Gears of Yore
September 16, 2011 9:29 AM   Subscribe

Interactive sandbox with gears, pulleys, shafts, etc?

Is there any kind of physics sandbox type software that specializes in gears, pulleys, levers, etc? I don't Solidworks or something major like that...just something more simple but with the ability to load gears, pulleys, falling weights etc of certain sizes and set up virtual machines.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
posted by ian1977 to Computers & Internet (9 answers total) 10 users marked this as a favorite
 
I've heard about people use Physion, but I don't have any experience with it myself, so I'm not sure if it's any good.

I would add springs and dashpots to your list, as well.
posted by blurker at 9:52 AM on September 16, 2011


Is this for teaching purposes? I have a physics prof buddy whom I can ask for recommendations this evening.
posted by blurker at 10:04 AM on September 16, 2011


Response by poster: No not for teaching purposes. Just for my own edification. On that note, I don't need hyper accurate to the 15th decimal place accuracy. Just sort of proof of concept sandbox playing around.
posted by ian1977 at 10:11 AM on September 16, 2011


You probably want something a bit more fully featured and 3d, but you can do all of those things (ish) in a 2d online flash game called Fantastic Contraption
posted by momentofmagnus at 10:11 AM on September 16, 2011


I'll also put in a shoutout to Crazy Machines, which is a great gears-and-pulleys game for kids (and those who act like kids) and which also has a Lab mode, IIRC.
posted by mosk at 10:44 AM on September 16, 2011


Response by poster: Cool suggestions. All look great. Crazy Machines looks crazy fun.
posted by ian1977 at 10:51 AM on September 16, 2011


My 12-year old son has spent hours building things like trebuchets, working crashable cars, tanks and a forklift in Phun, a free 2d physics sandbox. Phun has apparently morphed into a commercial product, Algodoo, but it looks like you can still get Phun from the Algodoo download page.
posted by gamera at 12:54 PM on September 16, 2011


Seconding phun. I use it for prototyping kinetic sculptures. It has an advanced mode that lets you set up material properties etc. Plus it has pleasant cartoon backgrounds and clouds rolling by.
posted by Pink Fuzzy Bunny at 1:27 PM on September 16, 2011


SkechyPhysics plugin for skechup.
code.google.com/p/sketchyphysics/
posted by PSB at 3:20 PM on September 16, 2011


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