maze. These guys are wildly creative and quickly becoming a favorite of mine.

From the video description:

OK Go set up over 1000 instruments over two miles of desert outside Los Angeles. A Chevy Sonic was outfitted with retractable pneumatic arms designed to play the instruments, and the band recorded this version of Needing/Getting, singing as they played the instrument array with the car. The video took 4 months of preparation and 4 days of shooting and recording.

You can learn more at Chevy's Let's Do This site and at the band's web site: http://www.okgo.net. My hat is off to you, gentlemen.

[ via Gizmodo ]

Anitique clockwork-driven polar bear automaton

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 06:24:55 PST

Check out this clockwork polar bear automaton, probably European made and dating to the turn of the century. This automaton is currently available on ebay.

From the eBay description:

When wound, this Polar Bear walks along on all four paws, opening and closing his mouth to flash his teeth, then suddenly stop and rear up on his hind legs again opening and closing his mouth to scare us with his teeth, then he’ll drop down on all fours and walk forward starting the cycle over again!

Here is a link to this Anitque clockwork polar bear automaton.

Automata article: 19th-Century Mechanical Wonders

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:02:54 PST

Here is a new article in Antiques & Auction News about the automata exhibition currently on display at the International Terminal of San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

From the automata article:

The history of automata (plural) parallels humanity’s undiminished and continuous quest to create an object that has the appearance of moving like a human or an animal. The word is derived from the Greek automatos, meaning "self-moving."

The article describes the exhibit its relation to the Guinness Collection of Mechanical Musical Instruments & Automata at the Morris Museum. The exhibit itself is open to all visitors, ticketed and non-ticketed.

Video of kinetic sculptures by artist eda taşlı

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 04:06:38 PST

Check out this great video featuring a selection of kinetic sculptures from eda taşlı.

Black & white film from 1950 featuring musical automata

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:58:46 PST

Check out this preview clip provided by The British Pathé Film Archive featuring a number of automata filmed in 1950. Among the automata shown are a gorgeous watch-sized music box, a whistling figure, banjo player, musical birds, a monkey playing the harp, a tight rope walker, and a smoking cavalier figure puffing away on a real cigarette!

[ Thanks Michael! ]

How to use old gift cards to spread glue

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 04:58:50 PST

The folks at the Timberkits Workshop have taken time to share two uses for old plastic credit or gift cards. It turns out they can be quite useful when gluing Timberkits wood automata kits, or anything else for that matter! The first tip demonstrated shows how to use two credit card shims to allow a captive cam to move freely. The second tip shows that slivers of old credit card make great glue spreaders -- especially for the endgrain of wood.

Timberkits wooden automata kits can be ordered online:
In the United States visit: http://www.timberkitsus.com/store/
In the UK and Europe http: xhttp://www.timberkits.com/Home/

How to build simple machines with paper clips

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 04:56:56 PST

Wanting to come up with a simple and inexpensive project teachers could use to teach their students some aspect of technology, Instructables user biochemtronics came up with this hand-cranked paper clip machine.

From the creator's comments:

For educators this project is a great way to teach students the physics of mechanical machines including cranks, levers, fulcrum points, rotary and linear motion all while stirring their curiosity and developing their mechanical aptitude.

What he has really done is conceive of an inexpensive platform for building machines that requires some scraps of wood, paperclips, pliers, and a small drill. The result is not only educational but beautiful as well. Ingenious.

Here is the Instructable the hand-cranked paper clip machine system.

[ Thanks Aaron and Ron! ]

Automata in the news: CBS Sunday Morning feature

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 09:11:29 PST

It seems everyone is talking about automata -- even CBS Sunday Morning. Here is a nice piece featuring automata from this week's program.

You get a great out-of-the-display-case look at the Maillardet automaton at The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The automaton, dating to around 1800, can draw four pictures and write three poems. The automaton is the mechanical marvel that inspired Brian Selznick, author of the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which Martin Scorsese brought to the big screen as the Oscar-nominated film Hugo.

Additional context on the history of automata is provided by Jere Ryder, Conservator of the Guinness Collection of automata located at the Morris Museum, in Morristown, New Jersey. He shows off a humorous automaton of a man and a pig as well as a clown performing a magic trick.

Have you seen the automaton at The Franklin Institute? What did you think of the movie Hugo? Finally, when will you make a trip to the Morris Museum to see hundreds of automata? Tell us about it in the comments!

CBS Sunday Morning program to feature automata

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:51:43 PST

Behind the Scenes at The Franklin Institute - CBS Special Feature - The Automaton, a photo by Darryl W. Moran Photography on Flickr.

Fans of automata will want to make time to see this Sunday's (Jan. 29th, 2012) airing of CBS Sunday Morning news program with Charles Osgood. The show will have a special feature segment about the automaton depicted in the recent film 'Hugo' by Director Martin Scorsese, the Maillardet automaton at the Franklin Institute, as well as the magnificent Guinness Collection of automata at the Morris Museum!

CBS Sunday Morning airs 9-10:30am EST. Check your local listings.

OscylinderScope sculpture allows you to see sound waves

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:51:23 PST

The OscylinderScope is an interactive sculpture by Norman Tuck that explores the nature of sound in a visual way. The OscylinderScope uses a moving black and white striped background to show the behavior of vibrating strings.

How the OscylinderScope works:

Spin the black and white cylinder and pluck the guitar strings. When you look at the strings, the wavy lines that you see show you how the strings behave when they vibrate to produce sound. Both the tension and the length of a string effect the frequency of vibration (pitch of the sound). Shorter or tighter strings vibrate faster to make higher tones. Longer or looser strings vibrate slower to make lower tones.

There are over a dozen OscylinderScopes around the world. The one shown here is located at San Francisco's Exploratorium.

Read more about the OscylinderScopes and where you can find one on Norman Tuck's web site. Also check out many other amazing kinetic sculptures by Norman Tuck.

Engino mechanical science toy series: Linkages

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:56:01 PST

Here is another toy in Engino's series of toys that teach mechanical principles. These are the folks that created the set on cams and cranks. The Engino toy system is a construction toy made up of of multi-faceted rods and connectors that can be connected on up to 6 sides at the same time. The design allows dense or open construction methods, simple or complex models, and the need for a smaller number of different components than other three dimensional building systems. Linkages seem like an idea application.

From the toy description:

Engino Mechanical Science: Linkages. This Engino set introduces young engineers and physicists the concept of linking levers to connect to moving parts for complex motion. Build 6 working models including a mechanical, extendable arm, a lifting platform, a pantograph, a folding ladder, a parallel weighing scale and a moving toy. A 40 page activity book is included with innovative experiments and detailed explanations of various technical and scientific principles and how they are applied.

Here is where you can get the linkages experiment set.

Africani - automaton by Lorenzo Cambin

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 06:11:55 PST

Take a look at this rich and colorful automaton by Lorenzo Cambin entitled africani. The three figures have such wonderfully elaborate dress. What a great video of the piece too! The back of the piece where you get a glimpse of the mechanism and its cams is fascinating, but brief.

See more automata by Lorenzo Cambin on his YouTube channel.

Mechanical Principles - film of mechanical movements in action

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 06:50:07 PST

Check out this 10 minute segment of a longer piece by Ralph Steiner featuring classic mechanical movements. I haven't cross-referenced them yet, but most can be found in the book 507 Mechanical Movements as well as the larger, but similar 1800 Mechanical Movements, Devices and Appliances.

Some interesting movements shown in the film include:
• Counter mechanism
• Gears engage on diagonals
• Square gears
• Variable speed transfer
• Rotary to linear action with a 4 tooth cog

[ Thanks Gary! ]

The sculpture of Arthur Ganson at the MIT Museum

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 04:54:22 PST

If you happen to be in Cambridge, Massachusetts, you will want to stop by the MIT Museum which features an exhibit of Arthur Ganson’s kinetic sculptures.

If you are unfamiliar with Ganson's work, he uses the elements of machines, found, and fabricated objects to create though-provoking interactive kinetic sculptures. The sculpture shown here, Cory's Yellow Chair, depicts random yellow pieces floating in space. The pieces suddenly assemble into a small yellow chair for an instant before exploding apart once again. I could watch this for hours.

From the MIT Museum web site:

His sculptures explore the nature of oiled surfaces, object manipulation and slow explosions, and are created from a range of materials that he fabricates or finds.

Here is where you can learn more about Arthur Ganson and the exhibit of his work at the MIT Museum.

The worlds largest and most detailed model railway

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:10:28 PST

Check out this incredibly detailed and ambitious model roalroad. To call it a "model railroad" though is kind of insufficient because it depicts so much more that trains. Simply incredible.

[ Thanks Will, Bill, and Thomas!]

Book on rare and unusual German Black Forest clocks

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 06:02:05 PST

The Black Forest Region of Germany produced an amazing assortment of inventive and finely crafted clocks. While there certainly are books on the subject, most are in German. Rare and Unusual Black Forest Clocks by Justin J. Miller is the definitive guide for English-speaking clock enthusiasts. The book features over 700 images that showcase clocks, movements, components, catalogs, and literature related to Black Forest clocks. It also includes detailed biographies of notable clockmakers and clock-making firms.

From the book description:

The text provides much needed information on preeminent clockmakers Johann Baptist Beha and Emilian Wehrle, which place this among the best comprehensive single volumes ever produced in any language. This work also explains the various mechanisms and guides collectors and others trying to identify individual clocks by type, production era, and maker. The engaging text also vividly brings to life both the rich, romantic history of families and entire communities of craftsmen cooperating to create these unique timepieces that have drawn increasing numbers enthusiasts to the excitement of Black Forest horology.

Here is where you can get more info or pre-order the book Rare and Unusual Black Forest Clocks.

Singing bird automaton in progress by Bliss Kolb

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 03:05:00 PST

Here's the latest bird-themed automaton from artist Bliss Kolb. Pictures for now, but video is on the way, so stay tuned.

From the artist:

The bird has six movements and sings a simple bird song. Still to do: the branch will be covered with paper mache and filled out with leaves. The bird, branch, base, and handle will be painted.

See more sculpture by Bliss Kolb on his web site.

Large-scale automata inspired by the fauna of Costa Rica

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:40:51 PST

The large-scale wood automata shown the this video were created by a company called Toc de Fusta for International Festival of the Arts in Costa Rica, under the name of Cruso's Friends. The six automata were inspired by the fauna of Costa Rica. Fantastic stuff!

You can see videos of the building process of the large wood automata on Toc de Fusta's Youtube channel.

Brass astronomical skeleton clock with 8000 parts

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 04:30:45 PST

This clock is astounding on many levels: complexity, beauty, and craftsmanship. What is perhaps even more astonishing is that it is only 25% complete! About 2000 of the expected 8000 parts have been assembled. The finished product will be truly incredible.

From the Youtube description:

What you see is about 25% of the completed clock movement in terms of parts count, about 2000 of a total of 8000 parts. This project has been in construction for about 1.5 years and has another 2 to go. Much of the most difficult subassemblies are done as the going train contained a large amount of novel mechanical concepts: dual remontoire mediated by differential, dual escape wheels, compound fly fans, compound going barrels.

[ Thanks New Gottland! ]

Film about the making of a huge wooden automaton village

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 04:30:10 PST

Here is a short documentary on the making of the amazing wooden village automaton created by Jozef Pekara from Rajecke Teplice, Slovakia. This giant woodcarving was created by Jozef Pekara over the span of 18 years. This huge, village scene uses 150 animal and 170 human figures to depict the history and traditions of Slovakia.

[ Thanks Les! ]

Hand-carved wood automaton depicts an entire village

noreply@blogger.com (Dug North) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 03:20:00 PST

I don't know much about this incredible automaton other than the title of the video, Slovenský betlém. The entire thing is wood, carved by masters of the craft. Everything in the village is animated: sawyers, farmers, farriers, cobblers, coopers, threshers, spinners, miners, weavers, carpenters, potters, vintners, washers, diners, musicians, worshipers, assorted animals, and children playing. I'm certain I missed many things too! Amazing. Beautiful. Just...wow.

[ Thanks Karin! ]