Gasbag
original drawing of Gasbag
Gasbag is a celebration of the visceral excitement and energy of the internal combustion engine. Simultaneously, it showcases all of the overly complex, noisy, greasy, and gaseous shortcomings of the internal combustion engine.
Gasbag is intended to be a hilariously terrifying and exciting sight to never forget.
Gasbag’s body inflates using the exhaust exiting the engine. Once the engine runs out of fuel or turns off, the body will deflate and Gasbag will “die”.
This drawing is the initial starting point for Gasbag.
Leg module geometry and walk cycle simulation.
To make this character move I needed to figure out what type of geometry and linkages were needed to create the leg movement I wanted. I started experimenting with to see what would work that would also have the aesthetic that I was going for. The goal was to create modular leg assemblies with a single linkage that could be adjusted to change the distance of each step. If the step distance can be adjusted on each leg individually, then Gasbag will be able to steer and adjust speed without adjusting engine speed.
These are some preliminary sketches for a variable throw crankfaft design which would allow each leg to have different step distances while all rotating at the same RPM driven by a single power source. There are definitely easier ways to go about this, but I want gasbag to operate off of mechanical linkages where possible to add to the visceral aesthetic and movement.
Fusion 360 3D printable mockup and walk cycle animation.
Above is a CAD prototype with the leg modules (without the variable crank mechanism) all sandwiched together. Building this in Fusion 360 allowed me to visualize the movement, notice more areas that need to be addressed and start 3D printing components to evaluate.
The location of the motor hasn’t been decided yet, but will likely have to be moved forward to put enough weight on the feet for it to have traction. That being said it is important to me aesthetically to maintain the overall long silhouette of Gasbag.
3D printed leg module.
