# Mechanical Hummingbird!



## btboone (Feb 14, 2017)

OK, so this one's a little different.  It's a mechanical hummingbird that flaps its wings, spreads its tail feathers, and hovers closer and further from the flower.  It made from titanium, with parts of black zirconium, brass, and tungsten.  The bird itself is anodized in iridescent colors.  It works by rotating a gear at the bottom.  I have a movie of it on the Facebook page of Boone Titanium Rings which anyone can see.

I based it off of some plans by a guy named Derek Hugger that made the sculpture in wood that's about 18" tall.  Here's a link to a YouTube video of his sculpture working: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1scj5sotD-E   I had to redesign each and every part for scale, plate thickness, and lack of bearings.  I made a prototype one while redesigning and made a final one.  It is laser cut and laser welded.  It took something like a month to make.  By far my most complex project ever.


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## Gin N' Tonic (Feb 14, 2017)

Stunning Bruce.......Simply stunning. I am in awe!


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## kruzzer (Feb 14, 2017)

amazing work.... I have no idea how your developed the plans but...wow


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## mark james (Feb 14, 2017)

Just a quick comment.

Bruce, you are one IAP member that I have saved previous threads and pictures for inspiration.  It gives me great pleasure to see you posting again on topics of unique interest!  Welcome.


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## btboone (Feb 14, 2017)

Thanks guys.  Mark, I was kinda thrust into a penmaking situation where I took on a job without fully realizing what it would take to do it.  A buddy of mine that had intimate knowledge of what it would take turned it down.  I have a couple of employees and the ring market is a bit shaky lately with the political situation, so I decided to take it on.  I'm attempting to adapt and overcome.  I'll need to do things quite differently from my prototypes in order to be efficient at it.

I have read the forums for quite some time but my password didn't work anymore so I couldn't respond.  I recently reapplied for a new password and am begging for any and all help in cutting edge technologies that will allow me to do the big batch without selling the farm.


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## Curly (Feb 14, 2017)

Incredible!!!!


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## Dale Lynch (Feb 21, 2017)

That's cool as...well,lets just say it's awesome.


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## bruce119 (Feb 22, 2017)

Hey Bruce that looks great. You inspired me to get get one of those. I got the Zybach a wood mechanical clock seen _*HERE*_. I hand cut it with a scroll saw got it all built up and am in the process of trying to get it to run. I can appreciate the work that goes into one of these...


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## Cwalker935 (Feb 22, 2017)

That's pretty amazing.


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## eharri446 (Feb 22, 2017)

You said that you had a large order of pens to make. Are they all going to be the same, or are they going to be different? If they are all going to be the same, you might want to take a look at getting a lathe duplicator so that you can do production like quantity while still having a quality product.


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## leehljp (Feb 22, 2017)

Amazing! Love it. Thanks for posting this.


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## btboone (Feb 23, 2017)

eharri446 said:


> You said that you had a large order of pens to make. Are they all going to be the same, or are they going to be different? If they are all going to be the same, you might want to take a look at getting a lathe duplicator so that you can do production like quantity while still having a quality product.



They will all be the same.  I have a Mazak CNC lathe, so they are very repeatable.  I figured out the process and it works well.


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