[Henk Rijckhaert] recently participated in a “secret Santa” gift exchange. In a secret Santa, everyone’s name goes in a hat, and each person must pick a name without looking. Each gives a gift to the person whose name they drew.
Henk needed a gift for Amy, a friend who loves the water and water sports as well as maker-y things. So he built her a wave automaton — a sea wave and fishies, and documented the build in this video.
The build is mostly plywood and 3D printed parts. We have to think reprising it in a nice wood and brass would make a lovely project for a hobby wood and metalworker.
The bulk of the project is 30 plywood boards stacked up with spacers. Each board is mounted with a 3D printed stepped bushing on one end that rides in a horizontal slot. On the other end is a 3D printed eccentric riding in an oversized (about 5cm) hole. So the board moves in a circle at one end and back and forth at the other for a very nice simulation of an ocean wave.
The eccentrics all ride on a common shaft, but are offset in phase. He has a nice technique for setting the phases. Each eccentric has 3 small holes on a radius centered on the shaft. Toothpicks go in two of the holes, passing through holes 2 and 3 of the lower eccentric and holes 1 and 2 of the upper eccentric. 3D printed gears and hand crank drive the system.
The wave is fun, but a bit plain. So he 3D printed some flat fishies, glued them on brass rod, and epoxied th ..
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