Leonardo DaVinci's self propelled cart --- follow up 1

[Pressed]

This is an addendum to josephv's post about the self propelled cart:

http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=226118&page=2

This is a new show that is a bit goofy with the characters they use, but they do the work and it is part of the genre that is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFGGQFvEkBw

===================================
Forging

http://mech.e.tripod.com

-------------------------------------------------
Ddraig Breuddwydia....

http://www.tailofthedragon.com

 

[KENAT]

Was that the show on discovery or history or one of those.

Fairly entertaining though If I had to work with a couple of them it wouldnt' have gone well.

KENAT,

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[IRstuff]

Their DaVinci's catapault was a pretty good episode. I think that the producers specifically chose the personality types to create a certain level of tension and drama necessary in an otherwise dry subject matter.



TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[KENAT]

For sure, just like with any 'reality' or similar show.

If they'd all been like that reserved engineer (I assume engineer, never explicitly stated it on the bits I saw) and the delightfully crotchety machinist I doubt it would have the same appeal.

But I swear, I'd slug the smug young carpenter and the old loud mouth artist.


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[IRstuff]

Actually, two of them are strictly carpenters, one is a "designer", and the other, I believe, is an ME, and, there's a professor that gives them the episodic task.

I find this series less contrived than a couple of others that I've seen. This one's premise is simply that if DaVinci designed it, it must be interesting enough to build a full-scale model of it.

At least, it less contrived than someone saying, "I wonder if a truckbed liner is strong enough to protect a bulding from bomb blasts?"

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[KENAT]

Looks like either my memory is playing up or the descriptions on Discovery website doesn't match what they say on the show.

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/doing-davinci/bio/bio.html

I thought JURGEN HEIMANN was an engineer but was mistaken and ALAN BOVINETT hasn't been in any of the ones I've seen.

FLASH HOPKINS is the one that bugged me most, especially on the cart episode though BILL DUGGAN was kind of annoying.

I think the machinist I mention was more of a back room boy but he was awesome, just wouldn't let them half-a$$ it.

Have you watched the show that follows it, weaponeering or something.

Pretty dumb but mildly entertaining, though I'd have nightmares about the classic 'don't try this at home'.


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[IRstuff]

I started to watch one episode of Weaponizers, but it appears to simply be week after week of two teams making robot sumo cars and duking it out. Erased the DVR recording after about 5 minutes.

Flash is a drama queen, and Heiman and Sykes appear to like to pull his chain. Aside from the Total Drama Island aspect, seeing DaVinci's drawings doing something in real life is still pretty cool. I think I'll watch future episodes of the show with the sound turned off.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[KENAT]

Yeah, the 2 weaponizers I half watched were pretty similar, once you've seen one souped up old van with machine guns blazing they don't come up with much else, certainly not worth recording.

I only caught the end of the catapult one and it looks like the series might be over, I'll have to look for re-runs.

KENAT,

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[Pressed]

As most have seen the sketches and drawings, it is interesting to see some sort of proving. A while back I read about somebody testing the pyramid shaped parachute from a high altitude; reportedly it worked. That takes a brave soul.

===================================
Forging

http://mech.e.tripod.com

-------------------------------------------------
Ddraig Breuddwydia....

http://www.tailofthedragon.com

 

[jmw]

Nah... there is always some idiot around who'll do the jump for you. (and they probably had a nice modern reserve anyway).

I wasn't sure we needed a bunch of guys in shop going round and deliberately altering some one else's marking out nor smearing petroleum jelly on tools (this just leads to other bad tricks like putting PTFE shavings in someone's baccy tin so they need hospitalisation). This is just the sort of behaviour that doesn't need glamorising.
And yes, I'd guess even I'd need to be restrained from punching out some of these guys and I last actually did punch someone out (or try) when I was at school.

I did like the comment about one team being "Corporate America".... forgot what they described themselves as, but they obviously felt their's the superior approach.

The real point is that working to take an idea from concept through to a working mechanism is .... FUN and should be. I hope that if nothing else this type of show will encourage people to realise that there is fun to be had from engineering.

Interesting also that Old Frank went away and bought some special gear cutting tools (which shows that some old dogs won't learn new tricks), which did the job OK but will now presumably sit around on his shelves until the next time he builds a Da Vinci Cart, and the Corporate America Team who cut their's with a laser cutter where presumably there is a queue of stuff waiting for the machine.

This format is pretty well established for a whole range of shows from the Alan Hart Davies "What the Romans/Normans/Victorians etc did for us" series (the tame bodger built up some nice replicas (in a Blue Peter sort of way) including a very nice Roman repeating crossbow (forgot its true name)where you just turned the crank (like on a Gatling Gun) and it spit out the bolts.

Then we have Scrapheap challenge (isn't it wonderful that they can build all those machines, including, for example, a jet engine) from stuff you'll find in pretty well any junk yard.... hey, do you suppose they plant some stuff and help out these guys with some ideas?



JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[KENAT]

Jmw, I'm shocked by your cynicism. They are continuing in the spirit of the A team.

Frank, that was the guy I liked, he was awesome!

KENAT,

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[Pressed]

It wasn't covered, but I believe these self-propelled carts have a way to program the steering inputs.

It would be interesting to know if Da Vinci mentally visualized these designs before putting them on paper or if it was a lengthy evolution.

===================================
Forging

http://mech.e.tripod.com

-------------------------------------------------
Ddraig Breuddwydia....

http://www.tailofthedragon.com

 

[jmw]

Why didn't he invent Lego or Meccanno?
He could have had hours of endless fun testing out his designs.

(One of his flapping wings designs proved very effective as a novelty toy.... the wings flapped driven by an elastic band.... if anyone knows where to get these things, let me know.)

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[berkshire]

jmw
Just for you,

http://www.turnertoys.com/G1/flyingbird/default.htm

B.E.

 

[jmw]

Thanks B.E. .... "Ornithopter".... that's the word...

JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[josephv]

Thanks Pressed, great post and very entertaining show!

 

[nuche1973]

The machinist reminded me of my grandfather, the ferrier/blacksmith. In his shop you did it his way or not at all, no if's and's or but's! He also said if you can't do it by hand then how do you know you're doing right when you use a machine? Words to live by.