A couple of months ago someone pointed me to this fascinating video from Disney Research – Computational Design of Mechanical Characters. It’s full of some amazing character models featuring realistic motion, all achieved using mechanical links and gears. Of course I was immediately inspired to build my own version of the Sisyphus model out of LEGO parts. I definitely wanted to add my own touch to it though and, in addition to tweaking the geometry a little, I decided to add a boulder and extend the motion to it as well. You can see the results in the video below, where I also discuss the details of the mechanics. I have put together building instructions for both the full model and just the core, if you are only interested in building the main mechanism. PDF FileDigital Model FilesLDraw File Depending on the relative orientation of the two crank shafts when you connect the chain, the motion of the legs and the body/boulder may not be in sync. It’s quite easy to adjust this after the fact – just slide the 12 tooth double bevel gear (the black one on the main drive shaft) to disengage the leg crank shaft, orient the two crank shafts as they are depicted in the instructions, then reengage the gear.
The national award winning Educational Construction Toys, Laser Pegs® are the first lighted construction toys in the world that feed the next piece low voltage current to illuminate your creations with LED’s. You can design and build anything you want with Laser Pegs® and use them lit up or turned off. Laser Pegs are Unique Toys that teach kids spacial relations, helps children develop creative abstract thinking, encourages children to learn to solve problems, bolster math skills by grouping and improved hand and eye coordination. Laser Pegs inspire children to use their imagination and they become excited and focused on building beautiful models. Laser Pegs are the world’s only illuminated construction sets. Laser Pegs are educational and fun light up construction kits for children. The sets can be made into at least 3 different creations and when connected to the base, light up in a variety of colors. Game play is unlimited and open ended thanks to connector kits, play tables, light boards, even sound cubes and ABC building blocks.
They are easy to connect, run with a very low voltage and the LED lights have a life span of 100,000 hours. Here are just some of the benefits Laser Peg Construction Kits offer Laser Pegs® is the original lighted construction toy that combines 2 things kids love: light and building. Laser Pegs® newest line is the brightest release yet. From Mythology to Sci-Fi, this line includes 10 newly themed kits that make unique gifts for kids. Each kit comes with a large number of models to assemble and NEW Laser Pegs® shapes. If you are blessed with young children, you are probably aware of the growing importance of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) field in the school system … and its exploding job market. STEM principles are quickly becoming the most valuable skills for any child to master. What if I told you that your child could learn valuable STEM and educational principles – while loving every minute of it? We all want our children to grow up to be happy, successful, and independent.
But how do we get them started on the right path? For young children, the answer is simple: TOYS! And the best toy to teach your child in the most exciting way possible? Ole Kirk Christiansen was the founder of the Danish construction toy company the Lego Group, which we all affectionately refer to today as “legos”. He was the 10th son of an impoverished family in Jutland in western Denmark. We have taken this brilliant concept, and transformed it into an interactive toy that literally “comes to life” as your child builds whatever their imagination desires! Laser Pegs offers your child the opportunity to create anything: From helicopters, animals, people – anything! While the children have fun building, Laser Pegs teach a variety of STEM approved principles like hand eye coordination, cognitive development, math by grouping, and spacial relations. What makes Laser Pegs different from any other construction toy out there? Laser Pegs lights up! Most Laser Pegs parts light up, (the 90 degree peg doesn’t).
Each Laser Pegs piece emits an LED through the reflective prisms of the individual Laser Pegs parts and construction pieces. This allows each creation to come to life with each added Laser Pegs piece and part. Once connected to any Laser Pegs Powerbase, the colorful lights radiate throughout your child’s creation, capturing their imagination and bringing it to life before their very eyes! The lights can stay on, flash, flash faster, even flash to the beat of a song… There is nothing else like it, and they are magical to see in action! We urge and encourage you to explore this website and learn all you can about these amazing toys everything it does to help your child succeed! How it works: Once connected to a power base, each Laser Pegs® shape feeds the next shape through a low voltage current that illuminates the enclosed LED so that these incredible structures light up as you build. These shapes form a modular open-ended construction system where every kit can be used with one another to build beyond what has been imagined in kids building toys.
Laser Pegs® unique design makes them compatible with Lego® and Magformers® to give your child the ability to build in every direction and with a huge number of other toys and models. One of the best gifts for kids and unique among kids construction toys, Laser Pegs® give the pure joy of creating with light. These beautiful shapes keep children playing for hours on end. Advancing beyond the box kits, this new release includes the Laser Pegs® Play Table set, which is one of the hottest new innovations in the toy industry. With 144 connection points along its surface, it allows for groups of kids to play together at one time and from any part of the tabletop. Laser Pegs® has also released the Pendant (their first mobile power base) and the Recordable Sound Cubes, making this an incredible building system. With new parts to expand your mind and the most creative models so far, these new releases have been changing the way kids build. Laser Pegs® is a perfect kids learning toy.
These sets provide a safe way to foster imagination and promote creativity while keeping kids engaged. Laser Pegs® was honored among construction toys and educational toys with the Oppenheim Toy Platinum Award, Dr. Toy’s Best 100, Dr. Toy’s Top 10 Tech and Parenting Magazine’s Toy of the Year. With many different high contrast colors and shapes that snap together securely, Laser Pegs® are visually and tactilely stimulating. They provide a hands-on approach to learning that can be used in any home or classroom and with a wide age range of students. Each Laser Pegs® shape is made from entirely one mold making it next to impossible to be swallowed. The low voltage current is less than 6 volts, eliminating any chance of being shocked. Laser Pegs® are 100% recyclable and environmentally friendly. Each power base included in every Laser Pegs® kit can be used with LEGO Bricks, LEGO Blocks, LEGO Plates and all other LEGO type construction bricks and pieces. Laser Pegs® are powered by an AC Adapter, LR44, AAA or AA batteries.