Tuesday 27 November 2012

OK, so it didn't work

Not because the shapes were incorrect but it comes down to the same problem of measurments not being precise, which then has an impact on other parts of the mechanism. I think I got 2 movements working but it looks messy. Better to do the job properly then leave it messy and prone to breaking.

Because of this, I won't be able to finish the model before Christmas.

I could always save it for next Christmas, or maybe as an early new year model.

Thursday 22 November 2012

I hope this works!

So...I have an idea for how to design the cam wheels. Hopefully it'll work. 

I have made a series of radial circles and have marked each dividing line with a number which I am using for timing, so when one part of the model does something at this point on this cam, something else will happen at the same point on the other cam.


It's a bit messy but hopefully it'll at least give me some idea of how it will all work. I'm going to make the cams out of cardboard first, rather than cut the wood straight away. I also forgot that the cams are turning anti-clockwise so I need to reverse the cut-outs so they move the right way.

Note to self: get cardboard. 




Thursday 15 November 2012

Ready in time for Christmas?

Well, progress has been kinda slow so I'm not even sure that the model will be ready in time for Xmas. I'll do my best though. Here are some random pics:
































I've also redesigned the mechanism a bit and removed the gears and replaced this with a belt drive to sow things down. Next stop, working out where to place the levers and also to make the cams. 

How I wish I had a scroll saw...

Wednesday 7 November 2012

Today's news is about the 'views'

1002 views of my blog! Woohoo! I must admit though, having my model featured on Dug North's site increased the traffic a lot. Thanks!

I am currently using Code Avengers to learn HTML and CSS. I have a mock website which features a fake automata business which is online. I hope Google isn't giving many hits of that site as I'd feel bad. However, there is a live link to this blog so I hope people appreciate that at least. 

Work on the model continues. Applying some paint to the Santa figure and have the linkages worked out. Now to work on the elf.

If that made no sense, all will be made clear soon.