Is The Slinky Escalator Humanity's Greatest Achievement?

[PatrickJS]

Is The Slinky Escalator Humanity's Greatest Achievement?

Inventor Matthias Wandel has unveiled his Slinky escalator, for "never-ending slinky stair traversal."

Well, it seems we have a clear front-runner for invention of the year [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/inventions?from_search=1], and we're just half way through. Matthias Wandel, popular inventor, carpenter, and all-around Da-Vinci-esque guy, has crafted the endless slinky staircase.

The slinky, of course, is a well-known toy created in the 1940s that takes the shape of a flexible helical spring. Among its many mesmerizing properties is the habit of somersaulting down staircases. That is pretty nifty and all, but the fun ends when the slinky hits the bottom step - until Matthias came along, anyway.

Check out more DIY coverage from the Escapist. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/diy?from_search=1]

In his Youtube video, Mr. Wandel shows off his though process going into the design of the staircase, as well its construction:


Though he started off using the motor of an electric drill to power the staircase, it wasn't reliably hitting exactly the speed he wanted. "The crank made it easier to control," he says. "And more fun."

The gallery below shows more detail of the work-in-progress:

[gallery=4481]

I want one.

In this video, the Canadian inventor extraordinaire shows off his personal best: a 140-step slinky journey.


Source: WoodGears.ca [http://woodgears.ca/toys/slinky.html]

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[Zontar]

This is truly a weapon to surpass Metal Gear, a pinnacle of human technological achievement!

Also, what is it with my country and people from here coming up with stuff like this?

 

[Joccaren]

Kinda cool, but kinda disappointed. Really is just the equivalent of getting a giant slinky and going to a supermarket, and throwing it down the up escalator. Was hoping for something more creative, but oh well.

That said, pretty cool still. Would be a good idea IMO to buy a smallish motor and set up a gearbox for it, create a simple controller and run the motor constantly at the appropriate speed so its wholley automated, but the creation of the escalator itself at least is pretty cool. Got to laugh at the fact he didn't think of using a crank handle to start with though =P
Step one when doing something like this, always have manual power test first =P

 

[PatrickJS]

That said, pretty cool still. Would be a good idea IMO to buy a smallish motor and set up a gearbox for it, create a simple controller and run the motor constantly at the appropriate speed so its wholley automated, but the creation of the escalator itself at least is pretty cool. Got to laugh at the fact he didn't think of using a crank handle to start with though =P
Step one when doing something like this, always have manual power test first =P

He talks about some difficulties in motorizing it in a follow-up: http://woodgears.ca/toys/slinky2.html

 

[FalloutJack]

It needs to be attached to a Rube Goldberg Device to make it more awesome.

 

[Geisterkarle]

We now have to "harvest" the motion-energy of the Slinky for powering the handle...

 

[RJ 17]

Kinda cool, but kinda disappointed. Really is just the equivalent of getting a giant slinky and going to a supermarket, and throwing it down the up escalator.

Considering it's a "slinky escalator", I'm pretty sure that's the exact idea he was going for.

I have to ask...you say you were "hoping for more", what exactly were you expecting when you clicked an article with the words "Slinky Escalator" in it?

 

[Rad Party God]

This is the most pointless... and awesomest thing I've seen this day

 

[Ugicywapih]

...Honestly, after reading the title, I've been hoping to see a slinky-based idea for a, y'know, people-ferrying escalator. Kinda disappointing, given those expectations

 

[Joccaren]

Kinda cool, but kinda disappointed. Really is just the equivalent of getting a giant slinky and going to a supermarket, and throwing it down the up escalator.

Considering it's a "slinky escalator", I'm pretty sure that's the exact idea he was going for.

I have to ask...you say you were "hoping for more", what exactly were you expecting when you clicked an article with the words "Slinky Escalator" in it?

An escalator powered by slinkies?
Unrealistic, but would be a cool thing to see.

An escalator made of slinkies?
A bit more realistic, still pretty cool.

Like, I don't mean to knock the creation and that, but my 3am mind was hoping for something a bit more out there than a simple escalator. Still a cool thing to have built though.