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Kinetic sculpture designed by Clayton Boyer

Posted: Thu Mar 10, 2016 1:52 pm
by marklazarz
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.

Re: Kinetic sculpture designed by Clayton Boyer

Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2016 1:53 am
by ArtF
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

Re: Kinetic sculpture designed by Clayton Boyer

Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2016 2:11 am
by marklazarz
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.

Re: Kinetic sculpture designed by Clayton Boyer

Posted: Fri Mar 11, 2016 3:13 am
by ArtF
Mark:

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

Art

Re: Kinetic sculpture designed by Clayton Boyer

Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 4:03 pm
by kobi
thanks Mark for the tip about treating your bearings...really has helped!!

best,

Kobi

Re: Kinetic sculpture designed by Clayton Boyer

Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 3:03 am
by danmauch
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

Re: Kinetic sculpture designed by Clayton Boyer

Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 6:32 am
by ArtF
10 minutes from my calculations.. :)

Art

Re: Kinetic sculpture designed by Clayton Boyer

Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 8:36 am
by marklazarz
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.

Re: Kinetic sculpture designed by Clayton Boyer

Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 9:59 am
by ArtF
20 minutes is pretty good. Not long enough to annoy, but long enough to amaze. :)

Great job..

Art

Re: Kinetic sculpture designed by Clayton Boyer

Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2016 4:37 am
by Kineticrazy
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

Re: Kinetic sculpture designed by Clayton Boyer

Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2016 7:12 am
by marklazarz
Eric:

Clayton specifies this spring for his Zinnia http://shop.sdp-si.com/catalog/product/ ... 3x51-20006

I wind the flywheel about 18 times for a full run with this spring so it's pretty long.  Run time is inversely proportional to friction, the number 1 factor for getting the most run time out of the sculpture.  There are not many parts to Zinnia so scroll sawing should be no problem although you will need a saw capable of reaching over 12" radius.

Mark

Re: Kinetic sculpture designed by Clayton Boyer

Posted: Sun Dec 04, 2016 3:41 pm
by Kineticrazy
Thank you for the info. I'm surprised it's only a pound of force. I've got my first kinetic engine running on a drop weight of one pound, 30 inch drop. I tried upping the weight, for longer run time(presently 15-20 min), but my pawl would not disengage on the return rotation with more weight added. I assumed my ratchet design was at fault or I needed to add weight to one side of my wheel to disengage the pawl.
  Have you experimented with heavier springs? I accidentally bought a 4.5 lb. 40 inch constant force spring (not constant torque) and was going to attempt trying it by drawing it out linearly (one spool) and attaching a string to the free end and winding the string to my drive spool and ratchet.
Any thoughts on whether It will work? Will enough counter weight added be possible to disengage the pawl?

Keep in mind I have been using a pawl and ratchet of my own design (imagine a saw tooth ratchet with magnets embedded in the pawl) and not using David Roy's design yet. Do you think David's pawl design can handle more weight?


I've got 30 inches of throat on my Dewalt scroll saw (my favorite tool in my shop), and I can bend the blade ends 90 degrees if I have a long work piece. That gives me unlimited throat! (picture using the saw from the side, not the front)

Thanks again for the information, I hope you don't mind the questions...

Genuinely kineticrazy,

Eric

Re: Kinetic sculpture designed by Clayton Boyer

Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2016 2:36 am
by marklazarz
Eric:

No, I have not experimented with different springs.  Disengaging the pawls falls under the category of timing, and a lot goes into it.  The only advice I can offer is to build something and then tinker with it until it runs.  You develop a feel for timing variables when you see the mechanism in motion.  Proven commercially available plans still require some fiddling.  If you design your own, don't expect the first iteration to be your masterpiece.

I have not attempted to build any David Roy drive engines, maybe later next year.  Although I'm retired, I don't have enough time in the day to accomplish all the things I want to.  Busy with Christmas gifts, modifying the control on my CNC, learning Aspire, playing with Gearotic, and now shoveling snow.

Mark

Re: Kinetic sculpture designed by Clayton Boyer

Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2016 2:43 am
by ArtF
Mark:

All so true. I have a kinetic engine prototype half finished, lasers that need work, galvo cude to test with, and
the kinetic engine to complete, there just isnt enough time in the day. :)

  When building any kinetic object I really advise playing with every dimension in it.. you often improve it..

Art

Re: Kinetic sculpture designed by Clayton Boyer

Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2016 4:58 am
by Dan Mauch
Last year I posted my version of Zinna. One of the improvements I made that really helped increase the duration of the machine was to make the drive mechanism out of 5mm acrylic.
Dan Mauch