507 Mechanical Movements
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A site catalogs 507 mechanical movements from a 1868 book with illustrations and some animations.
The site 507movements.com reproduces Henry T. Brown's 1868 classic technical reference, 'Five Hundred and Seven Mechanical Movements'. It presents thumbnail images of each mechanism, such as belt and pulley systems, variable speed cone pulleys, and right-angle guides. The site aims to eventually animate all 507 movements, with completed animations identified by color thumbnails. Currently, only a subset of the movements are animated. The site includes navigation to browse pages and a notification option for updates on progress.
What commenters are saying
Commenters highly value the site as a resource for DIY engineering, 3D printing, and mechanical inspiration, with some noting its nostalgic feel akin to old internet sites. A dominant sentiment is the wish for the remaining animations to be completed. Several commenters suggest using the movements as AI training data to improve mechanical understanding, citing failures of current AI image generators to correctly depict motion. Others share related resources: Nicholas Rougeux's interactive reproductions (c82.net), the game Contraption Maker (a modern version of The Incredible Machine), and a YouTube channel (thang010146) with physical models. Some point out that the site lacks formal names for the movements, requiring the original book for full descriptions. A few commenters note minor animation errors in specific pulleys. One commenter created a 3D sandbox for the first five movements (beta.mindcast.com).