GearHeads Forum

I recently built a kinetic sculpture called "Zinnia" from Clayton Boyer.  For anyone interested in learning about another kinetic drive mechanism, I highly recommend looking into Clayton's commercially available plan.  Without giving away secrets, a summary of my build can be seen here http://markswoodchips.com/zinnia-kineti ... ture/.html.

Mark:

Awesome job. Unlike my Bat sculpture, you built the proper mechanism,
I ended up using some magnets in my release, where you have the original
mechanism. Congrats on a great job.. It seems to work very very well..

  Grrr... I may have to redo mine now to properly work that mechanism..

Art

The mechanism is simple, once you see it, but I did learn that friction plays a big role in whether or not it will run.  There are 6 ball bearings in the sculpture and I had to soak them in mineral spirits for a few days to dissolve the grease.  That helped but then I had to soak them in Silicone lubricant to reduce the friction further.  After the friction is dealt with, it's a matter of weights and timing, much like your Scimitar.

Mark:

  I hadnt thought about treating bearings that way for such a sculpture.. Thanks for that!!!

Art

thanks Mark for the tip about treating your bearings...really has helped!!

best,

Kobi

marklazarz wrote: I recently built a kinetic sculpture called "Zinnia" from Clayton Boyer.  For anyone interested in learning about another kinetic drive mechanism, I highly recommend looking into Clayton's commercially available plan.  Without giving away secrets, a summary of my build can be seen here http://markswoodchips.com/zinnia-kineti ... ture/.html.

How long does your Zinna run from one winding?
Dan Mauch

10 minutes from my calculations..

Art

Clayton touts 40 - 45 minutes.  My actual run time is about 20 minutes.  The less friction, the more revolutions of the flywheels before gravity reverses the spin and triggers another impulse.  Based on my experience, friction, offset weight amount and timing, in that order, determine how long it will run.

20 minutes is pretty good. Not long enough to annoy, but long enough to amaze.

Great job..

Art

Mark,
  Wondering what size spring (pounds of force) you used for "Zinnia"? Could you get longer run times with a longer or heavier spring?
Looks fantastic, very nice work. I'm thinking of an attempt at my own design...but I'll be using a scroll saw to cut my parts...sigh.

Eric