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Paper Pop, an animated version of Matt Hawkin's paper toy is now available for everyone to download for free. The model is driven by a coin weighted pendulum. Touch the box and Andy's head sways side to side and his legs swing back and forth. You can see Matt's original model and posts about the model's development at these links.
The model comes on six pages. Print the first page onto standard printer paper (80 gsm) The remaining pages should be printed onto thin card. (230 gsm / 230 micron)
Score along the dotted lines and cut out the holes before cutting out the parts. Both these jobs are easier on whole sheets of card. Dotted lines are valley folds, dashed lines are hill folds. Solid lines show where to cut.
Notice that I've cut round the edges of the glasses with a sharp knife so that they pop out from the side of the head. Fold round and glue together the head.
Glue together the two parts that make up the hair.
Glue the head fixing point into the head so that the triangular face is vertical and running front to back across the centre of the hair piece.
Glue the paper hinge to the top of the neck, make sure that you don't get glue on the crease as this will stiffen it up once the glue has dried.
Glue the hinge to the head fixing point. Let the glue dry completely before the next step.
Assemble the body as shown.
Glue the neck to the body. Use the grey areas and the small red triangles to make sure that the neck is lined up accurately with the body.
Fit the head to the hair with the four tabs. Clip the nose into place.
Fold round and glue together the box.
Slot the body onto the top of the box. Glue the two leg stumps down onto the box.
Fold round and glue down the tabs on the bottom of the box front and box back to make a triangular section tube.
Glue together the box front and box back. Take care to ensure that the parts are accurately lined up.
Glue the box tabs within the square on the box top. Make sure that you line up the two 'fronts'.
Once the glue is dry, cut out the odd shaped in the box top with a sharp knife.
Glue the box top into place, again making sure that the 'fronts' are lined up. Fold the two base flaps round and glue them into place.
Fold the four pairs for vertical flaps on the box sides inward and glue them down to make four triangular tubes. (Not yet done in the picture above.)
Fold round and glue together the box top stiffener and pendulum hanger.
Fit the pendulum hanger first. Note that the large rectangular base is used for alignment by fitting it right into the back corner of the box. Notice that there is a small gap between the triangular piece and the box back.
Glue the box top stiffener across the underside of the box. This will keep the box top level when the weight to the coins is added to the pendulum.
Assemble the two bell cranks as shown above. Don't worry, they are not supposed to be at right angles.
Fit the drive pins to the long sides of the bell cranks as shown.
Glue on the paper hinges. Again, make sure that you don't get glue on the crease line. Notice that there is a half millimetre gap between the crease line and the edge of the bell crank.
Fit the two bell cranks into place in the box. Use the grey areas and small red arrow to make sure that alignment is accurate.
Assemble the pendulum as shown above. I don't need to mention about not getting glue on the hinge crease right?
Glue the pendulum to the pendulum hanger.
Fold the linkage in half and glue it together.
Glue the paper hinges into place. Glue on the crease? No.
Fit the linkage between to two bell cranks. The notch in the linkage should just rest on the pendulum end stop (arrowed). As you move the linkage back and forth the drive pins should move alternately back and forth.
Glue the paper linkages to the drive pins.
Fit Andy to the top of the box with the drive linkages threaded through the hole in his tv box.
Glue paper knee hinges to the top of the legs. (Glue. Creases. Don't)
Fit the lower legs to Andy's leg stumps. That's better!
Glue the linkages to the back of the legs. As you do so make sure that the linkages are not going to catch on the top or bottom of the tv box hole and that the legs aren't going to snag each other.
Take four coins. (I use UK 2p pieces, 25mm diameter 7grams each) Wrap them tightly in pairs with the coin holders.
Glue the coins to the pendulum. Make sure that the coins aren't going to catch anywhere on the box or the mechanism.
That's it. Once the glue is dry whenever you touch the box Andy's head will sway and his legs will swing.
Make your Paper Pop model now. What are you waiting for!? Your fifteen minutes of fame awaits!
Thanks to Matt Hawkins for allowing me to modify his splendid model.
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Wag the Dog. The slightest tap on the box and the cute dog wags her tail. If you are a member you can download and make this pendulum powered model for free. None members can download it for a small fee.
Check out the YouTube video above (I think my music is getting a little better :-) then crack out the glue and start making your own model!
The file comes in both mono and colour versions. Print out the one of your choice. The first three sheet need to be printed onto thin card (230 micron / 230 gsm) the forth sheet should be printed onto paper. Note that the third colour sheet has a front and a back. Print out the front, flip the card and return it to the printer before printing out the back. Dashed lines are hill folds, dotted lines are valley folds, solid black lines show where to cut and grey areas where to glue.
Score along the dotted and dashed lines and cut out the holes berfore cutting out the parts,
Fold up and glue down the tab on the box back to make this triangular tube. This helps make the box top rigid.
Fold the tab on the box front and glue it down lining up the edge with the crease.
Fold over and glue down the tabs on the box sides making sure that the side is perpendicular to the main face.
Glue the two box sides to the box base carefully lining up the parts.
Glue on the box front and back again being careful with alignment.
Fold up and glue the box together and shown. Flip the box over and glue the back of the base tabs to the inside of the box.
Fold up and glue together the tail stand as shown in the picture.
Glue the tail stand to the box on the grey areas as shown.
Glue on the paper hinge.
Glue the tail stand to the paper hinge lining up the red line with the top of the tail stand.
Fold up and glue together the pendulum.
Glue the hinge to the top of the pendulum. Try not to get glue on the fold line as this stops the hinge working as well.
Glue the linkage to the underside of the pendulum. Use the narrow grey area on the hinge as a guide for alignment and use the picture to help with orientation.
Thread the pendulum into the box and glue the hinge to the box top.
Glue the end of the linkage to the tail support.
Glue the tail on to the tail support so that it has a ninety degree crease along its length.
Glue the body tabs down so that the body lines up against the edge of the hole in the box.
Curve the body over and glue it down.
Cut round the sides of the eye in the two places shown, that way they'll pop from the head a little when you roll the head round.
Curve the paws a little to give them a little depth.
Glue the ears and nose to the head.
Glue the paws and head to the box.
Glue on the back legs noticing that the back feet go flat on the box top.
Take two coins (25mm diameter, 7 grams each- I used 2p coins) and fold round and glue down the coin holders. Flip the model over and glue the coins to the front and back of the pendulum.
That's it! If the tail isn't quite vertical you can adjust it by bending the pendulum back and forth.
Tap the box and your dog will wag her tail!
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My True Love is suffering from an end of school term cold. She's wrapped up in a blanket with a honey and lemon and a box of tissues feeling sorry for her self.
To cheer her up I made her this little Mouse Hug model.
I share it here for anyone else who's true love is ill.
You can download the pdf for free at the link.
Get well soon!
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At last! School membership is available! And for a special starting price of only £49.95 per annum.
As a school member your school will have:
• Open access to all the downloads on the site.
• The Cardboard Engineering Sourcebook, a fantastic school resource.
• Use of the offline version of the mechanisms pages.
• Twelve months of varied new projects using all sorts of different techniques and mechanisms.
Initially this is for UK schools only while I work out how to accept payments from overseas. Please visit the Education page for more details and to apply.
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So, you made the Butterfly model for your true love and now you're in the mood to make more paper models.
Why not download and make the Heart Flower, it makes a beautiful table decoration and is quick and easy to make.
I think I'll make one and put it on a breakfast tray to give my true love breakfast in bed.
Lovely.
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I set up the studio flash to take pictures of the butterfly from the previous post. One of them made an interesting pzzzt sound and gave off a thin plume of smoke before I could pull the plug.
I took it apart to see what was going on and found the offending resistor in the space arrowed.
Urgh! Definitely the source of the pzzzt!
Resistors use coloured bands to show their value. There are usually four bands, the first two code for the first two digits of the resistors value, the third is the multiplier, basically the number of zeroes on the end of the number. The final band shows the tolerance of the resistor, how accurate it is.
I thought I'd make a code wheel to help find the value of resistors by dialing in their colour bands.
Download the file from the link and print out the parts onto thin card (230 gram / 230 micron) Cut out the holes the cut out the parts. Lift up the three tabs in the largest disk. Thread the other two disks into place as shown above.
Fold the tabs flat. Dab a small amount of glue on each tab and glue the cover into place. Make sure the disks are free to turn.
Flip the disk over and glue the guide on the back.
To use the Resistor Code Calculator, dial in the colours and read off the number - simple!
So for example a yellow, purple, orange resistor, would have a value of 47k ohms.
Paper engineering meets electronic engineering.
Other projects you might be interested in:
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The Fluttering Butterfly is a pendulum powered model to download, print out and make. Any slight movement of the model make the wings tremble and flap. Members can download the model at the link for free. Non-members can download the parts for a small fee.
There are three pages of parts. Print out page one and two onto thin card. (230 gram/230 micron) notice that page two has a front and a back. Print out one side, flip the card over and print the other. Page three is the same but should be printed onto thin photocopier paper (80 gram)
Score the dotted lines then carefully cut out the parts.
The finished model.
Fold the bottom of the pendulum up and glue it into place.
Fold the pendulum in half and glue it at ninety degrees.
Glue the paper hinge into place on the grey area.
Glue the two linkages to the pendulum. Notice that the linkages fit between the grey lines (arrowed)
You'll need four coins of approx. 25mm diameters. Wrap the coin holders round the two pairs of coins. Glue the coins to the end of the pendulum.
Fold the ends round and glue them down to make triangular sections.
Repeat the process with the front and back of the box.
Glue the front, back and sides to the box base as shown.
Fold the box up and glue it together.
Fold up the flaps from the base and glue it to the inside of the box.
Glue the paper hinge to the box. Make sure that the glue is completely dry before you let the hinge take the full weight of the coins.
Fold up the wing stand.
Glue on the paper hinges.
Glue the two triangular wing bases to the paper hinge.
Glue the wing stand to the box.
Glue the linkages to the wing bases.
Glue the smaller of the leaf stands into place.
Fit the leaf over the wing stand and glue it to the small leaf stand. Make sure that the leaf doesn't catch on any of the moving parts.
Glue the larger leaf stand to the side of the box in the position shown.
Glue the two lower wings into place. Make sure that the ends of the wings are touching each other.
Glue the top pair of wings into place.
Complete the model by gluing the antennae to the bottom surface of the wing bases.
Once complete, present the model to your true love. Awww!
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This model is a mechanism powered by a pendulum. It can be used as a starting point for your own automata or you can add the cute nodding sheep character. The download is available for free for members, (thanks you for your support!) None members can download the parts for a modest fee.
Print all the parts pages onto thin card (230 gram / 230 micron) except page four which should be printed onto thin paper. The first two pages are for the mechanism, the third page, the sheep character.
Score along the dotted lines and cut out any holes with a sharp knife before cutting out the parts. Both these jobs are easier on a full sheet of card.
Fold the end tabs of the two box sides up to make triangular sections.
Glue the two box sides together.
Fold down the ends and glue them down making sure that the box stays square.
Glue on the box top making sure that the flap marked front is at the front of the box!
Fold the long tabs down and glue them together to make triangular section vertical pillars.
Fold up and glue the two box stiffeners...
...and glue them into place inside the box in the positions shown.
Fold up and glue the bell crank.
Fold up and glue together the various linkages.
Glue the long link point to the pendulum.
Wrap the coin holder round three 25mm diameter coins (2p pieces) and glue them to the bottom of the pendulum.
Carefully join together the linkages with the paper hinges. Leave a very small gap (1mm) between each of the parts so that there is no glue on the crease.
Finish the mechanism by threading the parts together as shown in the picture then glue the pendulum to the top of the box and a bell crank to the box front.
At this point you'll have a working mechanism. Move the box and the pendulum will start to swing. The linkages and bell crank convert this motion into up and down movement at the push rod. Connect this to your own character to bring it to life!
If you want to try out a completed design keep going and add the nodding sheep to the top of the box.
Glue together the head and link point.
Glue the link point into the head.
Attach the neck to the head using a paper tab.
Glue a paper tab to the link point.
Fold round and glue together the body inner.
Glue the body inner into the body.
Glue together the body as shown above. Make sure that it is symmetrical.
Glue the paper tab from the inside of the head to the push rod on the box top.
Glue the neck to the body inner then glue the feet to the box top. When you are gluing the feet to the box, line them up so that the push rod doesn't touch the edges of the arch shaped hole.
That's it. Move the box and the sheep will start nodding. Now you have a fleecy friend who will agree with every thing you say!
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An animated paper octopus to download and make. Turn the handle and the double crank mechanism moves one set of tentacles slightly later than the other set giving this interesting fluid motion. The parts are free for members to download at the end of this blog post. None members can get hold of the parts file for a small fee.
There are two version of the model in the file, colour and line only. Print out the version suitable for your needs. Note that the colour version has a front and a back for each sheet. Print out the front, flip the card round and return to to the printer then print out the back.
You'll need to print out the last page, the tentacle page, four times so that you have enough tentacles!
Print out the parts onto thin card (230 micron/230gsm is ideal) Score along the dotted lines and cut out the holes marked with 'Cut Out'. Carefully cut out and collect together all the pieces.
Fold in half and glue together the linkage sides so that they are double thickness card. Set them aside until the glue is completely dry.
Once the glue is dry, cut out the centre hole with a sharp knife.
Complete the linkage sides by carefully cutting them out.
Use the end of a pair of scissors to smooth the inside of the hole. Notice that the card is now slightly mushroomed out. This helps the parts run smoothly on the completed model.
Glue the linkage sides to the appropriate inner linkage. (Match the correct colours together.) Note that the end of the inner linkage is lined up with the small red arrow on the linkage sides.
Glue the matching colour tabs to the end of the appropriate linkage.
Fold round and glue down the edges of the side pieces to make triangular sections. These will help make the sides of the box rigid.
Repeat the process for the tabs on the base of the box.
Glue together the box top and the slider tube as shown. Note that the tabs on the hole in the box top fold outwards.
Thread the slider tube up through the holes in the box top and use the tabs to glue it into place.
Glue together the inner push rod and outer push rod.
Glue the outer push rod side to the outer push rod. Note that the centre tab is folding upwards in the above picture.
Glue the outer push rod link point into place.
Fold up the inner push rod end as shown in the top picture.
Glue it into place inside the inner push rod lining up the parts as shown above.
Assemble the four crank parts as shown above. First fold round and glue down to make a diagonal piece then fold over and glue down to make this rigid square section piece.
Glue the two pairs of crank parts together as shown. Each pair has one short piece and one long piece.
Take one of the crank parts and thread the shorter of the two linkages onto the longer crank half. With the parts aligned as shown, glue the crank joiner to the crank shaft. Use the diagram and picture to help with alignment.
Thread the other linkage onto the long part of the other crank half.
Glue the crank to the crank joiner. Make sure that everything is lined up and square before the glue dries!
Fold round the ends of the crank joiner so they join the the crank parts together.
Finish off the crank assembly by gluing the small joiner tabs to the arrowed places. These will strengthen the finished crank.
Assemble the handle using the three steps pictured above.
Fold round and glue together the two square sections.
Fold up and glue one section into the other.
Roll round and glue down the long tab to complete the handle.
Glue together the eight tentacles using the top tab on each tentacle only.
Glue together the body as shown.
Roll round and glue together the tentacles.
Glue the body to the tabs at the top of the tentacles
Glue on the eyes so that they are centred on the point where the body joins the tentacles.
Work your way round the body gluing the middle tab to the adjacent tentacle.
Complete the tentacles by gluing the bottom tab to the adjacent tentacle. Note that the tentacles will now be curved slightly upwards.
Gently pre-curve the tentacles starting with a downward curve at the top and finishing with an upward curve at the ends. Looking good!
Thread the outer push rod into place into the slider tube. Thread the inner push rod inside the outer push rod. Use the picture above to make sure that you have the correct orientation.
Glue one of the box sides into place. Make sure that it is lined up accurately with the top of the box and is square.
Fit the crank through the hole in the box side. Note that the shorter linkage should fall under the inner push rod and the longer linkage under the outer push rod.
Glue the tabs to join the linkages to the push rods. Set the model aside to allow the glue to dry completely.
Thread the second side over the end of the crank and glue it into place. Again make sure that everything is lined up accurately. Let the glue dry on the side piece before testing out the mechanism.
Glue the two stand pieces into place so that the red arrows are lined up with the edge of the inner push rod.
Assemble the sixteen linkage parts. Note that the ends of the long pieces are squashed down to make a small flat area.
Glue the long pieces to the push rod. Note that they are marked 'L' and 'R'. Glue them to the left and right respectively.
Glue the linkages al the way round as shown.
Fit the body to the top of the push rod lining up parts as shown. Make sure that the eyes are pointing forward!
Glue the tentacles to the linkages. Note that there is a small dot on the tentacle to help with alignment.
Curve the end of the tentacle upwards to give an octopus like feel!
Glue the medium length linkages between the box top and the 'R' linkages using the grey areas for alignment.
Glue the shortest linkages between the L linkages and the grey areas on the outer push rod. Not that the tab connected to the push rod is folded upwards.
Glue on the handle to complete the model. Let the glue dry completely before trying the model out.
Turn the handle and be amazed at how the octopus moves!
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A double crank model to down load and make. If you are a member you can download the parts at the end of this blog post. Non-members can download the parts for a small fee in a couple of days.
Print out the parts onto thin card (230 micron/230 gsm) Score along the dotted lines and cut out the solid black lines. Grey areas show where to glue.
This animation shows the completed model in action. The single crank shaft drives two separate push rods one inside the other. The motion of the outer push rod follows ninety degrees behind the motion of the inner pushrod resulting in this interesting fluid movement. It should be a good starting point for a number of different paper animations!
So, parts and glue (PVA - white school glue) at the ready. Time to start building!
The third and forth pages of the file contain the parts of the inner and outer push rods respectively. I printed them onto different coloured card to make it clear which part did what in the final model. I used orange for outer and pink for inner.
There are four linkage sides to make up. For each one follow these steps.
1) Fold the card in half and glue it down to make it double thickness card.
2) Set it to one side until the glue is completely dry. If you try and cut it while the glue is still wet there is a risk of ripping the card.
3) Once dry, use a sharp knife to cut out the centre hole.
4) Complete the part by cutting round the outside.
Assemble the linkages by gluing on the face parts being careful to line up the end with the small arrow on the side (arrowed above).
Complete the linkage by gluing on the other side and gluing the tab to the end.
Fold round and glue together the outer push rod tube.
Glue the outer push rod side into place carefully lining it up the edges with the top of the tube.
Fold round and glue together the inner push rod.
Fold the inner push rod end in half as shown.
Apply glue to the sides of the push rod end and thread it into the inner push rod so that it is lined up as shown.
Thread the inner push rod into the outer push rod.
Assemble the two halves of the crank as shown above. The diagonal piece in the tube gives the tube rigidity. Each crank half consists of a long piece and a short piece. Glue the two crank parts together using the grey areas for alignment.
Thread the linkages onto longer sections of the crank halves as shown above.
Glue one of the cranks to the central section of crank joiner strip lining the crank up between the small arrows and the dotted line on the strip.
Fit the other crank half to the back of the top half of the crank joiner centre section. Note that the second crank half is rotated ninety degrees.
Fold the remaining flaps on the crank joiner round and glue them to the crank halves making triangular sections.
Glue together the box top and slider tube.
Thread the slider tube into the box and glue down the tabs front and back.
Fold the tabs round on the sides to make triangular sections as shown.
Carefully glue the side to the box top. Notice which way up the box top is on the photograph above.
Thread the push rods up through the slider tube.
With the shorter linkage lined up under the inner push rod, fit the crank end into the hole in the box side.
Glue the two tabs in the ends of the linkages into place on the inner and outer push rods.
Assemble the handle in three stages. Fold the two halves up to make square section tubes.
Fold and glue one half inside the other.
Roll round the long tab and glue it down.
Complete the model by gluing on the second side carefully and accurately then adding the handle.
Once the glue is dry, turn the handle and watch how the intriguing motion works. Use this as a free standing interesting mechanism or as the starting point for your own designs. Let me know how you get on!
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