Create Your Own Kinetic Sculpture (Automata)

Hi! I'm Chris and I teach woodworking at Far Brook School, a pre K through 8th grade independent school in New Jersey.

I created this project for my students to work on their woodworking skills as well as express themselves creatively. Designing and building these automata is a great way to demonstrate learning and can be used to integrate with many different subjects.

It is great for grade levels 5-8 and can be modified to use many different materials and tools, from a full woodshop to an art classroom.

Learning Objectives

Use the engineering design cycle to identify and solve problems

Mechanical Modeling

Engineering Design

Digital Design with Tinkercad

Next Generation Science Standards

Disciplinary Core Ideas: Defining and Delimiting Engineering Problems (3-5-ETS1.A), Developing Possible Solutions ((3-5-ETS1.B), Optimizing the Design Solution (3-5-ETS1.C)

Science and Engineering Practice: Asking Questions and Defining Problems (3-5-ETS1-1); Planning and Carrying Out Investigations (3-5-ETS1-2); Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions (3-5-ETS1-3)

• 1"x4" lumber
• 3/8" Dowel
• Drill Bits
• Wood Glue
• 3D Printer + Filament (optional)
• Laser Cutter (optional)
• 1/4" Plywood (if laser cutting cams)

Think about the scene you want to create... What kind of motion will you need? What kind of cams will make that happen? Is there twirling involved? Maybe a swinging motion? Take a look at the different cams and see what kinds of kinetic sculpture you can create!

First we have a round centered cam. This is used to spin an object, without moving it up and down. A great example would be a ballerina performing a spin on the dance floor.

Next is an round offset cam. This is great for spinning an object while also having it move up and down. An example for this would be a frisbee floating through the air.

Third, we have a "snail" cam (because it looks like a snail shell). This is great for an object to move smoothly up, then quickly drop down. An example being a lumberjack chopping wood with an axe.

Last is an oval cam. This is great to have something move up and down rapidly while spinning. The object will move up and down two times for every rotation of the axle. A basketball bouncing would be a good example.

Start by cutting your 1x4" Lumber for the base. We used 12" long pieces for the top and bottom, and 5" for the uprights of the box.

On the 5" upright, draw a line from one corner to the opposite corner, then repeat to create an X. This will locate the center of your 5" upright pieces. Drill a 3/8" hole through the center of those uprights.

Nail and glue the box together as shown in the images above.

Using TinkerCAD / 3D printers or woodworking tools (or both!) you can begin working on the characters and objects that will bring your kinetic sculpture to life. I always advise to print more complicated parts like props or heads and faces of people, while making the bodies / limbs out of wood. Attaching limbs with loosely driven nails is a great way to keep the arms and/or legs movable

Once the objects have been printed and assembled, you are ready to design and create the cams.

Using TinkerCAD, you can design different shapes for the cams and cam followers.

Above, I am using TinkerCAD to create SVG files for laser cutting, but you can also just 3D print them or make them out of wood if you want.

Make sure the hole in the cam is the same size as your axle (dowel). In my case I am using a 3/8" dowel, so I converted that into millimeters and added a bit of wiggle room to make sure the cut or print fits (9.7mm). I then downloaded the cam as an SVG file then cut it on the laser cutter.

Or you can use my SVGs below and have students choose from pre cut cams!

Using a 25/64 inch drill bit, drill the holes in the top of the box where your characters will be. Make sure to keep the drill square (perpendicular) to the top of the box so the vertical axles have a straight path to follow. Use a Drill Press if you have one!

Use a ⅜” dowel to make your horizontal axle and vertical axles. THe horizontal axle should be an inch longer on each side of the box. The vertical axles should be estimates of how high you want your characters to be. They may need to be trimmed, so make them a little longer than you think you need. You can always take off more, but you can't really add more on!

Slide the cams onto the horizontal axle and do a dry fit (no glue) to test and make sure the pieces move freely the way you want them to. If an axle isn't moving freely, try rasping the opening with a round rasp, or use a slightly larger drill bit to open up the hole.

Hot glue your cam followers onto the bottom of the vertical axles. Make sure the vertical axle is already through the top of the box before gluing them together or else it may not fit into the box. If the object on top is too light, you can add a washer or two on top of the cam follower to give it some weight.

Then, using the hot glue gun, glue the outsides of the cams to the horizontal axle. Be sure to let the glue dry before testing so it dries nice and strong.

Finally, add some wooden washers (a circle cam will work!) onto the outside of the box. Hot glue them in place so that they keep the horizontal axle from shifting left to right while using the Kinetic Sculpture.

I have students use a Rubric to self-assess. I strive to assess students on their work ethic and "grit" and only comment on execution or skills if they are extraordinarily excellent or lacking. Problem solving and sharing ideas and tips with classmates is highly encouraged!

Congratulations! You've just finished your Kinetic Sculpture! Share it with your friends and here in the comment section!