zoetrope and praxinoscope kit

cults3d

The zoetrope is one of the earliest animation gadgets. Created by William Horner in the early 19th century, it’s an improvement on previous inventions (they all had amazing names like phénakisticope, phantasmascope, Stereophoroskope, etc). The zoetrope is a big cylinder with slits down the sides. The frames are positioned on a strip on the inner wall of the barrel, and when you spin it and look through the slits, an optical illusion called “persistence of view” makes your brain process it as a continuous, flowing image. If “animating” means to give life (anima) to something, the name zoetrope is very fitting - “zoe” (life) and “tropos” (turning), the “wheel of life”. In 1877, following the tradition of extravagant names, the Praxinoscope (“praxis” - action, “scope” - viewer, not as poetic as zoetrope) was invented by Charles-Emile Reynaud. It solved one of the issues of its earlier iterations: the use of mirrors instead of slits produced a sharper and clearer image. The mirrors could be parallel to the frames, like the zoetrope, or angled, creating a more impressive, holographic effect (at least for 19th century standards). This kit includes files for 3D-printing a crank-operated zoetrope, parallel praxinoscope, and angled praxinoscope, as well as a praxinoscope barrel you can fit on your record player. For the praxinoscopes you will need mirrors cut to the right size. You can either order it from a glass shop or use acrylic mirrors - they’re safe for kids and you can score and cut them at home with a simple hobby knife. You will also need some nuts and bolts, a couple of ball bearings and a threaded rod, all listed in the bill of materials. sourced parts: M8 threaded rod (335mm / 285mm depending on the print size) x1 M8 nut x3 608ZZ bearings - skateboard size - (8mm x 22mm x 7mm) x4 M5 nut x2 M8x75mm bolt (hex head) x1 M5x10mm bolt x1 M5x20mm bolt x1 6809ZZ bearing (45mm x 58mm x 7mm) x1 I recommend using 2mm acrylic mirrors for this project. They are readily available online, safe to handle, and can be easily cut at home. In case you are unable to find acrylic mirrors locally, you can have glass mirrors cut for you at a glass shop using the templates provided in the templates PDF.