things I want to see open sourced ASAP.
I’d like to see good open files for each and every model in this book.
It’s public domain, written in 1868 and discusses a HUGE amount of various mechanical tools that would incredibly valuable in an open source format that scales and can be drag and dropped into place to build very complex things as 3d printed files.
I’m posting this here, and probably in a maker community, and an open source community, Because dammit, my skills in autodesk123d just aren’t where I want them. Nor was I able to pull it off using sketchup. And I really want this to happen.
I’m sure people here are up to the task, and a few might be looking for a worthy project.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/441240/Five-hundred-and-seven-mechanical-movements
Sounds like a good idea. A big question remains, however, of the choice of tool/format for these designs. I’ve used OpenSCAD in the past and really enjoyed it, but I’m not sure it has the desired “drag around parts and scale them and whatnot” usability. I’ve heard good things about LibreCAD but haven’t made time to investigate it.
I think a few people have come across this book and wanted to build some of the contraptions within, I know I have. I made a start on #27 here: http://garyhodgson.github.com/githubiverse-tst/
@Gary_Hodgson Nice! exactly what I was hoping to see.
also Alex Schlegel made a couple models back in 2008. http://www.roguecheddar.com/portfolio/mechanical_movements_nos_27_36
I’m imagining a tool that would allow this sort of thing to be drag and droppable into the models people design, allowing the construction of unbelievably complex things without needing to be master crafstman themselves, as master craftsmen have done the hard bits for them already.
those 2 were exactly the ones that directly jumped at me, when browsing the book 
awesome stuff
I have a copy of that book, but I have gotten distracted from trying to build any of them. I was looking more in terms of lathe and mill work than 3D printing though, I’m a little embarrassed to say. Adding the printer to the tool set should make some of the parts a lot easier to build.
Man! I hope ALL the Gods bless you for this link. Wow, I think 2 hours of my day just went out the window looking through this book.
Speaking of which, there is a strangeness to the experience of reading it. I grabbed it a while ago during the MakerBot clockmaking collab era, and found it impossible to put down. But at the same time, it is a strange experience. You see progressions of ideas and get inspired, but more and more I was just itching to grab ahold of these things to see what the force would be like on the various parts. … it really would be cool to 3D print these out.
why is it in scribd? i get nightmares just from looking at the login box…
dunno. search for 507 mechanical movements, its in every format you want, most likely.
Looks like something #Sketchup could easily handle. It’s all a matter of someone/people dedicating the time and doing it. Really neat book, I’m going to bookmark it for sure!
You might also like ‘Mechanisms, Linkages, and Mechanical Controls’ : http://www.amazon.com/Mechanisms-Linkages-Mechanical-Controls-Chironis/dp/0070107750/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357741197&sr=8-1&keywords=mechanisms+linkages+and+mechanical+controls
I received a copy of it recently and it is much higher quality with better drawings and text than ‘507 Mechanical Movements’. One of my friends at the local maker space is also getting a copy, and we’re hoping to build some versions of the devices using the 3D printer.