Complex mechanisms
9 ready-made scenes and Python scripts. Each opens in the studio; press Play to run it, then change anything: masses, lengths, the forces, what the graphs show.
- V-Twin Engine Research
Two pistons 90° apart on one crank pin: each stroke follows s = r cos δ + √(l² − r² sin² δ), and the momentum of the moving parts turns in a nearly steady circle. - Warren Truss Bridge Research
Fifteen rods and nine pins carry a 30 kg load: the method of joints gives every member force, which the rods confirm. Analyze → Member Forces lists them. - Warren Truss: forces under a changing load Research
The truss with Analyze → Member Forces switched on, tension red and compression blue, while an extra load rises from 0 to 600 N and back every 6 s: each of the fifteen members follows the method of joints as the load changes, and the truss does not move. - Peaucellier–Lipkin Straight-Line Linkage Research
Seven bars turn a to-and-fro swing of the crank into a perfectly straight line at the far corner of the rhombus: its distance from the pivot is inverted, |OP||OQ| = ℓ² − s². - Ordinate 2D: the logo as a machine Research
The name spelled with machine parts: the O is a ring wheel on a motor, the d a pinion lifting a rack, the dot of the i bobs on a spring, the r's arm lifts a pail on a rope, a ball rolls high up the sides of the a's bowl, the crossbar of the e is a block between two springs, the n and the 2 rock, the t's crossbar slides, and a boat rocks on the water in the D as a weight slides on its deck. Everything repeats every 12 s. - Walking Machine Research
Six legs of Jansen's type, with lengths designed for this studio, on one crank: each foot runs along a straight 0.49 m stride for almost half a turn, so the machine walks about a metre per crank turn without bobbing. - Scissor Lift Research
Three stages of crossed bars lift a 40 kg crate as a driven roller closes the feet: the platform stands n √(L² − s²) high, and the roller's push, g (n M + n² m) cot θ by virtual work, is largest when the lift is low. - Ferris Wheel Research
A motor turns a wheel; eight gondolas on free pins swing like pendulums and stay close to upright all the way round. - Trebuchet: where the energy goes, where the ball lands Python Research
A 60 kg counterweight swings a beam; the script opens the sling's pouch when the ball flies 40° up: the ball's share of the counterweight's energy, and its landing point against the projectile formula.