Art,
Thanks for that explanati
on of a very cunning but simple mechanism which can easily be reproduce
d using gearotic and a CNC machine. Simple is always the best.
The link below includes a picture of the mechanism in the Sysiphus tables. It's a far more complex structure than yours, including a rack and pinion for true polar co-ordinate input to the two steppers though this may ease the calculati
ons for convertin
g x,y to polar for inputting text and graphics which these tables can do. It uses a Raspberry Pi as it's driver so a lot more potential complexit
y in the patterns.
Having just tried Vexx for the first time tonight I can see how we could reproduce all of that hardware as well. You never cease to amaze us all.
Tweakie,
I did wonder if driving the steppers might need interpret
ation of the source pattern code by an intermedi
ate step not unlike MACH3, Auggie or LinuxCNC but the pattern generator is unlikely to output G-code! Then again...
I've no idea when I'll get to this project as there are enough half-finished things lying around the shed as it is, but I do have some spare little NEMA17 motors, EasyDrive
rs, Arduinos and a Raspberry Pi with nothing else to do. And a CNC router that keeps begging to cut something out.
https://makezine.com/2016/10/02/gorgeous-kinetic-table-art-bruce-shapiro/Kit