INTRODUCTION
I've always been fascinated by automata. Whether you used a crank or a motor, you could bring the toy to life. And not only that, but the mechanism inside also caught my attention.
I remember one day while scrolling through Instagram, I came across a post that showed how the mechanism that winds the line on fishing rods works. It’s not exactly an automaton, but I still find it fascinating how people come up with all these kinds of mechanisms that are not only functional but also designed to take up as little space as possible.
As a result, I bought the book "507 Mechanical Movements", which, as the title suggests, is like the Bible for mechanical engineers. If I ever needed a mechanism, it would be right there.
DESIGNING AN AUTOMATON
To design my own automaton, I first needed an idea. I admit that my aim in designing it, apart from seeing it as a personal achievement, was to benefit from MakerWorld’s Exclusive Models programme, which awards points that can be exchanged for real money.
So I went to the Creator Centre and, using the popular searches tool, found the keyword I needed: cat.
But simply having a word as an idea isn’t enough. I had to turn that word into something practical, so after giving it a lot of thought and saving a few boards on Pinterest, I came up with the idea of creating a mechanism that makes a cat stretch. It was also because cats look so adorable when they stretch. I didn’t just want to make something practical and attractive, but something that would evoke a certain emotion when used.
SKETCHES
Now yes. It was time to start sketching:
After sketching, I went ahead and started modeling in Solidworks:
I’d like to make a point here. When you’re designing parts that need to fit together but are to be 3D-printed, so-called tolerances are very important. Although every printer has its own, on my BambuLab P1P – and almost certainly on most Bambu printers – I’ve found that:
A tolerance of 0.15 mm for parts that must fit together and remain fixed.
A tolerance of 0.20 mm for parts that must fit together with some play. This also applies to 3D-modelled threads.
PRINTING AND ASSEMBLY
For the final model, I opened the parts in Blender so I could add visual cues to help with assembly without needing an instruction manual. Even so, I decided to put one together in case anyone needed help.
Both this manual and the model are available exclusively on MakerWorld.
Once printed, assembly was not difficult. It is designed to be fairly straightforward and intuitive.
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