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Research

Kinetic Rotating Sculpture

Tags

Engineering, Prototype, STEM Education, Art, GitHub

Kinetic Sculpture ‘Kit’

The Challenge

To design an engaging and accessible STEM activity for children that teaches the core principles of mechanical engineering. Inspired by the work of kinetic artist David C. Roy, the goal was to create a compact, continuously moving sculpture that could be built with familiar components (LEGOs) to demonstrate concepts like gear ratios, rotational motion, and system design.

My Solution & Approach

I designed and prototyped a complete kinetic sculpture kit intended as a hands-on STEM learning experience. The process began by engineering the core drive system entirely from LEGO Technic parts. A key part of the design was solving the mechanical challenge of creating smooth, counter-rotating motion from a single motor, which led to the development of a custom gearbox. With the mechanism established, I then designed two distinct blade patterns in Vectorworks based on David C. Roy’s iconic ‘Infinity’ and ‘Vice Versa’ sculptures, which could be easily fabricated from cardstock.

Kinetic Sculpture Demo

Technical Highlights & Learnings

  1. STEM Activity Design: Conceived and prototyped a complete, self-contained project designed to teach children fundamental mechanical engineering concepts in an engaging way.
  2. Custom Gearbox Design: Successfully engineered a LEGO Technic gearbox to achieve a specific speed and create a smooth, counter-rotating motion from a single motor input.
  3. CAD for Fabrication: Designed original, intricate blade patterns in Vectorworks, suitable for easy fabrication from common materials like cardstock.
  4. Rapid Mechanical Prototyping: Utilized LEGO Technic components to rapidly iterate on the core drive system, frame, and gearbox, proving out the design for the educational kit.
Final Blade Designs for Printer

Project Files

GitHub Repository: EPS and SVG blade design files are available on GitHub. LEGO instructions coming soon.

LEGO Gearbox

Tools & Technologies Used

Design Software: Vectorworks
Mechanical Components: LEGO Power Functions XL-Motor, LEGO Technic gears and structural elements