Theatrum Anigraphicum

A zoëtrope animation projector that draws it's own animations.

Video music: André Popp, Musique Magique

Team members

Bas Pijls
Paola Zanchetta Muñoz
Saco Heijboer
Sander Blom

Files

Animations
Animation disc generator
Luminus PCB design
Design files
Arduino Mega RAMPS firmware
Processing software

Process

On the first day we decided to make a product that any of us would find challenging but could be contributed to by all team members. It would be an animation machine that could draw it's own images.
The idea was pitched and cleared by Henk.
The machine would be a "turntable" design. The images would be drawn using an arm and a rotating disc.
The disk would contain registers to signify wether a stroboscope lamp would turn on or off.
One idea was to bend the beam of light in order to project images on the wall.
The first attempt at making a circular animation involded cutting patterns from a disc.
The strobe was triggered using holes in the cardboard, an IR transistor on one side and an IR LED omn the other.
The strobe light consists of Luminus LEDs that are triggered using a MOSFET.
commonground
Prototype
Prototype
eureka
brightlight
Testing the projection
Projecting an images on the wall actually worked. The LED was too faint though.
To be able to do the turntable style machine some maths were involved.
disk_led
drawingprojection
Calculating angles
A Processing program was written to convert a list if images to a circular pattern.
Lots of time was "wasted" on electronic components that didn't work afterall.
Some MOSFETS like to be before the load and some don't.
Eventually the RAMPS 1.4 board would suffice. Misusing the MOFSETS on board to trigger the luminus and a solenoid to lift the pen.
The strobe was triggered by an IR transceiver and an IR LED being obstructed by markings on the disc.
Test setup
The entire machine
The underside of the machine
mirror_holder_render
lens_assembly
A simulation of an animation using a rotating dics
Simulation of drawing a fish
>Simulation of drawing a fish
Testing the strobe