Page 15 - Making things move_ DIY mechanisms for inventors, hobbyists, and artists

xiv Making Things Move

making things move, it becomes more like cooking. After you get the basic recipes
down, you can start adding your own ingredients and experimenting.

You can also use this book as a reference manual, especially if you have theoretical
knowledge of how things work but want a practical guide to making things move.
This latter scenario is where I was after my undergraduate education in engineering.
I could figure out the torque or force I needed to make things move, but couldn’t tell
you how to choose a motor or attach something to its shaft. They don’t teach that
kind of stuff in school (at least not where I went), so you need to learn it through
experience. I hope this book will help you start higher on the practical learning curve
than I did.

Your Ideas Are Your Biggest Assets

Although very little prior knowledge of mechanisms is assumed in this book, anything
you do know will help you, and I do mean anything.

The most important thing you bring to the table is an idea. Some of the most amazing
projects I’ve seen have come from people with no prior experience in hands-on
projects, and certainly no engineering degree. If you’re a passionate musician who has
an idea for a guitar that plays itself, you are more likely to end up with a great project
than if you’re an engineer who thinks you know how a guitar works but have never
picked one up. This book will give you the tools to make your passions into projects
and your concepts into realities. The tools are here, along with examples of how to
use them, but the ideas on how to apply them come from you.

I don’t claim to be an artist. My right brain is not nearly as developed as most of the
students and designers I’ve had the pleasure of working with. However, I do claim to
know how to talk nonengineers through the process of creating things that move.
You could use this book as a light read to kill time on a Saturday night, but what I’m
banking on is that this book will give you the tools and techniques you need to take
that concept for a human-powered smoothie blender out of your head and into reality.
The book includes plenty of projects that you can build, but the applications of the
concepts and skills are limited only by your imagination. Mechanisms can seem a little
scary at first, but once you break down a complicated project into its elements, you’ll
learn that it’s not so daunting after all. This book will enable you. And the more you
learn, the more inspiration you will have for future projects.