Hydraulics and a Clean Butterfly
Published March 12th, 2008 in Design Updates, WorkThe old project is prepared for work to begin!
Lira and I spent Sunday clipping zip-ties, hauling rusty steel and pushing dust and sludge around. Result: a butterfly carcass you can really get into. We now have the finest damn double-wide container in the yard with insulation, wiring, windows and an arch. Joe down at Stanford has the broken ass and wing of the project. Expect great things.
On the design front, we will be using hydraulics for wing-actuation this year to simplify constraining the wing in the up-direction. I have written some matlab code for simulating the motion and forces involved for this system. 
The above 12V hydraulic power unit will work beautifully for what we need. An image of the new design is coming shortly.
Flutter on! A very Artful Lepidodgera indeed!
Are you familiar with the work of Jeffrey Schrier - e.g., Wings of Witness, and much more?
Check him out at: http://www.wingsofwitness.org/About the artist.htm
I think there would be some synergy here - enthalpy, too….
- gerflash