Iron Man 2 Swinging Sticks aka Double Pendulum

Like many of you, after watching Iron Man 2 (which was awesome, by the way) I was very interested in the “Swinging Sticks” sculpture on Pepper Potts’ desk. A little bit of searching turned them up for sale. They could be mine for just under $300. If they were a whole lot under $300, I would have bought them. Instead I set out to make my own version.



Unfortunately, the one for sale runs on batteries, so this is not an exact replica of it.  This is more like a modified double pendulum.  Double pendulums are pretty cool by themselves.  Much has been written on them, including some pretty cool flash simulations

This is an entry in the Kinetic Sculpture Contest, so please rate it and vote on it when the time comes.

Step 1: Materials

At the minimum you're going to need:

Rods for the main beams - I used 3/8" diameter steel.
Bearings - sized to fit the rod
Rods for the axles - I used 1/8" diameter steel.

Drill press
Drill bits
Reamers

Comments

[DavidMarks]

Tried to make one of these (unsuccessfuly !) before so I was very pleased to see yours. On thing worries me however. The dimensions you give for your final build don't seem to add up. If the overall length is 13 then surely the distance from the middle pivot to the end of the bar is seven & and three quarters.

[minh123]

it's so cool but i don't know where to find rod for the main beams :( can u help me?

[minh123]

i think that do it with the chopstick wil make it lighter

[minh123]

i think that do it with the chopstick wil make it lighter

[Spiky1987]

Hi , i'm trying to do the 3d model of the arms and, the Long Arm. If you put the first pivot at 1/4 and the second 5" after, the End to pivot gives : 7.437 "

Did you inverse some measurement ? As I can see on your picture, the long arm has the second pivot at something like 6"

Thanks :)

[blinkyblinky]

Nice. To add batteries, simply install one magnet at each end and use this schematic. Actually, you should use a micro controller or incorporate a random generator to push it randomly. Very nice.

[jeff-o]

Very cool. Did you do any research into what sort of mechanism could be made drive the pendulum? I guess it would be electromagnetic or something, running on batteries...

[ben_xman]

You can certainly add something like this to it. I have actually made this circuit customly and I works pretty well. There is just an annoying beep everytime the capacitor releases its charge, but it should work.

http://www.solarbotics.com/assets/documentation/solarbotics_sunswinger_kit_jan082007.pdf

[bloomautomatic]

Yes, but I had no intention of adding that, so I didn't dig too deep. I assume it's electromagnetic. There are similar kinetic sculptures that rotate continuously - a jumping dolphin and a space shuttle/planet comes to mind, that are cheap enough to crack open to see what makes them tick.

Vince

[jeff-o]

Yeah, I had one like that when I was a kid. I wonder if I still have it somewhere? Hmmm...

[mikeasaurus]

Nice project, and the video is awesome. Good job on your craftsmanship, hitting close to that magic ratio is hard.

Have you considered LED's on the pendulum ends in a dark room? Might make a neat time-lapse, too!

[aeray]

Nice four-fold rule. I use a 6' folder frequently, but I haven't been able to find a good four-fold yet.

[bloomautomatic]

Thanks. I think it's a Stanley #27, if memory serves. It belonged to my grandfather. Not sure how old, but the number style looks older than one I saw for sale that was supposed to be 1940. Wouldn't surprise me to find out it's from the 30's.

[bloomautomatic]

I guess my memory isn't that great! It's a "C-S Co. No. 68"

[aeray]

I'll have to renew my search.

[Kiteman]

Nice piece - I'm impressed that the base is bulky enough to hold it still in use.

[bloomautomatic]

As long as you don't get too crazy with spinning it, it works fine. I should attach it to a larger plate - like 6" square, but I probably won't get around to that since it works well enough as is!

[ChrysN]

Nice!