Antikythera Mechanism Build.

[GCCC]

This is just...


https://www.tumblr.com/tagged/jaw-drop

...ingly good.

[frances]

I have enjoyed seeing this from first to last.

[Drew P]

Yes, thank you so much for the journey!

It's an amazing feat of engineering and skill and beautifully done! A video would be killer.

[selectedgrub]

My eyes bleed at the awesomeness this radiates.

[Mechanism Man]

Wow - thanks everyone! After all the last minute effort to get it done on time the deadline had now slipped by a few days which has given me the chance to have a proper fiddle and adjust, and just to check that everything is as it should be.
There are a couple of bits that could have turned out better, but overall I reckon that this one is the smoothest running of any that I've built, so I guess you could say that I'm a bit chuffed!
I'll get the video sorted a bit later today - my lovely wife has finally pinned me down to do some jobs today, and she had been very patient, so I guess I'd better put my Useful Husband Trousers on for a few hours today...
Back later.
:-)

[Maets]

Okay, so who is more important?
!. Your wife
2. Your friends at Brass Goggles

[GCCC]

Okay, so who is more important?
!. Your wife
2. Your friends at Brass Goggles

(Says the man sleeping on the couch tonight...) 

[Mechanism Man]

Well in view of the fact that none of you regularly make me cakes I'm afraid that my wife is gong to have to win that battle - she also controls access to the fridge - and the bank account - yup, sorry Maets, no contest!
Right, as promised, here is a YouTube link to a not very good film of it in action. I apologise for the lack of cheesy background music and title sequence that normally gets edited onto this kind of video - I'm afraid that this is as good as it gets!

https://youtu.be/qPKRZ4OZuPE

All questions, comments, complaints and general comedic feedback gratefully received.
I'm now going to hunt down a beer and look for tonight's red moon. I may even howl at it for a while.
Bye for now - news on the antikythera build will restart in due course.
:-)

[Maets]

Thanks for the video.  Even more impressive seeing it move.

Having spent the last 12 days on a project for my wife, I understand completely.

[frances]

Bravo!

[Drew P]

Oh, me likey a LOT!!! Thanks for making the video.

So, are you eventually meeting with your beautiful creation in NY, also?
May I inquire as to what type of showing this will be in?

Any future plans to motorize it?

[GCCC]

Because this is wood, what (if any) special precautions must be taken to prevent warping from humidity? Are there precise room requirements to make sure this remains a precision instrument?

[Dr. Nikola]

Absolutely amazing accomplishment, and cannot be praised enough. 
Brought tears to my eyes with all that coggy goodness

[Mechanism Man]

Thanks everybody, all your kind comments are very much appreciated!
Question answering time:
GCCC - No, in short, no special precautions seem needed. Everything is cut from good 6mm birch ply - it's easy to cut, stains and finishes nicely, and is as stable as a stable thing in stable town. My machines have ended up in all sorts of climates to no real ill effect. I've had problems with just two of the fifteen that I've done, one had a spinning Earth which at the time I really didn't have the skill to do (I can now though!), and that jammed repeatedly needing some eventual re-engineering, and the other was the prototype, where the gearing was a little off, and it ended up in a very humid part of the wold which it really didn't like. That one ended up being replaced by a newer machine and the prototype now lives less that a mile away from me!
Other than that my system seems to work just fine.
And as for fitting a motor Drew, well hush your mouth! To be honest my machines should outlast their owners, but with motors come potentially hugely long running times and potential for some serious amounts of ware. So hand cranked only I'm afraid! Safer that way.
:-)

[Drew P]

Well, I was thinking a motor with very, very low rpm, but just a thought.

[Maets]

How about a windup mechanism, say spring or just a rubberband, that would then run the piece for 30 seconds or so?  Just a thought.

[Mechanism Man]

I was thinking about the motor issue and remembered that I had this little gem tucked away with the thought of one day fitting it to the machine that I'll eventually build for myself, you know, to actually keep! I'd completely forgotten about it in truth, so maybe I should never say never Drew!



It's a very basic kind of induction motor - I think - and it has just enough power to spin itself plus about 10% extra oomph to power something else. And it's oh so pretty... Yes, alright, it really does have bugger all torque, but I reckon that it has just enough if make the machine as friction free as possible.
Maybe next year.
:-)

[RJBowman]

If you gear it way down, you can get enough torque to turn your machine very slowly.

[Drew P]

Oh, you have got to use that!
Do it.
Do it.
Do it.
Do it.
Do it.
Do it.
Do it.




Oh, one more thing....do it!

[Banfili]

I concur!
Do it, please, pretty please!

[Mechanism Man]

Ok ok! I'll give it a go!! Sheesh!!!
The machine ultimately has to run at the same speed as it does in the video - so the input shaft has to turn at just 2-3 revs per second, so assuming that the motor is spinning at around 10 times that speed I should have enough scope to gear it down enough to make use of what little torque I have available - only time will tell....
:-)

[Maets]

Looks like you'll be making more gears.

[Emile]

The Mona Lisa of mechanics. Fascinating project (I'll be following this thread for sure), outstanding craftsmanship and technical ability, even the pictures taken of it under construction are suitable for framing.... Bravo Mechanism Man.

[Mechanism Man]

I'm finally back working on the whole point of the thread,  and after a few days of fiddling it lives! Well sort of... A few more minor gears to fit, a couple of binding bits to sort out, but other than that it's looking like it might actually work!

https://youtu.be/1RJDMeesFKE

Still loads to do, but mechanically this is a major hurdle overcome. I'm currently feeling petty darned good about the world!  
More soon,
Dave.
:-)

[heavyporker]

Simply beautiful work!

I want to add my keyboard to the chorus of accolades in your honor, sir!