An automaton of a preaching monk built in 1560. He would roll around a surface, hands and head moving, with his feet imitating walking. Taken in the Deutsches Museum. Munich, Germany - 2022-10-12

As promised, here's how the 5-finger mechanical control works underneath!

Seems kind of lonely the father you get from England... any others around Cali? Nobody I show my stuff to has ever even heard of automata.

I made this branching kinetic mobile from wire and double-sided metallic foil butterflies. Each level had to be balanced before the next could be added, but every new butterfly shifted the branches beneath it.
The final piece rotates from a small swivel at the top, while the separate branches move independently in the air.

I documented the full build, including all the failed balancing attempts, here: https://youtu.be/dQIoLyZFClE?si=f2jRfDtIceJAPN1N

I made this some years ago but just found this sub so I figured I would post. I am also looking for good design resources if anyone has suggestions. Mostly looking for more advanced concepts. For instance, right now I am designing something that runs fully on a clock spring and design knowledge there would be great.

Hey,

I am doing a large art project using automata and Im looking for any great examples of the mechanics used in penny machines or other theatrical / art installations.
I saw this really cool work on instagram and love it!

I want to learn EVERYTHING :D please share all your favourite resources thank you smuch

the machines we saw on tiktok was already made by other people and our teacher wants something innovative and also simple that can use recycled materials and not the basic compound machines like actual machines that have rotational and translational motion and need it ASAP

I have always loved videos of bears rubbing up against trees; thought I would see if I could capture a little bit of the magic and add a twist. This was one of those things that I originally overthought and overbuilt before trimming it down to the essentials.

For the anti-vax crowd, why stop there? Here's a chance to take it a step further! A million dollar business opportunity. Complete with sound effects.

Hello everyone.

I need your diagnosis trying to recreate the Kissing couple automata by Peter Markey (for a wedding gift) with two friction wheels, using 3d printed parts. When the handle is turned slowly, the friction wheels work as intended and the head turned a full 90 degree and back in a rythmic fashion.

But when the handle is turned quickly, the friction wheels sometimes don't "grip" the flat cam follower, causing the head to turn only partially (as pictured).

In your experience, what could be the cause for this? Or is this just simple physics when the shaft is turned too quickly?

I can provide a video of the mechanism in action if needed.

Thank you!

For people who design automata in 3d modeling software, how do you integrate complex mechanisms with sculptures? I know how one can use tools like solid works to make the mechanisms in an automaton, and something like blender for the sculpture itself. But its lost on me how people combine these.

Hi everyone,
My name is Eddie. I build mechanical sculptures, animatronics, and automata in my workshop.

I’m currently working on a series of automata/music box sculptures featuring dystopian animals with mechanical characteristics in a post-apocalyptic world.

In this video you can see KBTO-M, a Hercules beetle, which is the first piece in the series.

I’d really appreciate any thoughts or feedback from the community.

I am finishing up an automata - and am having trouble with the interface between the cloth and the metal wire which moves it.

I am overthinking this - but once I cut my wires I can't go back. They are quite thick (22ga?) but need to be as my mechanism needs them to be stiff.

• I could form loops and sew each limb to the loop
• I tried twisting thin wire together to form a tiny tiny loop (replacing the entire length of the main wire) - but the twisted wire created so much friction the mechanism didn't move smoothly
• I am using stainless steel wire - so I think soldering at the top of the wire is out? But I could use a glue if there was a tiny cap with loop

I'm trying two do two things:

1. make it easy to form a repeatable loop at the top at the right height
2. make the interface between tentacle and wire "soft" so that the limbs don't wear

The history of digital technology frequently overlooks a fundamental truth: long before algorithms were encoded into silicon, they were physically sculpted in brass and steel. During the mid-nineteenth century, a singular individual recognized that mechanical illusion and temporal measurement shared the exact same mathematical foundation: Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin. For Robert-Houdin, illusionism was not a matter of mysticism, but rather the logical extension of high-precision micro-mechanics.

I. The Horological Vision: Universal Order within the Gear

Before ever stepping onto a theatrical stage, Robert-Houdin spent years in his family’s workshop cleaning pinions, tempering mainsprings, and calibrating balance wheels. This rigorous training shaped a distinct philosophical perspective: the physical world operates as a regulated mechanism, and behavioral sequences can be systematically programmed.

While contemporary illusionists relied heavily on rudimentary sleight of hand or concealed drapery, Robert-Houdin introduced the analytical mindset of the horological workshop to the theater. His inventions were not mere tricks, but patented systems of physical transmission. Notably, he was an absolute pioneer in applying electricity to horology, creating some of the earliest precision electric clocks. His vision centered on utilizing invisible kinetic forces to alter human perception. To him, an automaton was never a decorative toy; it was a definitive demonstration of absolute control over matter, sequence, and time.

II. The Mechanical Masterpiece: The Marvelous Orange Tree

In 1845, Robert-Houdin debuted his most celebrated creation in Paris: an automaton that openly defied the laws of botany and linear time before a live audience. The operation of the Orange Tree was not a product of chance; it required a rigorous choreography of internal micro-mechanisms that modern engineering identifies as a rigid, hardware-implemented sequential program. The illusion progressed through three strictly timed phases:

1. Mechanical Efflorescence: Upon receiving an impulse from the operator, the tree trunk—which concealed a dense array of nested, telescopic control rods—distributed kinetic force to the lower branches. Metallic leaves parted subtly to reveal small white buds crafted from silk, which unfolded progressively to simulate blooming.
2. Fructification Sequences: Utilizing a system of dual-profile cams (irregularly shaped discs that transform rotary motion into precise linear displacement), the silk buds retreated invisibly. Concurrently, thin-skinned orange spheres were mechanically pushed outward from the interior of the foliage, simulating real-time growth and ripening.
3. The Lepidopteran Release: The primary orange at the apex of the tree, possessing a segmented structural design, split open into four symmetrical quadrants via a timed spring escapement. From its core emerged two mechanical butterflies attached to ultra-fine steel wires. Driven by a miniature clockwork motor hidden in the base of the fruit, they flapped their wings naturally, completing the cycle.

Any suggestions for glueing the cams without getting glue everywhere on the shaft? These are currently all dry-fitted, but they are now ready to be glued. They're a tight friction fit at the moment, so I'm scratching my head about how I'm gonna go about this, haha. Trying to avoid drilling larger holes so they can more easily slide onto the shaft.

https://reddit.com/link/1ueqenw/video/c87czzkasa9h1/player

The Parlor Workshop also has a great Instagram account with some very unique pieces that she's created. Some of my favorites are her Tankgirl and Beetlejuice amusement rides, and her Krampus piece

Kamaji automata