Printed Machine with Concrete

thingiverse

Inspired by Arthur Ganson's "Machine with Concrete," this article offers instructions for creating a printable version of the sculpture. The sculpture consists of twelve 50:1 worm gears with each gear reducing 1/50th of the previous gear, resulting in an impressive final gear ratio of 244,140,625,000,000,000,000 : 1. If the first gear spins at 200RPM, it would take over 2 trillion years for a single revolution at the end of the machine, making the final drive shaft suitable for embedding in concrete or plaster. The author emailed Arthur Ganson a link to the page and received a reply saying "looks FANTASTIC!" A video of this sculpture can be viewed at http://youtu.be/E7Pw2sD2dHg. For more information about Arthur Ganson and his work, please see TED talk at http://www.ted.com/talks/arthur_ganson_makes_moving_sculpture.html. The printable version requires specific STL files for the bearings and motor used, but customization options are available for size, shaft shape, motor stand dimensions, and bearing stands. The author suggests using PLA filament without a heated build platform for the worm gears to achieve the best results. After printing all parts tightly fit together without glue, and a concrete or plaster form can be poured in place for a perfect fit. An alternative to concrete is suggested as plaster. The author encourages feedback and suggestions for improvements in the comments section.