Takao Yoshimura - Unique Gear Structures

There are people who create unique things who can sometimes be found on Twitter. Takao Yoshimura is one of them. He creates unique structures using gears. The first time I saw his creation "geomecha", I could not help staring at it, then I found he had made several other gear structures.

This is one of my favorites of his creations that I just mentioned above, "geomecha."

He says that he named it "geomecha" combining the words "geometry" and "mechanism." I thought it would be suitable to display "geomecha" somewhere like Exploratorium, it would be fun. What do you think?

His videos are useful for someone who is interested in linkage mechanism. Actually, I have learned about planetary gears from his video. I didn't know about planetary gears and found it interesting. He made a speed meter mechanically with a planetary gear. 

A mechanism that is made with gears cannot move once one of the gears is stopped. By using a planetary gear, he has made the best use of its characteristics and created a system that can move even after the other part of the mechanize stops.
Here is the mechanism using a planetary gear he made.

This is named "Speed meter" because the hand in the middle changes its speed depending on the rotating speed of the right-hand side of the gear. Like the other videos, this video also shows how he draws and assembles the parts.

 

The next one is his representative work and he had spent lots of effort which works beautifully. This is a linkage system named "mechanical 3 segment display." 

 
"Mechanical 3 segment display" has two distinctive features.
One of the features is the system can express the numbers 0 to 9 using two L-shaped and one T-shaped parts rotating. The other feature is to average the force required with increases in digit, so that any number of digits can be carried forward.

He says that this system took two years from conception to be realized. If this system is developed further, it could be made into a clock or counter mechanically. To get closer to realizing it to a clock or counter, the numbers need to be moved up. So, Takao figured out the method of making it four digits and he did it.

This is a video that Takao tried to figure out a "mechanical 3 segment display" of moving up the numbers using a cam mechanism. The parts of the whole system require more than 250 parts. If you want to watch the assembling video, please watch it at 1:26.
It is a great idea that each of the systems can be connected to the others.

He explains that the system looks complicated, but it is simple. The key to moving up the number is a cam. (The video at 5:00) When the cam rotates, a spring is stretched and when the ramp of the cam moves, the spring shrinks at once. The force of this spring contraction is used to move the next digit.

The latest of his creations is the one to use a coil spring. To use a coil spring as a power source, he has made a mechanical system to convert spring power to the other. I think this system is convenient and he can use it for future creations.

These creations on the above are not all of his creations, so please have a look at more details on his YouTube channel or his Twitter. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask him through YouTube or Twitter. (Please note that these 3D data are not available for sale.)

Takao's Craft - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeyy15nZoKy_mSJhlz4zgvA

Takao's Twitter
https://twitter.com/YBB_824

He says he wants to count down at the end of this year with the system. Good luck to Takao! Looking forward to his future success.

 

p.s. I have not made any creations recently, but I am planning to make a marble run machine. Hope I could show it here someday in 2022.

Wishing you a very happy Holiday season and a wonderful New Year!🎄

Theo Jansen Biped Robot

Speaking of the Netherlands, I recall a scenery of windmills.
I wonder does Theo Jansen get inspiration from windmills?

When I saw Theo Jansen's creations for the first time, I was absolutely amazed. His works satisfy the conditions I love; linkage, robot and they are not black box structures. The structure of his works and movements can be seen clearly from the outside.

Here is one of his creation's video.
  

I mean I don't hate black box type of things, but for example, if there are two puzzles, and one has hints to consider solving and another one has no hints, I prefer a puzzle with hints. I don't like puzzles that can be solved by only luck. I also like to see how the mechanism works.

Theo Jansen is a Dutch artist who is famous for creating robots that move by the wind. He has created Strandbeest, Animaris Rhinoceros Lignatus and so on.
Those creations are quite big, and the state they are moving on the beach looks very dynamic and graceful as if they are alive.

So, if you see something interesting, it's natural to feel like making it by yourself, isn't it?
Ta-dah!

 

Here is a kit for making a miniature Theo Jansen Biped Robot!  I bought it from Japan. This craft kit was sold by a Japanese publishing company, Gakken. All the parts in the kit were well made and it's amazing. 

 

I can promise you this is so much fun to assemble. Of course, it's more fun to move it with the wind. I found a good video on YouTube. You can see how this robot walks.

This kit was sold long ago, but it seems that they are still available in some shops. 
I think if you don't read Japanese, there are plenty of detailed pictures on the instructions and you can make it.


artfutura -Theo Jansen

Amazom - Gakken Mini Beest by Theo Jansen DYI Kit 

adafruit - Theo Jansen's Mini Strandbeest Kit by Gakken

 

Rube Goldberg Machine

I picked up one of my favorites for today's topic; it's Rube Goldberg machine. A Rube Goldberg machine is a compound of linkages of each simple function that can be transmitted to the next function. It reminds me of the butterfly effect, but the butterfly effect is a kind of phenomenon, while Rube Goldberg machine is as stated in the name, like a machine which put linkages together.

It's difficult to explain in English because I'm not a native English speaker. So, seeing a picture is worth a thousand words. Please take a look at the picture below.

This is a rough drawing of mine. I would like to have a cup of coffee which is placed on the right-hand side of the table with a sugar cube. So, I have to put a sugar cube in the cup, you see? A sugar cube is on the seesaw just in front of the cup. Of course, it's much easier to pick up a sugar cube by hand and put it into the cup. This is one example. The name of Rube Goldberg machine is originated from an American cartoonist, Rube Goldberg.
To make a thing that can be done easily deliberately complicated and difficult looks stupid but fun.

I would like to introduce you to a very famous TV program that is related to Rube Goldberg machine in Japan. This may interest you. Just in case you are not Japanese, I'll explain to you about this program "Pythagora Switch." This program was broadcasted by NHK (the TV station which has a network in the whole country in Japan). It was made for small children, but it attracted many adults and became famous. I don't know but I guess the word "Pythagora" came from a Greek mathematician's name, Pythagoras. "Pythagora Switch" is at the beginning of the following video.

 

There is one unique video which is also related to Rube Goldberg machine. This video was the TV commercial film of one of the biggest Japanese mobile phone companies. Strictly speaking, I don't think I can say this is a kind of Rube Goldberg machine, because one wooden ball is rolling in the beginning to the end. If you like Rube Goldberg machine and Bach, you will like it.
The music behind the video is "Bach Cantata No.147 Jesus, Joy of Man's Desiring." Enjoy!

Cannot stop watching mechanical linkages

I think everyone has something that attracts them. For me, it's machines. If it has several gears, it would be more attractive to me.
When I was small, there was a shop which baked and sold Imagawayaki. Imagawayaki is Japanese sweets; it's like a waffle that contains sweet azuki beans paste inside. The shop I liked had wide windows facing the main street of the shopping mall and pedestrians could see the entire progress of the Imagawayaki being made. I found a video of a similar machine on YouTube. Here is the video below.
 

There were lots of different parts which moved differently on the Imagawayaki machine and each of them looked very interesting. I could watch it until my mother became bored and said, "You've watched it enough, haven't you?"
I was a kid that had a little strange habit. I preferred to watch the washing machine moving as well. I said "It's rotating, rotating!" and my mother said, "Of course, it's rotating, it's a washing machine."
To me, the attractiveness that machine had was how each part of machine moved and to know what for. Some parts hold the Imagawayaki batter until it's baked, some parts squeezed the sweet azuki beans paste, and the most interest process was the last part where two burnt batters were attached to put it together. That last part was the highlight of the whole process.
Looking back now, I can understand why I liked that machine so much. I like mechanical linkage and gears. Therefore, I'm interested in automation as well. I feel like making an automata someday.

Here are two books I bought several years ago. One is "507 Mechanical Movements" and the other one is a Japanese book "Encyclopedia of the mechanism." There are various types of linkages and gears in the books. I like to look at the pages of these books and once I start, I cannot stop looking at them. 

 
I hope that it's not just looking at books; I would also like to make something interesting in the future.