Trammel of Archimedes, Snap, Ellipsograph, Ellipse, Math, Model

cults3d

All kids should have one of these to ponder math, I believe.\n\nThe Archimedes trammel is a cool geometric structure for making ellipses or exploring simple and fun math relationships. It's pretty easy to design in Fusion 360 or any other 3D design program. It needs a bit of the Pythagorean Theorem if you want to be accurate; it also lets students play with elliptical curves. How do we know the curve drawn is actually an ellipse?\n\nIn this design, I made the sliders pretty loose for easy installation. There are two types of sliders here for smooth assembly. The sliders can either snap into the arm or be fastened using caps (with a dab of glue if needed).\n\nI also designed the handle to fit a school pencil (up to 8.5mm in diameter) so you can either turn the handle around for fun or stick a pencil in and do some real drawing!\n\nOf course, you can just use a handle-less bar and make a fidget toy - soothing and mind-entertaining.\n\nReferences:\n\nArchimedes Trammel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trammel_of_Archimedes\nEllipsographs: Do-nothing machines that do so much! http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/ellipsographs