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Al's Automata Blog

Big Fish, Little Fish!

11/24/2020

5 Comments

 
Put together a little automata this last week that has a big fish chasing a little fish around an oval with a plan to eating him for dinner. I sort of started with and idea and then designed on the run, building a little, designing more details in CAD and then building a bit more. Below is a photo of all the pieces except one I forgot to add to the pile.
Picture
As you might expect building the chain was a bit finicky. Not so difficult but challenging for fat fingers like mine. The chain has a fair bit of play in it so building it first to get the right centre to centre distance for the wheel was necessary. The mechanism is shown below without the oval on the top in place.
Picture
As I was building it I started to think of other chase scenarios that might work with this mechanism. I thought perhaps I should just have a collection of characters that could be easily swapped out to change with the seasons, or the whim of the owner. As a result I thought I should rename it "The Chase" and have a cache of changeable characters. Hmm, I'll have to consider that.  In the meantime it's two fish. Here is one of the fish below.
Picture
Finally here is a quick peek at the fish in motion.
5 Comments

Just Posted!

11/13/2020

0 Comments

 
I just post the latest completed automata "Baa Baa Bad Sheep" on Youtube and added three pages on my website to display and relate the design story.

Click here to go to first of 3 webpages on Conquergood Creative.
0 Comments

Getting A Handle On It.

11/2/2020

1 Comment

 
When I build automata I always try to have the handle relate somehow to the subject of the piece. This is not always simple because I usually try to find something with a slender aspect ratio, that is, long and skinny. I have used odd shapes but they seem a little awkward for people to turn. The other constraint is I try to have handles smooth on one side since I use a motorized push pin to spin the handle around when displaying as shows, so I can relax and chat to visitors.

Anyway I was struggling a bit to come up with something that either related to sheep or jail for my current project. I settled on a skeleton key as might be used to lock a cell door. The shaft had to be a little fatter  than normal for strength, but I managed to fashion one that I originally thought reasonable. I glued it on with temporary latex adhesive to try it out and take a look at it in place.  It didn't take long to realize that I was not happy with it and I set out to think of another design.

After drawing a blank for a while I settled on a "machinery type" crank, themed it toward sheep. So below is a picture of a "cast iron" handle made by the Ovine Manufacturing Company.  I am happier now. 
Picture
1 Comment

    Why Automata?

    Automata is a creative blend of my life interests , engineering, art  and woodworking. 

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Conquergood Creative
Home     Contact    About   
  • Automata Blog
  • Home
  • Tubing The River Styx
  • DJ's Bee Bop Palooza
    • Roles of Bees in a Hive
    • The Bee Bop Characters
  • Automata Gallery
    • Swimming With The Dolphins
    • A Boat, A Boy, And A Dog
    • The Invisible Audiophile
    • Black Bear Bliss
    • Parking Lot Wars
    • The Chase
    • Baa Baa Bad Sheep! >
      • Baa Baa Bad Sheep Photo Gallery
    • The Penguins' Revenge
    • Cirque de Poulet
    • I'm Thinking & Laura
    • The Bipolar Brain
    • Tempest in a Teacup
    • Inner Demon
    • Sewer Rat Symphony >
      • Musican Profiles
    • The Captive
    • Bored Out of My Skin
    • Waiting at the Clinic
    • The Diagnosis
    • Snowbirds
    • The Not So Early Bird - The Common Sleptin
    • 1 HP Heart Pump
    • The Trojan Cat
    • 7-1/2 Horsepower
    • Howdy!
    • The Bus Stop
    • Rhinoceros Racing
    • It's an Uphill Battle
    • When an MRI Goes Badly
    • A Moment of Silence
    • Who Slew the Chicken?
    • The Dentist's Office
    • Owl Hijinx
    • Horse of a Different Colour >
      • Horse of a Different Colour Features & Specs
      • Horse of a Different Colour Photo Gallery
    • March of the Penguins
    • The Extraction >
      • The Extraction Media Gallery
    • Poultry in Motion
    • School's Out!
    • Pond Life >
      • Pond Life Photo Gallery
    • Rat Co. >
      • Rat Co. Employee Profiles
      • Rat Co. Photo Gallery
    • Happy Birthday Daddy! >
      • Happy Features & Specs
      • Happy Birthday Photo Gallery
    • The Raving Fans
    • The Waiting Room >
      • Waiting Room Photo Gallery
    • Cottage Cabernet
    • Neighbourhood Watch
    • Check Please!
    • Fishing >
      • Fishing Photo Gallery
      • The Mechanism
      • Brutus the Catfish
      • Crawford the Crayfish
      • Bigmouth the Largemouth Bass
      • Buddy the Chocolate Lab
      • Gertrude and Heathcliff
    • Ian's African Lion Safari
    • Call Before You Dig >
      • Features & Specs
    • Crossing The Mara >
      • Features & Specs
    • Migrating Caribou >
      • Features & Specs
    • Rocket Pack Raccoon
    • Urban Terrorists >
      • Exploring the Urban Terrorists
      • Features & Specs
    • Top Gun
    • Miss Communication
    • Hula Hoop Girl
    • Java Jane
    • The Cranky Caterpillar
    • A Case in Point...
    • The Leafs Score!
    • Enough With The Fish!
  • Learning Centre
  • Automata Store
  • Workshop Tour!
    • Sanding
    • Drilling
    • Cutting
    • Measurement
    • Carving Tools
    • Hand Tools
    • Working With Brass
    • Work & Assembly Areas
  • Mechanisms, Tip & Tricks
    • The Why and How Of It!
  • Who Am I?
    • Making Automata
  • Contact Me
  • In The News
  • Links
  • The South Bay Railway
    • Murray's Mill
    • Rivers, Creeks & Ponds
    • Early Days Photo Gallery
    • Layout Photo Gallery
    • Layout
  • Totems
  • Some Other Small Projects
    • Misc Projects
  • Driving Home for Christmas
    • Designing the Float
    • A Penguin Prototype
    • The Human Flock
    • The Float Penguins
    • The Float Video
  • Members Page