Push Rod Whistle
Downloadable Essential Mechanism Project
Part of the resources on www.robives.com are the Essential Mechanism projects. A set of starting point projects ready for you to add your own animated characters. Think of them as a starting point to help you design your own automata projects. The latest, The Push Rod Whistle, is a bellows and whistle mechanism ready for you to use.
.This project is a spin off from work I’ve been doing to design new paper animation printed kits. I mentioned in the previous newsletter that I am converting the Oyster Catcher project into a printed booklet. There are a few problems I’ve come up against in the process. The downloadable Oyster Catcher has seven sheets of parts
The Flying Pig printed projects I have made in the past are based on four sheets of parts. They’re small as well. Smaller than A4 at 210 x 200mm. It is easier to settle on a standard format for a new range so I’ve gone with new size booket with six part sheet at 210 x 250mm
Second problem. The bellows in the downloadable project are printed onto paper, the parts onto card. This is easy enough for home printing but mixing different weights of paper for a commercial print project is an expensive extra stage. Hence my previous experiments with making bellows and pipes from card.
Card bellows work well but need more force to make them work and I found that the scotch yoke mechanism from the original downloadable project just wasn’t up to the task. I experiment with using a crank and cam to drive the bellows
.This worked well for a few turns of the handle but before long the hole where the axle ran got bigger and bigger with wear.
It then occurred to me that I didn’t need a handle at all, I could operate the bellows direct and link them to the bird at the top of the box. And so, the Push Rod Whistle was born. I took out the crank and cams from the box. Cut the middle out of the box and shut it down to a more appropriate height. Extended the push rods et voila!
I reckon this will make a great printed kit! Meanwhile the mechanism is a useful one so I’m releasing it as an Essential Mechanism with parts and fully illustrated step by step instructions
As always members of www.robives.com and paid subscribers to this newsletter can download the file for free, thanks for your support! Non members can join in the fun for £2.50 or equivalent here.
Paid subscribers to this newsletter can download the parts below…