blogs_blog_113

Okay, I was not expecting that. The GBC, yes, the Hippos, no.

 

That's quite an interesting gear set up that I can see. You probably already know this, but here's my advice anyway: you gotta make sure that all the gears and rods are securely in place. I know when I've made large gear contraptions, the gears like to move around and take advantage of any slack you give them, thus throwing it out of line quickly. It looks like you have them pretty well secured, but just throwing that in there.

 

The other dealio that I could see being a potential hazard is the transition from 360 degree rotation to a simple up-down movement between the gears and the hippo head levers. I know I have tried that technique a few times and never gotten it to work; it always seems to catch on something. Maybe instead of connecting them, have something on the gear that will push down on the lever once every turn, so it would be less likely to jam? Or somehow utilize pieces like this which are less likely to jam. (Although they would be a little big for your currently design?)

 

Man, hope you're able to get this working by the public days. Enjoy the convention, and still an awesome and ambitious project you've got there!

 

Hippos?  OK.  I'm liking the idea and the different hippos.  I'm with xccj about the gears, the more secure, the better.  Of course, making gears secure is always much more of a hassle than one expects.