Cardboard Automata Instructions

As posted before, here is the link to the activity we are completing. Many thanks to the folks at the Exploratorium for their assistance!

There are a few modifications we made when compared to the document at the link.

Objective
Create a cardboard "machine" from evveryday objects.

Project Materials
Cardboard box(es) (size doesn't matter)
Masking tape
Nail
Flexible drinking straws
Thick foam board
Corrugated plastic
Skewers (3 - 5)
Hot glue guns and appropriate glue sticks
Nuts of various sizes (diameter of hole is 1/4 inch)
Washers of various sizes (diameter of hole is 1/4 inch)
Template for circle
Heavy Duty Scissors
Sandpaper

Decorative Materials
Pipe cleaners
Crepe paper
Construction Paper
Pom poms
Glitter Glue
Popsicle Sticks (aka craft sticks)
Feathers
Colored Markers/Crayons/Pencils/Pens
Styrofoam cups/balls
Etc

Procedure
1. Cut the flaps off the box
2. Cut the box in half so that you have two frames
3. Cut triangles out of the flaps and tape them into each corner of the frame for support
a. Triangles made out of corrugated plastic provided better support than the cardboard
4. The document hyperlinked above contains a set of motions that one can choose from. The first time we did this, the students choose either the "Round and Round" or "Up and Down" motions. The next time around, the students chose two motions to reproduce. However, they could NOT choose either "Round and Round" or "Up and Down." Most of the listed motions consists of two cams (similar to a gear) with horizontal cam (aka the cam follower) positioned atop a vertical cam (aka the main cam)
5. After examining the different motions, construct the necessary cams. The cams were made out of corrugated plastic rather than foam board.
6. Make main axle
a. Push the skewer through one side of the box, into the main cam, and out of the other side of the box. Tip: Use a nail or a pen tip to help create the necessary holes in the box and cam.
b. Optional: Cut off the pointed end of the skewer
7. Attach a handle
a. Cut a small rectangle from the cardboard flap and glue it edgewise to either end of the skewer you just inserted into the box.
b. Glue a second piece of a skewer stick to the opposite edge of the rectangle to complete the handle.
8. Add the cam follower
a. Use a nail to poke a hole in the top of the frame. Ideally, you want the hole to be over the area above your main cam.
b. Insert a segment of the drinking star and glue the drinking straw into place.
c. Insert your second skewer through the drinking straw.
d. Insert the cam follower on the end of the skewer "hanging" over the main cam.
9. Test out your motion. Adjust the cams until you get the motion you want.
Tip: Adding a washer/nut to the cam follower for extra weight may help.
10. Once you are satisfied with the motion, glue the cam follower unto its skewer
11. If your main cam and main axle move out of place, cut out a small piece of the Foam board and glue it to the end of the AXLE!
12. Decorate your automata!

Adjustments

• As mentioned before, it's better to use the corrugated plastic to make support triangles. Also, I found it helpful to place the triangles in the corners situated diagonally across and on the opposite side of the frame as opposed to putting triangles all on the same side of the frame
• In some cases, the box would be larger than what I needed. In such a situation, I wound up making my own box by cutting out a section and taping the box together. The box would become a bit skewed, but it got the job done. In cases where the box was longer than the skewer, students
  
• During the prototyping phase, I actually created my own box with the flaps. I cut slits into the flaps and pieced them together. It worked out quite nicely for me and the "box" looked cool in my opinion. Others weren't so quick to agree...lol. I'll see if I can post pictures.
  
• Corrugated plastic served best for making the material to make the cams out of. The thick foam board (nor cardboard) don't have the necessary friction. When prototyping, I used sand paper on the edges/face of my cams to help create the friction. Sometimes it works
• The side-to-side motion is troublesome!!! I eventually was able to create such a motion, but it required pivotal thinking (get it, pivot...ha...OK bad pun, but still, give me some credit). In the end, I wound up using the flexible piece of the flex-straws to create a pivot point. Then I tried gluing the straw into place (it didn't work). What did work is I used the pipe cleaner and threaded it through the straw piece and wrapped it around the skewer, then glued it. Oh...and you CAN'T have a straw going through the hole for the axle for your cam follower!

Ways in which to improve/insight
Despite trying out several materials, it was challenging to find the right combination to creating the cams. It wasn't so much as making them, as trying to get the cams to work correctly. The hyperlinked document suggests making the cams out of thick foam board, but for me, the foam board had too much slippage when I turned the handle, even when I sanded the edges of the main cam and the contact face of the cam follower. I'll have to find something that works.

Personal Thoughts
A very fun and creative project. A concern I have is cutting out the pieces on the corrugated plastic. It is not easy, even with heavy duty scissors or an X-acto knife. I also tried using a box cutter.
I really enjoyed this. As at the Exploratorium, I'd like to incorporate this project as part of a workshop or have it be used as part of our repertoire of hands-on activities.

Up next: Sound Automata!

Greg