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Moving Papercraft Anonymous
I recently made a expanding paper mechanism using many small paper cups and thought OMG I could use this to make robots/automaton out of paper and paper only. I also found this spring ( www1.ttcn.ne.jp/~a-nishi/spring/z_spring.html ) with a quick google search. Does anyone else have experience with this type of papercraft, how do I build a army of giant paper robots!!! Any ideas?
>> Anonymous
>>134513
What would be your skill level in basic origami/papercraft? Can you do a jumping frog, or can you do long cat? Those require a bit more skill that just the basic flapping bird and a cube.
>> Anonymous
>>134515
I can do anything. Though simpler would be nicer. I'm looking for a way to make like a wheel and 'engine' using expanding paper or springs or w/e.
>> Anonymous
If you download the NES Zapper and the instructions from http://members.home.nl/saarloos/othermodels.htm#NES%20Zapper (use the RapidShare link, it has the same files as the individual direct links but those have already exceeded the bandwidth limit) you can see it also uses "paper springs" to make the trigger move but it's MUCH simpler, it basically uses the tension in the paper from folding it.
>> Anonymous
>>134518
>it basically uses the tension in the paper from folding it.
That's the principle behind the paper cup expander I built, the cumulative tension of all the cups paper tension made the whole thing expand. I will put pics up some time, as soon as I find the charger for my camera.
>> Anonymous
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from the NES Zapper
>> Anonymous
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>> Anonymous
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>>134518
>>134520
>>134522
Thanks! OP here, I've made those before but didn't think they were to special because it was to channel the force in one direction, but these are useful also. How the force contained in the spring be used for movement... that's the tough thing.
>> Anonymous
EDIT: didn't think they were to special because it was >hard to channel the force in one direction
>> Anonymous
>>134524it was >hard to channel the force in one direction
Ninjatoes solved that problem by basically putting them inside a tight box, from which they can't escape: they can only move front and backwards, since sideways and up and down are blocked by the walls of the box (not entirely true on Ninjatoe's design since he uses 4 springs in one box, but that's the basic idea behind it).

>>How the force contained in the spring be used for movement... that's the tough thing.
Yeah, mostly because a spring is just a short, one time burst and doesn't really offer perpetual motion: you need to press/release it every time.
If you study "old school" mechanisms (cranks, gears and stuff) and "paper automata" you'll find that there are many mechanisms you can make in paper to get things moving. This is a good place to start: http://www.flying-pig.co.uk/mechanisms/pages/linear.html
>> Anonymous
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Here's that expander I talked about.
>> Anonymous
>>134612
Fixed: I forgot to say that this expands much slower then the paper spring does, the one I made took about 20-30 seconds to open to it's full length, with a big push at first and the slowing down to a stop at the end. I thought this long expansion time would make it good for motion stuff, b/c it last longer then the spring.