For this assignment, you will be building mechanisms out of card stock paper. Cardboard and card stock are great materials to experiment and prototype with! When developing a new project design, making a model out of cardboard or card stock should always be one of the first steps to assess its feasibility.
You will be building three paper mechanisms based on those used in traditional Japanese Karakuri puppets and automata. In groups of two, build one Cam, one Crank, and one Gear mechanism and decorate each one to enhance their output; this can be either abstract or figurative. (Search for automata or whirligig for inspiration)
Print outs of each model blueprint are provided per pair. See the book Karakuri: How To Make Mechanical Paper Models That Move (pdf) from page 34 onward for instructions on how to build each mechanism.
Due: March 27 (in-class critique)
Note: Assignments in this course (different from Projects) are meant as a quick way to explore ideas with the materials and technologies introduced that week. While thorough experimentation is highly encouraged, you are not expected to deliver a completely polished piece for these assignments. The goal is to explore the materials and make discoveries, while learning the technologies.