Asinas
Created with Yash Sathe
Asinas is a kinetic sculpture to explore different mechanisms and model prototyping with limited resources. This sculpture was created with Yash Sathe. We tried to replicate the kinetic mechanics of Jennifer Townley's Asinas.
Conceptualization
The Asinas has alternate pieces moving in opposite directions on the same axis. The sketch above describes our own solution to the problem of having to rotate alternate pieces independently on a single axis. Further, the rotations needed to be of different speed but be controlled by a single hand crank. We decided that a planetary gear system accompanied by smart use of a single axle and spacers will achieve all that we want to achieve.
CAD tools were use to figure out the right size, proportion, rotation and spacing. This helped us easy visualize the overall form of the sculpture and also extract individual shapes and mounting points for the next step.
Implementation
All the individual pieces were hand cut using templates and are made from white foam board
Tools were creatively used to implement the design with minimal resources
The planetary gear mechanism was first created with a low fidelity mockup using foam board to test it out. After that, we laser cut the parts on acrylic and used bearings to create a functional gear setup which was ready to be mounted on our sculpture.