Concept
The initial concept started out as a visualisation of data points, namely the increasing mean temperatures of different continents. As I tried to work with these cam shapes, I was unable to figure out a way to make it work with the followers. So the concept was adapted to portray an ‘underwater’ scene instead, with the cams driving the motions of elements like waves, fishing rods, lights and sea creatures.
Process
Main cam and follower section
Cam and follower driving fishing rods and lights
Chain connecting bottom and top mechanisms
Another cam and follower set driving the movement of waves and sea creatures
The waves are connected to both top and bottom mechanisms to amplify movement and create more variations
Overview of top mechanism with rods to amplify movement
Obstacles and lessons learnt
Initially there was the issue of not being able to work with the highly irregular cam shapes derived from data points. The follower rods also had to be tweaked to work with eccentric cams. It was a delicate dance to get the surfaces in contact right to work(sufficiently well). There was also a practical weight limit to how much the linkages could lift, as I found out during the last stages of attaching the waves. All in all, any one part that was added or subtracted tends to affect another part of the system in small or big ways. Extension springs were also good for stiffening parts as they allow for more leeway in terms of measurement.
Final presentation
Image courtesy of Nasya
Image courtesy of Amanda
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