Aidan Lawrence Onn - Cabaret Mechanical Movement: Understanding Movement and Making Automata

Colophon

Cabaret Mechanical Movement

Understanding Movement and Making Automata

Aidan Lawrence Onn

& Gary Alexander

Published by Cabaret Mechanical Theatre

Web Site: www.cabaret.co.uk

By visiting a Cabaret Mechanical Theatre exhibition you should find that everything in this book is easier to understand. As well as being a globally accessible alternative, the web site supplements parts of the book and will have details of current shows.

Front Cover: The Barecats by Paul Spooner and Matt Smith. Photography by Heini Schneebeli.

Cabaret Mechanical Theatre 1998

This digital edition 2013

Cabaret Mechanical Theatre 2013

ISBN 978-0-9528729-2-4

Paperback edition ISBN 0-9528729-0-0

All rights reserved

Contents

Who, What, Why?

Who?

This book is aimed at people who want to make their own automata. It will also be useful to people who want to make any other sort of mechanical toy / sculpture / device. Design and Technology students should be thrilled. Even if you dont actually want to make anything yourself it will also be useful if you need to understand the practical basics of mechanisms.

What?

The first chapter is a light introduction to the history and principles of movement. This is followed by eight chapters on different types of mechanism. Each of these contains the basic theory and practical tips. The whole book is illustrated with many examples of the automata of Cabaret Mechanical Theatre (CMT). The chapter on control is followed by the final chapter which gives a step-by-step guide to design and construction.

Why?

Remember that making machines like this is supposed to be fun. It wont feel that way when youve thrown your latest creation into the bin for the fifth time but please dont blame this book. Just read the relevant parts again and get started on version six.

Thanks

In no particular order, wed like to thank the following people for their help: The Spooner Family, Tim Hunkin, Sarah Alexander, Alan Chapman, William Jackson, John Lumbus and finally, Sue Jackson, the founder of CMT, without whom this book probably wouldnt exist.

You can find out more about CMT on our website: www.cabaret.co.uk

Some Principles

The theory might help you to understand how mechanisms work. On the other hand, it may put you off making things. If this chapter gets too heavy, try skipping on to something more practical.

The history of automata usually begins around 500 B.C. and you may think that making automata in this digital age is daft and irrelevant. However, the movement of the most complex of todays industrial robots is based on long standing mechanical principles. They use the same mechanisms that are used in the simplest piece of automata or mechanical sculpture.

Pink Policeman by Ron Fuller

Before we look at mechanisms its worth spending a bit of time thinking about what movement is. In this introduction well show you some of the basic principles that govern movement and a little of the history of the subject.

Observation

Just look around...

Everything you see is moving. Electrons are moving in atoms. You and the things you see are rotating with the Earth. Appearances can be deceptive and even when you can see the movement its not always obvious what is causing it. If you didnt already have an idea of how muscles work do you think you could work out what is going on when you bend your elbow?

Press-up Anubis by Paul Spooner

Bird Watcher by Peter Markey
In this piece, turning the handle causes the mans head to turn from side to side. The birds just rotate so their mechanism is simpler. Well cover these mechanisms in later chapters but can you see how it works just by looking at the drawing?

If you want to make things move be sure to spend some time studying how other things move.

Wiggling Fish by Jan Zalud

Principles

All movement is governed by certain mechanical principles. The observation of movement all around you will provide lots of inspiration for your own ideas. But before you create something with mechanical movement it will help you to understand a little about those mechanical principles.

The Barecats by Paul Spooner
Who is winding-up whom? When the small cat points the big cat looks up. When you look at mechanisms try to work out which part is driving and which part is driven.

Machines

A machine is something that modifies FORCE. For example, a unicycle is a machine. When the force comes from an outside source, its called INPUT. The mechanical action of the machine produces OUTPUT. So, legs pushing the pedals (Input), produce a rotating wheel (Output). The motions and forces that occur between Input and Output are described by the science of Mechanics.

Mechanics

The science of mechanics has been studied for a very long time. The origins can be traced back to the early dynasties of ancient Egypt.

The first recorded scientific foundations for mechanics were developed in the 3rd century BC by a Greek mathematician called Archimedes. He worked out formulae for the equilibrium of simple levers and centres of gravity.

Archimedes classification of levers into three different types persists to this day. (Leverschapter 2)

Another important historical development was recorded almost two thousand years later by Galileo Galilei (born 1564). He studied the theories of Archimedes and in particular, the use of mathematics to solve physical problems. Galileo advanced Archimedes work on mechanics by developing the science of Dynamics.

In the year that Galileo died (1642), Isaac Newton was born. He introduced the concepts of force and mass. From this he formulated his Three Laws of Motion.

Newton discovered that motion does not require force. Force is only required to accelerate or decelerate motion.