Polargraph Retractable Pen Head

thingiverse

Design for a Polargraph Machine Retractable Pen Head and Gondola. The objective was to develop a gondola that could remove the pen from the drawing surface without moving the entire unit. What is lost from the classic Polargraph design are the pivoting arms that ensure the pen remains at the center point of the two belts suspending the pendulum. In my version, I laser cut out of plexiglass the round hubs of the gondola and the spacers between the hubs. The files include an Illustrator template with these pieces, as well as STL files for those who prefer to print them. Additionally, I created plexi stepper motor mounts for the large motors required to drive the larger scale machine, as well as counter weight brackets. Thanks to Sandy Nobel for his machine design and software. This project was built at the MadSci Lab. The content drawn by the machine was designed by Rui Pereira. Details and video here: https://www.instructables.com/id/Large-Scale-Polargraph-Drawing-Machine-W-Retractable/