Continuous to Intermittent Motion Mechanisms

Jun 2018

I came up with a mechanism that converts continuous motion (at the white sliding component) into intermittent motion (at the yellow star). While it functionally resembles a Geneva drive, the method by which it does this is different. This is one of the few mechanisms I know of that uses a star as a functional rather than aesthetic element.

Mar 2019

I designed a mechanism that transforms continuous motion (at the red component) into intermittent motion (at the green component). However, it turns the green component at fractions of a turn that would not be possible with a traditional Geneva drive. For instance, here the green component makes 3/14 of a turn for each turn of the red component. If the green component was part of a Geneva drive with 14 lobes, then it would only be able to rotate 1/14 of a turn for each turn of the red component.

Apr 2019

I thought it would be interesting to make a flat version of a Geneva drive. Normal Geneva drives typically have two layers in the driving component consisting of a pin and a base that holds the pin, but a single-layer design like this lends itself to compactness and easier manufacturing.