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Building Leonardo da Vinci's Self-Propelled Cart — The First Programmable Robot
Around 1478 Leonardo da Vinci designed a cart that drives itself: no ox, no push, no rider. Coiled springs store the power, wooden gears carry it to the wheels, an escapement doles it out evenly, and pegs set into a control wheel steer the cart along a route decided in advance. It is spring power, gear reduction, escapement timing and programmable control in one machine — an ancestor of both the automobile and the robot. In 2004 a museum in Florence built it to his drawings and it ran exactly as designed. This blueprint reconstructs that remarkable machine.
Erfahren
30
Anweisungen
1
1
Understand the machine
Understand the machine
Leonardo's cart carries its own power source and steers itself. Wound springs drive it, gears set the speed, an escapement keeps it steady, and pegs on a control wheel turn it left or right on cue. Often called the first robot, it was reconstructed in Florence in 2004 and ran just as he drew it.
2
2
Build the frame and wheels
Build the frame and wheels
Build a low, sturdy wooden frame carrying an axle front and rear. Cut round wheels and mount them so they turn freely, and bore the axle bearings cleanly so there is little friction to waste the spring's energy.
Materialien für diesen Schritt:
Beech Lumber3 StückBenötigte Werkzeuge:
Hand Saw
Hand Auger3
3
Make the coiled springs
Make the coiled springs
The power comes from two coiled leaf springs set in drums beneath the frame. Winding them stores energy; as they slowly unwind they turn the drive. This clockwork-style spring drive — not a falling weight — is Leonardo's key idea.
Materialien für diesen Schritt:
Leaf Spring2 StückBenötigte Werkzeuge:
Wooden Mallet4
4
Cut and fit the wooden gears
Cut and fit the wooden gears
Cut cogged wooden gearwheels that take the drive from the spring drums and gear it down to the road wheels, so the stored energy is delivered at a slow, steady, useful speed instead of one violent burst.
Materialien für diesen Schritt:
Wooden Gear4 StückBenötigte Werkzeuge:
Gouge
Knife5
5
Add the escapement
Add the escapement
Fit an escapement — the same regulating trick used in clocks — between the springs and the gears. It releases the spring's energy in small, even steps, keeping the cart's speed controlled rather than letting it bolt and stop.
Materialien für diesen Schritt:
Wooden Gear1 StückBenötigte Werkzeuge:
Knife6
6
Build the programmable steering
Build the programmable steering
Set removable pegs into a horizontal control wheel geared to the drive. As that wheel turns, each peg nudges the steering to a preset angle, so the cart follows a path you program in advance by where you place the pegs — turn the pegs, change the route.
Materialien für diesen Schritt:
Beech Lumber1 Stück
Binding Rope5 MeterBenötigte Werkzeuge:
Hand Auger7
7
Wind, set down, release
Wind, set down, release
Wind the springs to store energy, place the cart on the floor, and release the catch. It rolls away under its own power and steers itself left and right exactly as the pegs command, with no one touching it.
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8
See why it was centuries ahead
See why it was centuries ahead
Spring power, gear reduction, escapement regulation and programmable control together in one device — roughly 400 years before the automobile and the programmable machine. The 2004 Florence reconstruction proved these were not fantasies: Leonardo's cart genuinely works.
Materialien
4- 4 StückPlatzhalter
- 2 StückPlatzhalter
- 5 StückPlatzhalter
- 5 MeterPlatzhalter
Materialien verbundener Blueprints
You can swap these in
Can't get one of the materials? Swap it for an equivalent — these work just as well.
- Instead of Beech Lumber, try:
Yellow Birch Lumber
Western Hemlock Lumber - Instead of Knife, try:
Gilder's Knife
Blunt Collection Knife
Sharp Cinnamon Knife - Instead of Hand Saw, try:
Portable Band Saw
Band Saw (9-inch, Benchtop)
Miter Box with Saw
Small Hand Saw - Instead of Binding Rope, try:
Lowering Rope
Heavy-Duty Rope - Instead of Wooden Mallet, try:
Rubber Mallet
Verwandte Blueprints
Diese Blueprints teilen Wissen — Techniken, Materialien oder Prinzipien
Related blueprints
Other builds that share materials, tools, or techniques with this one.
Building Leonardo da Vinci's Armored Car — The Ancestor of the Tank
Building Leonardo da Vinci's Aerial Screw — The Ancestor of the Helicopter
Building Leonardo da Vinci's Parachute — The Sealed Linen Pyramid of 1485
Building Leonardo da Vinci's Revolving Bridge — The Swing Bridge for a Marching Army
Building Leonardo da Vinci's Ornithopter — The Flapping-Wing Flying Machine
Building a Roman Ballista — The Torsion-Powered Bolt Throwerengineering
CC0 Gemeinfrei
Dieser Blueprint ist unter CC0 veröffentlicht. Sie dürfen dieses Werk für jeden Zweck frei kopieren, ändern, verbreiten und verwenden, ohne um Erlaubnis zu fragen.
Unterstützen Sie den Maker, indem Sie Produkte über seinen Blueprint kaufen, wo er eine Maker-Provision von Anbietern festgelegt, verdient. Oder erstellen Sie eine neue Iteration dieses Blueprints und verbinden Sie ihn in Ihrem eigenen Blueprint, um Einnahmen zu teilen.