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. Fourteen episodes were featured here from April through July of 2022, and may be found at the following links.
- Sensors
- Motors
- Screw Threads
- Bearings
- Springs
- Glue
- Chains and Belts
- Hinges
- Switches
- Connectors
- Linkages and Mechanisms
- Light-Emitting Diodes
- Prototypes
Now he’s back, with a new series for 2023, the first of which covers pneumatic actuators, air compressors to run them, manual and electrically-controlled valves, and how the compressibility of air can be used to control and sense motion in ways rigid mechanical linkages and hydraulics cannot achieve.