project brief
This automaton was an 8 week Level 5 project. The legs move as if the creature is running, the jaw opens and closes, and the eyes and rats light up with LEDs.
I tried using magnets to get the legs to connect cleanly on inside and out. However, I couldn’t find magnets that were strong and small enough so instead created cut-outs in the body for the cams to sit in.
As the motor rotates the central spindle, a cam pulls the jaw closed and the bevel gears change the direction of the motion to rotate the cams that the linkages connect to, moving the legs as if they are running.
The base of the head was blocked out in Rhino. The stylized fur was added using Blender and the teeth were sculpted by hand. The eyes were heat formed over a mold then painted with yellow glass paints to diffuse the light of the LEDs.
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