14 DAY TRIAL // Sometimes people have to spend decades researching a theory before they make a breakthrough. The object we're about to see hasn't been in the works for so long, but the one who made it did spend close to two decades working in the associated field.
To be more specific, 48-year-old, 17-year mouldmaking veteran Danny Tasmakis managed to 3D print an entire, fully assembled windup clockwork motor.
That's right, all the individual parts were made successfully, and the motor was fully functional at the end of it.
It was a good thing that the man had 11 years of design experience, and that he'd made it his life to make molds, fixtures and devices or parts used in general engineering.
He basically models anything, or likes to try to model anything, no matter how challenging.
The windup motor has a ratchet element with a thumb wheel, a spiral spring and four gears. Tasmakis thinks it can be a plug-in for other 3D printed gizmos.
Update February 18, 2014: Fixed a misunderstanding about the age. The designer is 48 years old, not 17. 17 is the number of years he worked in mouldmaking.