3D Printed Gyroman Resurrects Unique Toy Design From the Early 80’s — New Details

RAPID

Share this Article

In 1981, Dr. John Jameson created a unique walking toy which made use of a metal flywheel and pivoting legs. That combination created forward motion, and the design won him a Mattel toy competition. Mattel went on to patent the design, but then decided to shelve the idea and it never debuted in the U.S. market. The original Walking Gyro relied on a classic spinning flywheel design to create the centrifugal forces necessary to drive it forward one step at a time.

gy

Jameson now specializes in mechanical engineering such as dynamics, simulation and control and mechanism design. He has also served as an expert witness for robotics, control systems, and mechanical engineering trials, and his work on neural networks, machine learning and robotics has led him to license voice control musical instrument technology to Yamaha (the EZ Trumpet), Sharper Image (Saxxy) and many other companies as well.

With the original patent for his first flywheel toy now expired, Jameson’s friend Jeffrey Kerr decided to update the design and make it 3D printing ready as a tribute to his pal’s ingenuity.3d printed penny walking toy

It’s now a fully open-sourced, 3D printed toy design that can be downloaded in a variety of iterations from Thingiverse.

“I’m a long time maker who’s been making things long before we were called makers,” Kerr says. “I’m on my sixth, self-designed 3D printer. I think I might have a problem.”

Kerr calls the original design a “fiendishly clever walking toy” which mechanically couples a spinning gyroscope, gearing and a pair of feet that stomp up and down.

At the heart of Kerr’s re-imagining of the toy is a flywheel which provides the necessary centrifugal energy. But it doesn’t come cheap. Well, yes it does, $1.04 to be exact. Rather than use a metal flywheel, Kerr designed a novel 3D printed frame which holds exactly 104 pennies, and it’s the significant amount of energy stored in this flywheel which drives the GyroMan on his way.

While Kerr’s 3D printable may be a touch different than the original, it does serve as a very accurate homage. You can read the whole history of Jameson’s original version here…

You can find Kerr’s assembly instructions and a BOM on Instructables or download them from Thingiverse.  Let us know if you will be printing out a version of GyroMan to amuse your friends and family? Discuss in the GyroMan forum thread on 3DPB.com.

walking-gyro-RobAgejan85-1y-x640 gyroman list of printed parts

Share this Article


Recent News

3D Printing Webinar and Event Roundup: February 16, 2025

3D Printing News Briefs, February 15, 2025: Food-Safe Material, Fungal Battery, & More



Categories

3D Design

3D Printed Art

3D Printed Food

3D Printed Guns


You May Also Like

3D Printing Webinar and Event Roundup: February 9, 2025

In this week’s 3D Printing Webinar and Event roundup, the big news this week is the MILAM conference. However, if you can’t make it to Florida, there are multiple virtual...

ETH Zurich Spin-off SAEKI’s $6.7M Boost to Supercharge Industry in Europe

European manufacturing faces several challenges that threaten its global competitiveness. According to a recent European Commission report, high energy costs, fragmented supply chains, and slow adoption of automation have placed...

3D Printing Webinar and Event Roundup: February 2, 2025

We’re starting this week’s webinar with the exciting news that it is finally time for our Additive Manufacturing Strategies summit in New York City! There are a few other events...

3D Printing News Briefs, February 1, 2025: Patent Infringement, Aligner Attachments, & More

In today’s 3D Printing News Briefs, we’re discussing an intellectual property (IP) dispute, a sales partnership, metal 3D printed bioimplants, a 3D printed health supplement, and 3D printed aligner attachments....