Annotated Ideal Harmonic Transformer Math Manipulative

thingiverse

Treat yourself and your classroom to a machine that illustrates Sine and Cosine's relationship with angles. Explore an animation on my blog at http://swampcastle.blogspot.com/2013/11/harmonic-transformer-for-classroom.html. I have also imported and assembled the models into OnShape, allowing you to virtually spin it; it won't disappoint! Learn more about Onshape here: http://swampcastle.blogspot.com/2015/08/onshape-shapes-up-great.html. Access the model at https://cad.onshape.com/documents/5c003295166a40c699e9ca02/w/8ec0747e1c854c81bd8468e9/e/b660adf4fde44b19baf860fa. To use it, rotate the arm to an angle and read the Sine and Cosine values on the scales. These values are for a "unit" circle (radius of 1). Multiply by your desired radius for other circles. Sine and cosine are trigonometric functions defined using right triangles, as shown in one figure on the Harmonic Transformer. The green line is the hypotenuse (radius), while the blue line represents the "adjacent" side, and the magenta line is the "opposite" side. The lengths of these sides correspond to the readings on the cosine and sine scales, respectively. Detailed assembly instructions with photos are available at http://swampcastle.blogspot.com/2013/11/harmonic-transformer-for-classroom.html. This model is my original Ideal Harmonic Transformer with enhanced labels for ease of use and improved readability.