An Introduction to Basic Mechanical Design for Art and DIY projects. You are reading this post because you’re wondering if a little bit of motion is what your newest sculpture needs to come alive. Or perhaps you want to bring some extra flare to that catspanking machine you’ve been working on. Maybe you are ready to take the first steps towards your life goal of a Wallace-and-Gromit style breakfast preparation device.
No matter your background, this workshop will serve as your ground-up introduction to creating motion through simple and compound mechanisms. This class does not cover electronics, but we will look at a variety of electronic motors and how the motion they generate can be useful to you. From there on, we’ll play with a variety of methods for making cyclical motion more intriguing, silly or practical. Topics covered will include simple machines, linkages, couplings, and how all of these combine into more complex mechanisms. We will cover many critical concepts including levers, block & tackle, gears, work, force, machine elements, and most important, translation of force. Focus will be on creative applications. Workshop hours will be divided between lectures and labs/workshops. At the conclusion of the works, everybody will leave with at least one hand-cranked or motor-powered automaton.
Michael Kontopoulos is a Los Angeles based artist and designer with a background in sculpture and new-media art. He has taught courses on electronics, programming and sculpture at CSU Long Beach, UCLA, USC and Art Center College of Design.
Requirements:
No electronics knowledge is necessary. Several motors will be provided for workshops.
Tools and materials will be provided.