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Mechanics Sketches |Mechanism Animations

Welcome, and thank you for coming to the "Rudiments Of Mechanics For Artists" wiki. 

The first thing I must say is that this project has only really just started (in this format that is - please read on) so please don't expect to find a teaching resource that is set up and ready to use. 

We have to build it from the ground up. Please email me at CTP at CTPDESIGN dot COM if you are interested in contributing to the ROMFA project and I will be happy to send you the password.

Thanks again for visiting!

CTP

 The above animation is of a common type of "crank slider" used to convert rotary into rectilinear motion.

Several years ago I started writing a book to help artists use mechanics in their work.  The working title was The Rudiments Of Mechanics For Artists.  It came to be known as ROMFA, pronounced just like it's spelled.  There was a lot of interest in the subject then, and there is even more today.  I, however, am not one who writes books.  I create a lot of different stuff, I even write a bit, but to craft an entire book didn't go so well...not necessarily badly, I just found a lot of other things to do that I was so much better at, and then did them...a lot of them...and to very good effect.  But this project has always held a space in my brain, and it now wants the attention it is due.

In the meantime, loads of great wiki software has been written, and there are now very nicely appointed free wiki services on the web (like this one).  So I got to thinking, why not move the files that comprise where I left off on the book (to some extent) to a wiki and then try to figure out how to get this book done, if at all?  My thought right now is to keep this wiki up for people to contribute to, and leave it up for everyone to learn from.  At some point I think I would still like to edit all of the material down into a printable form, and finally bring the paper version of it to market.  But in the meantime, there is this wiki.  Hopefully we can make it a good resource for mechanically challenged artists everywhere.

I thank you for your support and possible participation.

Sketches of Basic Mechanisms

FAQ

What is here?

So far I have uploaded much of my available original material that I can find (the stuff that was worth uploading, anyway.)  The original text is just a mish-mosh of notes, and contains more ideas than complete content.  The glossary is made up some of my own writing and definitions straight from various dictionaries.  Other definitions have not been entered or fleshed out.  In general it needs photos and illustrations, accessible definitions (that we have the rights to), and more entries.  I have already begun sorting thru the various links and updating or deleting them.  Oh, also, none of my original artwork came over when I transferred the text over to the wiki.  I will work on getting them here, or just creating placeholders for various needed pix or illustrations.

What is needed?

Well, for starters, content.  I would like to stick fairly closely to the chapters I originally created.  I will be posting meanings and disambiguation to each of those pages.  From there we can work on possibly expanding or contracting the numbers of chapters.

We also need images.  We need images that are legal for us to use and legal for us to sell if ROMFA becomes a book.  If you upload any images (or text) that we do not have rights to, please say so on the material.  That way we can look for replacements as we go.  Along the same lines as images are illustrations, and we need lots and lots of illustrations.  I am happy to turn that job over to someone who is good at drawing, and bring them up to speed on mechanical things...trust me, that would be a lot quicker than trying to get me to be better at drawing.

Oh, and last, but not least, I'd love to find someone familiar with other wiki software - especially the wiki apps they run on my existing servers.  We may not want to keep ROMFAwiki here at PBWIKI forever, so a longer term alternative strategy would seem in order.

So, maybe the ideal vision is to form a kind of "Ocean's Eleven" style team (just with more than 11 members): writers, mechanical geniuses, technical illustrators, copy editors, web savvy programmers, photographers, kinetic sculptors, exhibit designers, educators, etc, etc.  So, to that end, please tell your friends about this wiki...and not just the mechanical genius friends - while we'd love to have all we can get, I know we'll have more of them than any other group, and we need all those other talents here as well. 

I think a glut of mechanical geniuses is a good thing in the end though, since the M in ROMFA is Mechanics.

What can we fit here?  How much storage do we have?

We are using the free version of PBWIKI, so we got 10Megs of storage initially.  Then by inviting ten people we doubled that.  For text that is a ton of space, and since I am hosting all of the images and flash movies offsite I highly doubt we will run out of room.  Anyone who decided to join the project will be briefed on what to do with files and getting them on the site.

"What's in it for me?" (i.e. you)

At the very least, your name in the credits of this wiki.  Also, your name in the credits of any eventual book.  And remuneration for outstanding contributions should the material ever bring any income.  Any other ideas?

What is CTP's role here?

As of right now I am the primary author, and for the time being will act as editor of the project.  I do not want all of the credit though.  People who contribute should, and will, get their due even if it's just credit on the project.  It is more important to me that the project be made available to the people who seek this information than to find a way to squeeze any fame or fortune out of it.  Hopefully like minded people will take interest and jump onboard to contribute something to it.

When will the public get to see it?

I have no idea.  I'd like to have at least some semblance of order to the material, and have a few of the "basic element" chapters fleshed out before any unveiling.  I don't mind opening it to the public with a lot of the chapters unwritten, as long as we have what looks to be enough interested people on board to at least start on some of them.

How do we reach you?

ctp @ ctpdesign . com 

or just leave me a note here :-)

CTP

Another version of a "crank slider".  This version converts rotary motion into oscillating motion in an arc.

And one more version of a "crank slider".  This version converts rotary motion into oscillating motion in a rounded triangular path.

ALL CONTENT ON THESE ROMFA WIKI PAGES ARE COPYRIGHT CHRISTOPHER T PALMER/CTP DESIGN & CREATION