An explanatory text of what it does and how it works:
For this project, I decided to make a moving carousel I originally wanted to make the horses on this carousel move up in down, in addition to the whole top part spinning around, but it was a bit too difficult and I ended up running out of time. Basically, my carousel works by spinning a crank with a gear attached to it. This gear touches the big top gear, spinning the whole top of the carousel.
My carousel includes:
- Two wooden laser cut pinwheel gears (with panels that I cut and glued in the woodshop)
- A long center panel
- A laser cut wooden base
- Wood panels that hold up the animals
- Stickers and paperclips (photos don’t include)
- Plasma cut steel triangles
Inspiration:
http://l3d.cs.colorado.edu/~zathras/research/images.html
What did you intend?
I intended to make a carousel.
What research did you have to do?
I had to do a ton of research on how carousels work. Typical carousels are quite mechanically advanced so I really had to research and think about how to come up with a simplified version.
How did the deliverable match (or not) your goals?
My carousel matched by goals shape wise; however, the gears didn’t line up as well I wanted them to and the crank didn’t work like I originally intended either.
What new things (about process, materials, etc.) did you learn?
I learned a lot more about laser cutting! I’d never used the machine before so it was quite the learning experience! I also learned more about how much time I need in order to do the projects in this class. I need to leave enough time for researching and making the deliverable, as well as, leaving time for myself if something goes wrong/doesn’t work out as planned.
What would you do differently in your future builds?
I would definitely measure everything out to be more exact. My gears didn’t line up correctly so the carousel didn’t spin as well as I’d hoped. I also would create a rest for the top of the carousel to sit on so that it would be evenly balanced. I ended up running out of time so I had to use yarn and tape to hold up the top part.
For each requirement listed below, what did you do to fulfill it.
Requirements:
- Two laminated gears (with attached crank or motor)
Plasma cut / hand cut metal parts:-
- I laminated two gears
- I also used the plasma cutter to make some triangles for decoration and to to make the base heavy enough to hold the carousel and not tip over
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- Laser cut wood or acrylic parts:
- I laser cut and used the wood shop to make my gears, crank and base and top part of my carousel
