Perpetual Looping GIF in Real Life

[@dan_m320]

Challenge: Can you do an almost perpetual motion design, that uses just a small solar panel to work? In order to work durring day without a battery.

[@Engineezy]

Oooh good challenge! I'm going to think about it!

[@vylbird8014]

i.ebayimg.com/images/g/DfgAAOSwSHpimBzz/s-l1600.jpg

[@ianbelletti6241]

Add a rechargeable battery to the mix and a solar panel strong enough to charge the battery at the same time the panel powers the mechanism. Then you don't need to worry about it stopping even in temporary darkness.

[@totally_not_a_bot]

​@@ianbelletti6241A capacitor fits that description perfectly, and is cheaper, simpler, faster, safer and more efficient than a battery with a charge controller.

[@ianbelletti6241]

@@totally_not_a_bot you don't always need a charge controller. It depends on battery type. On top of that, some lithium batteries come with built in charge controllers. Just look at the AA rechargeable lithium batteries.

[@BlckAria]

Honestly, I feel like the little drop before the ball gets picked up adds to the illusion. It looks like even that has been animated. I love it!

[@Engineezy]

Thank you!!

[@travisSimon365]

If you are considering a v2, I would love to see a version where a ball is moved by rocking the entire frame (thus removing the lever to lift the ball). It would be difficult, but the software could employ a PID controller to get smooth motion.

[@Engineezy]

Ooh thats a very cool idea! Might have to use that in a future project

[@lizekamtombe2223]

Attach the camera to the tilting frame and a smooth background so you don't see the motion.

[@covati]

YES! That's what I thought he was going to do from the beginning. I love the idea of a PID controller, but I think with a given known weight it could probably use pre-calculated settings.

[@CodeNameDoug]

@@Engineezy I would also remove the sensor, and use a variable speed gear set. Like the ones shown here.

[@JKBrickworks]

Very nice! Another fantastic little contraption.

[@Engineezy]

Appreciate it 😀

[@ianbelletti6241]

​@@Engineezythe whole timing issue may just be motor speed. It would be a little more mesmerizing if you could perfect the motor speed instead of varying it. The first attempt appears that you have the rotation set too low.

[@carmin.e]

i didnt know you were here!

[@jif23]

hi jkbrickworks

[@mrsquid_]

yooooo jk

[@riffhammeron]

A very easy change that would be cool would be to change the cam shape a bit so that the bridge arrives at the lower track at the exact time the ball does.

[@barakrl]

I had my perpetual doubts until I saw that the ball is lifted back up, and boy did you deliver. It’s mesmerizing. Great video.

[@Engineezy]

Thank you 🙏

[@lanceanthony198]

Great video, and the end result is mesmerizing. I would love to see an episode 2 on this “real life satisfying GIF” idea at some point in the future where you try to get everything perfectly smooth and synchronized, with a new unique design

[@Engineezy]

Definitely going to be making more of these! And they will be perfect 🙌

[@ZenBeepBop]

honestly the sound itself sent me into hypnosis

[@Engineezy]

Agreed!

[@ElectroBOOM]

Cool, man!

[@Engineezy]

Thank you sir!

[@jorenminer8817]

Awesome project, absolutely love desk display things like this. And that beat. Now needs a few other similar machines with other sounds, to make a mesmerizing orchestra

[@Engineezy]

Ooh the machine orchestra is an amazing concept

[@jason3898]

The way it moves looks sooo much like a crazy contraption in a Tim Burton claymation film, like Nightmare Before Christmas.

[@vladmunteanu5864]

Love the rythme to it, sounds very satisfying on top of the visuals!

[@Engineezy]

Glad you like it!

[@SayonR]

Quick, interesting and calming build! Great work again by industrial designer Jay!

[@Engineezy]

Appreciate it 🙏🙏 ID Jay says thanks ☺️

[@TundraTheBlueQuaker]

We need a long form video of just this thing running... it's so mesmerizing!

[@Engineezy]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/hHSwp3-dibllmKcsi=_RK2VmOFvHfihfsT 🙌🙌

[@MrEdwardhartmann]

In 1968 I went to the World's Fair (Hemisphere '68) in San Antonio, TX. In one of the display areas, they had a machine that just fascinated me. It was a very simple machine consisting of a box mounted in a wall with a glass front. On the base of the box toward the front were two polished metal pads about 3" in diameter. Directly between the two pads was a shaft about 4" tall with a rotating hoop on top of it. Directly behind the two metal pads and about 6" above the base of the box were two holes in the back wall. About every second or two, a metal ball just big enough to fit through the hole would fall out of the hole on the right, drop down and land on the metal pad on the right. The surface of the metal pad had a compound angle that would bounce the ball and change its direction toward the spinning hoop. As the ball reached the hoop, its rotation would just align with the ball to allow it to pass through, ark down and hit the second pad where the direction was again changed and the ball bounced up and through the hole in the back on the left side of the box. Repeat indefinitely. A bunch of us probably watched this display for over an hour. Since that was 55 years ago, my recollection of the sizes might be off, but I will never forget how much fun it was watching this thing. We may have gentled "tapped" on the glass a few times to see if we could make the ball miss the hoop, but I think it was engineered with that possibility in mind because we did not break anything and it never "dropped the ball".

[@Engineezy]

That sounds really cool! Definitely sparks some ideas!

[@jameschristiansson3137]

@@Engineezy The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago had that same thing in the 1960s. I can't find a video of it, maybe you'll have to make one. 😎

[@williamdowling7718]

Way cool. The jitteriness of it makes it seem more like an animation than most of the animations. Love it.

[@TheAstronomyDude]

I like it. It has a good beat. All mechanical systems should have a good beat to let you know they're working right.

[@Engineezy]

Very true!

[@lorrainemackey4851]

Your ability to make things that don’t look real is really impressive

[@jacobnefsky1478]

Always clapping is good, it helps editor Jake on the sound sync

[@jesusflores3070]

It felt unreal, exactly why you made it. Congratulations!!!

[@Engineezy]

Mission accomplished!

[@slice-the-pi]

i love that you seem to have accidentally learned to do clap syncs via osmosis from watching other creators' youtube videos without realizing what their purpose was

[@Engineezy]

🤣🤣

[@thamires.magalhaes]

Love your attention to detail there, the speed change in the rotation made a huge difference in the smoothness

[@Engineezy]

Thanks for appreciating! Definitely a big part of my process

[@thamires.magalhaes]

@@Engineezy yeah, I noticed from the other projects, the perfectionism in me appreciates your extra effort haha

[@crystalgaming12]

7:52 sick beat

[@diamabolo]

great work! these balltrack animations are always an inspiration....also works with rollercoaster tracks

[@Engineezy]

Thank you! It would be cool with roller coaster tracks as well!

[@clamcambamcam9718]

Wow. I think the sound of it makes it 10x better

[@HardBud]

Dude that's DAMN creative! Amazing content as always 👍

[@Engineezy]

Thank you!! Appreciate it 🙏

[@justinbanks2380]

3:15 Jay goes heavy metal!!! Yeah, look at those sparks!

[@letsdosomething6691]

You can use spiral shaped linear gears to vary the speed of the push arm. Then you wouldn’t have that clicking sound and it would be more fluid looking. Oval gears do the same thing but they have two speed up points instead of the one you need. You can use all kinds of shaped gears but spiral gears would be perfect for this.

[@jaxsel806]

Really cool! I had some sort of art block in blender but not anymore lol

[@Engineezy]

Let's go!!

[@whatsonchannelB]

Great engineering. Try filming in 60 or 120fps and playing it back at 0.5x or 0.25x speed, and remove all sound. Bet it will be more .GIF like.

[@Engineezy]

Definitely worth a shot

[@RealFancyFrog]

This is actually really mesmerizing lol

[@HomeWithDrew]

That was super satisfying and really therapeutic hearing it tick along

[@levifzephyr]

Oooooh ! So nice and cool project! Good job ! I am happy that you're able to waste your time a way I can't so I can still enjoy your creative creations without having to / being able to build them. 👍👌🏻

[@justinbanks2380]

6:09 noooo! You let out the ghost in the circuits! You never want to let out the ghosts!

[@KrazyKaiser]

Your machine has something those GIFs can't have: Satisfying mechanical noises.

[@Engineezy]

*Natural ones too! 🙏🙏

[@TheRealStructurer]

Very nice. Almost perfect. From the top it looks great but from the side there is a tiny bit adjustment needed. Thanks for sharing 👍🏼

[@silversilk8438]

Mesmerized and satisfied viewer. The scissors and cam work do well!!

[@Engineezy]

Appreciate it!!

[@Creative_Electronics]

Nice video and the results looks great! Very satisfying to watch it in action!

[@Engineezy]

Thank you!! Agreed :)

[@zzubra]

The gap in the upper track is not visually pronounced because that track is transparent. Making an opaque rail on top with a more obvious beak in it could heighten the visual impact.

[@Engineezy]

Thats a great idea!

[@john7027]

Jay, 👏 You know what I am going to say. You never cease to amaze!

[@Engineezy]

Thanks John!!!

[@RinSyuveil]

The clap is a “let’s do that” along with helping to keep track of audio with the video

[@MBPaperPlanes]

Cool! I love those satisfying 3D animations too! This may be just part of your process that you leave out, but do you ever run a physics simulation on your machines before you build/print them? I'm a 3D animator myself and use Maxon Cinema 4D which has a physics engine that's pretty easy to use. I'm sure Blender does too. It made me think on this one that if you simulated it accurately enough, you could tweak the dimensions, slopes, etc until the ball lined up with the paddle arm at the end without the sensor and motor speed change.

[@Engineezy]

I definitely need to spend more time with physics engines! Generally speaking my computer is not powerful enough to hand them haha, gonna need to fix that and improve in this area

[@davinlaroche3029]

Super well done! And you clap out of excitement! Many people do.

[@Engineezy]

Thank you 👏🤭

[@Frank-Y]

I love the sound even more! Mesmerizing!

[@Engineezy]

Happy accident 🙌

[@slimebud]

Bro, you are an inspiration. And seeing how you have gone through almost every comment and given a reply is so cool, I have a lot of respect for you. It would be cool If for a future project you can make a cool contraption that your subs make with you. Like you make a simple template and they design a unique mechanism off of it, build it, test it, and send it to you to add to the others.

[@Engineezy]

Love that idea! Definitely going to have to slot that in to a future project. Appreciate it 👊

[@Jett-n-gin]

Thank you for making the music have the same BPM as the machine. Itched my musical brain

[@Engineezy]

👊👊🙏🙏🙏

[@ALL_that_ENDS]

You should be apart of every engineering and artist repertoire, genius

[@Engineezy]

🙏🙏🙏

[@maxdystopia674]

you should adjust the timing of that “lift arm” forward a smidge to smooth out the lift as there seemed to be a few degrees/seconds on the approach to spare thusly a smooth meet up with the ball and seamless transfer throughout the arch

[@andreyrumming6842]

You might be able to get rid of the arduino entirely. If you use a pair of cogs where half of the cog is one radius, and the other half of the cog is a different radius, you can get 2 different speeds as the first cog rotates out of the second cog. That way you just use a single little motor to power the artwork with no extra complexity. An example of something similar is shown in "Art of rendering"s channel under Mechanical principles part 5 timestamp 0:42.

[@Engineezy]

Thats a cool idea, definitely worth exploring in future projects

[@wiredweird]

how do you not have 1 million subscribers already?? your videos are amazing!!

[@Engineezy]

Thank you!! Step by step

[@D-S-9]

I’m a little late, but I just discovered this awesome video. I’m gonna say you clap because you saw other KZbinrs doing it and they did it to make editing easier.

[@Engineezy]

Haha that is very possible

[@dingdove1]

The little drop at the end works because it adds to the rhythm of the machine.

[@Engineezy]

I’ll take it 😂

[@MakeForOthers]

Delightful! Nice job sticking with it and putting in the work to get to awesome!

[@Engineezy]

Appreciate it!!

[@TommyRaines]

Nice NB You can't expect something to tke longer than expected !!

[@Thefirstqwerty]

the mechanical sound is sooooooooooooooooooooooo satisfying

[@PossiblyAxolotl]

It’d be so cool to see a bunch of these satisfying renders turned real at some kind of event like maker faire or open sauce

[@PunakiviAddikti]

Here's a couple of improvement ideas. First, you could make the acceleration and deceleration of the arm smooth instead of instant. Second, by changing the shape of the cam you can directly change how the scissor mechanism moves. Why not try some new shapes and see what happens? Third, the sensor does not have to be where the arm is. Since the cam and arm are connected by a chain, you can make the cam trigger the sensor. Not a huge improvement but it would make the frame look cleaner. Finally, consider hiding the motor and electronics in the base. You would have to make the base deeper and add extra gears, but using a pancake stepper would save some space and a custom ordered circuit board with SMD components would save space.

[@brogaming1681]

That’s so mesmerizing

[@Engineezy]

🚗🚙🚌🚐🚕

[@polychoron]

I like the clapping, embrace it! Each KZbinr has their signature quirks that fans come to love.

[@Engineezy]

🙏🙏👏👏

[@make.anything]

Hah! Nailed the satisfying gif aesthetic. Awesome work

[@Engineezy]

Thank you!! Mission accomplished 🙌

[@tryingblender3556]

I love the design, would like to become an engineer when I finished school, and your very inspiering. I was wondering if you could make the speed of the ball pusher variabel by using a shell gear. I think it would make the design that mutch more satisfying. Really hope you read this.

[@Engineezy]

Thank you! That’s an interesting thought, might have to put it to use on a future project!

[@bentsprockettech]

That's crazy man. Thanks for sharing this with us.

[@Engineezy]

Thanks for watching 👊👊

[@Tekila0]

I respect the ten hun shirt! Love to see creators supporting creators!

[@Tekila0]

Also are the cinematic shots of the completed machine in low fps? The effect it gave was sick!

[@Engineezy]

It was a little lower fps! Happy you think its cool, wasnt too sure about it

[@Engineezy]

Also TenHun is a legend

[@dvjvbv]

Beautiful! Rather than an arm, could you use a friction wheel to move the ball to the top track? Like in a ball throwing machine?

[@Engineezy]

Yes! That would work well actually

[@christianfrandfors6258]

Hi, just a thought. Instead of varying the speed of the arm you could widen the tracks on that side so much that the ball spins further on the "sides" and thereby moving slower. I.e. solving the problem the analog way instead of digital. Thanks for great videos, Christian (from Sweden)

[@EliMorJP]

WOOOOWWW we want more like this...❤❤❤❤

[@Engineezy]

More to come 😀

[@BentleyThomas]

Totally mesmerising!

[@Engineezy]

😵‍💫😵‍💫

[@ChemicalArts]

Nice. I like how you showed the iterative process of tweaking things to get it to work. As always, i enjoy your work. Decided to subscribe to your Patreon.

[@Engineezy]

Thank you! Really appreciate the sub!

[@sirgaming1556]

I am building an inverted pendulum at the moment and I would love to see a fully built version made by you. Also its kinda challenging I would say. Maybe a interesting challenge for you?

[@Engineezy]

I’ve actually always wanted to do it but haven’t gotten around to it yet, may have to put it on the project list!

[@NickCombs]

I think it could be improved by having the scissor lift go back down slower so that it gets in position just as the ball meets the gap. That should be possible with just a different shape of cam.

[@miniontoby]

Al though your videos are a little short, they are fun to watch!

[@tysonion01]

This really was great! Thank you,

[@Engineezy]

Appreciate it! 🙏🙏

[@MarkArmour]

U should film a loop in slow-mo, which is a staple of those satisfying gifs.

[@PastaLuke]

Very relaxing! I love it! 👏

[@Engineezy]

Agreed! Thanks 😀

[@dadmitri4259]

The sound it makes only adds to the experience

[@Engineezy]

Happy accidents 🙌

[@MicrobyteAlan]

Nicely imagined, designed, and engineered.

[@Engineezy]

Thank you!!

[@j.v.9936]

Damn, that’s nice. the sound of the ball when it hits the lower rails is really sharp, reminds me of ice skates.

[@Engineezy]

Ooh yess! I can totally hear that

[@jonthemachine1970]

Great stuff

[@Engineezy]

Thank you!!!

[@ThunderSmell]

Shoutout to Morley for interviewing you. I love your videos!!

[@Engineezy]

Seriously! Shout out to Morley 🙌

[@bryandraughn9830]

I've been trying to figure out how to build a mechanical tesseract. I have to run a rail right through the center though so it can revolve through itself. If you've ever seen one of those animations you can see that it just a bunch of expanding and contracting tubes. Im thinking magnetic,ball corners.

[@katherinebruegel6349]

I really appreciated your observation about the build up and release of tension relating to the satisfaction of this art, do you think that is something you will continue to apply to your kinetic sculptures in the future?

[@Engineezy]

Maybe! Depends on the sculpture but definitely worth keeping it in mind!

[@d00dieb0x]

Yes, mechanics meet the emotional quirks of us humans. However, I think the up/down movement could have been smoother and tighter to actually achieve this 'will he make it'.

[@diy_wizard]

Really cool to see your process as a professional engineer!

[@Engineezy]

Thanks! Trying to get better at sharing it!

[@KCKingcollin]

Amazing design, but if I'm honest I feel like you could have used some code to time the stepper motor to the ball rather than use a sensor, could have been way smoother

[@How_To_Drive_a_TARDIS]

Oh my God that looks amazing

[@Engineezy]

🙏🙏

[@swilson42]

Very cool! Couple things to really bring it home would be to adjust the timing of the bridge piece so it arrives in both places JUST as it is needed instead of being in place a moment before it is needed, and then eliminating that stutter entirely for the ball lift. Maybe make that part a continuous rubber belt that uses friction to grab the ball instead of a hard swinging arm? Really great regardless though, keep it up! Would love to see other types of these satisfying machines made in real life.

[@ultidaguy]

Do you have a video edit of the finished product so it can be looped? It truly is peaceful and calming to watch.

[@Engineezy]

I do! kzbin.info9isbgJz3E-s?feature=share

[@awdturbopowah773]

Really cool! Great concept, and I can't wait to see you do more of these! 👍

[@Engineezy]

Lots of concepts in the works!

[@dullxdaggers]

very cool. top view is the most smooth i think

[@mistahhbeangaming8127]

The mechanism makes a good beat

[@bengacz]

It sounds lovely

[@Engineezy]

It was a happy little accident!

[@1EmanuelCosta1]

That's it! *clap* Let's go! *clap* Here we go! *clap*

[@kentabenno]

I love how it just looks like stop motion animation

[@vikingnoise]

Very satisfying.

[@Behr-hammer]

Nice work. I would recommend measuring the position of the ball instead of the arm.

[@Engineezy]

I tried that, but realized I also needed to measure the arm position because there was no feedback on the motor- I was trying to keep it simple haha

[@coder0xff]

Great first go. I'm looking forward to something more difficult.

[@Engineezy]

Thanks! More to come!

[@ParrhesiaJoe]

Love the design, but your description at the beginning made me desire that tension of JUST BARELY arriving in time for the ball. This is wonderful, but I think you could make it even better by having the platform act "just in time".

[@Engineezy]

A couple more iterations!

[@richardsousa4585]

Looks great, awesome job😎👍

[@Engineezy]

Thanks Richard!

[@vinaynellagi]

Looks Cool. Can you use pneumatic blow gun of sorts to move the ball further into next loop. Hide it in one of the pillars. Might look a cleaner design

[@ned_mograph5957]

Great work!

[@Engineezy]

Appreciate it!

[@xavier31415]

@jbvcreative This project is amazing, I love the engineering involved with making your project work. One thing I would have loved to see in this video and would love to see in future ones is the how’s and the why’s of the project and not just the what’s of the project. For example at one point you said “I made some adjustments and things are looking way better.” I’m over here asking what exactly were those changes, how did you go about making those changes, and why did you do it like that and not some alternative way? I think also teaching your audience about how your mechanisms work, for example how you designed your gears and why gear ratios are so important, or about your code, or if there were any problems and how you solved those problems within your program. This would increase the length of your videos, increasing watch time (improving your metrics), and I believe that this would bring in more viewers (and subscribers). Thank you for reading my comment and I look forward to seeing future content from you.

[@Engineezy]

I appreciate it and appreciate the feedback! Im always trying to balance the information with a good video flow, but I will definitely try to add some more info into future vids. Cheers!