Master maker, cartoonist, author, and artist Tim Hunkin spent his pandemic downtime producing a series, “The Secret Life of Components”, to introduce designers and builders to the bits and pieces he uses in his fanciful machines.
While a single lever provides mechanical advantage, connecting multiple levers together into linkages allows complex transformations of motion from simple linear or rotary inputs. Cams, cranks, and combinations of these simple components solve many problems in mechanical design.