I love this machine from artist Benjamin Cowden, who has a beautiful portfolio of mechanical interactive sculpture.
This cocktail shaking machine is based on a turn-of-the-century machine called an “Imperial Shaker,” and was built as part of The Touring Pop-up Sideshow Saloon event organized by the Peerless Prodigies of P.T. Barnum. Technically, this machine uses a flywheel driven by a hand-crank, which pushes a ‘crank-slider,’ or pivoting piston. At the end of the crank-slider is a carriage where two cocktail shakers live. The elliptical motion produced by the crank-slider lends itself to mixing cocktails, where a simple up/down motion would not stir the ingredients as much.
There’s also some build details, including photos of the process on Cowden’s Tumblr. He’ll be showing his work at Maker Faire Bay Area on May 19th and 20th so be sure to add him to your list of makers not to miss! [via Laughing Squid]
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