@The NYC Toy fair 2008 I saw the German made “Swing-o-graph” – the pictures pretty much explain it all, but just in case – you put the marker/pen in the holder, a “swing” moves the paper around and creates spirograph-like designs. This is one of the products that might fall in to a (re)make – a few of the toys/kits at the Toy Fair might be fun to do on your own.
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22 thoughts on “Swing-o-graph – draw with a pendulum / swing”
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cooooool. i’ve to build one too!
This looks like something I’ve been reading about lately. A “Harmonograph”. There are several links and a couple of books out there that show you how to make them.
Yeah, “Harmonograph”. Some years ago I wrote a python script to generate simple harmonograph-like patterns – Basically I believe them to be lissajous-drawings with additional damping. Of course it gets more complex when you want to incorporate rotations of the tablet.
The script simply outputs postscript: http://www.home.unix-ag.org/simon/files/harmonograph.py
Have fun,
Simon
This is not a new idea–The science center at the
Seattle Space Needle had a big one in the 1970’s that drew on 3′ square sheets of poster board..the Cheboygan, MI High School art dept. had a big one on
display in the School library around 1980–you could add weights to the platform to change the characteristics….
This is old school,my sisters had one in the seventies,back then it was called spiro-graph.
These are indeed old-school, but a spiro-graph is something else entirely.
Have none of you seen “Sunday Bloody Sunday”?
that’s right AP. I think the difference is that with the Swing-o-graph it is the paper that moves and the pen is still. With the spiro-graph the paper stays still and the pen moves.
There was something similar at OMSI in Portland. Don’t know if it is still there, but I always loved it.
I remember these back in the 70s, After seeing one We went home and made one
The device from the ’70s was called a Pen-Dul-Art. They were very cool, and there are currently two on ebay.
I am in the process of re-furbishing my 1970’s Swing-o-Graph to amuse my grandchildren. I have the original packaging (& pens which STILL work!)On the box lid it says “Awarded the gold medal at the 1970 International Inventors Exhibition in Brussels” I cannot understand why a modern version is not available in shops today.