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Spirograph
 
 
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Spirograph is a geometric drawing toy that produces mathematical curves of the variety technically known as hypotrochoid
Hypotrochoid

A hypotrochoid is a roulette traced by a point attached to a circle of radius r rolling around the inside of a fixed circle of radius R, where the point is a distance d from the center of the interior circle....
s and epitrochoid
Epitrochoid

An epitrochoid is a roulette traced by a point attached to a circle of radius r rolling around the outside of a fixed circle of radius R, where the point is a distance d from the center of the exterior circle....
s. The term has also been used to describe a variety of software applications that display similar curves, and applied to the class of curves that can be produced with the drawing equipment (so in this sense it may be regarded as a synonym of hypotrochoid).






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Various Spirograph Designs
Spirograph is a geometric drawing toy that produces mathematical curves of the variety technically known as hypotrochoid
Hypotrochoid

A hypotrochoid is a roulette traced by a point attached to a circle of radius r rolling around the inside of a fixed circle of radius R, where the point is a distance d from the center of the interior circle....
s and epitrochoid
Epitrochoid

An epitrochoid is a roulette traced by a point attached to a circle of radius r rolling around the outside of a fixed circle of radius R, where the point is a distance d from the center of the exterior circle....
s. The term has also been used to describe a variety of software applications that display similar curves, and applied to the class of curves that can be produced with the drawing equipment (so in this sense it may be regarded as a synonym of hypotrochoid). The name is a registered trademark
TradeMark

TradeMark is a tall, primarily residential, skyscraper in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was completed in 2007 and has 28 floors. There are 200 hundred residential units....
 of Hasbro
Hasbro

Hasbro is an United States toy company. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world, second only to the toy giant Mattel. Hasbro is also the publisher of the world's most popular board game, Monopoly ....
, Inc.

History


The Spirograph was invented by British engineer Denys Fisher
Denys Fisher

Denys Fisher was an English engineer who invented the spirograph toy.He left Leeds University to join the family firm, . In 1960 he left the firm to set up his own company, Denys Fisher Engineering, in Leeds....
 who exhibited it in 1965 at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair
Nuremberg International Toy Fair

The Nuremberg International Toy Fair is the largest international toy and game trade show which takes place annually in Nuremberg, Germany, Germany....
. It was subsequently produced by his company. Distribution rights were acquired by Kenner
Kenner

Kenner Products was a toy company founded in 1947 by three brothers, Albert, Phillip, and Joseph L. Steiner, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Ohio, United States, and was named after the street where the original corporate offices were located....
, Inc., which introduced it to the United States' market in 1966.

Operation

A Spirograph consists of a set of plastic gear
Gear

A gear is a component within a Transmission device that transmits rotational force to another gear or device. A gear is different from a pulley in that a gear is a round wheel that has linkages that mesh with other gear teeth, allowing force to be fully transferred without slippage....
s and other shapes such as rings, triangles, or straight bars. There are several sizes of gears and shapes, and all edges have teeth to engage any other piece. For instance, smaller gears fit inside the larger rings, but also can engage the outside of the rings in such a fashion that they rotate around the inside or along the outside edge of the rings.

To use it, a sheet of paper is placed on a heavy cardboard backing, and one of the plastic pieces is pinned to the paper and cardboard. Another plastic piece is placed so that its teeth engage with those of the pinned piece. For example, a ring may be pinned to the paper and a small gear placed inside the ring – the actual number of arrangements possible by combining different gears is very large. The point of a pen is placed in one of the holes in the moving piece. As the moving part is moved the pen traces out a curve.

The pen is used both to draw and provide locomotive force; some practice is required before Spirograph can be operated without disengaging the fixed and moving pieces. More intricate and unusual-shaped patterns may be made through the use of both hands, one to draw and one to guide the pieces. It is possible to move several pieces in relation to each other (say, the triangle around the ring, with a circle "climbing" from the ring onto the triangle), but this requires concentration or even additional assistance from other artists.

See also

  • Epicycloid
    Epicycloid

    In geometry, an epicycloid is a plane curve produced by tracing the path of a chosen point of a circle ? called epicycle ? which rolls without slipping around a fixed circle....
  • Guilloché
    Guilloché

    Guilloch? is an engraving technique in which a very precise intricate repetitive pattern or design is mechanically etched into an underlying material with very fine detail....
  • Harmonograph
    Harmonograph

    A harmonograph is a mechanical apparatus that employs pendulums to create a geometric image. The drawings created typically are Lissajous curves, or related drawings of greater complexity....
  • Spirograph Nebula, a planetary nebula
    Planetary nebula

    A planetary nebula is an emission nebula consisting of a glowing shell of gas and Plasma formed by certain types of stars when they die. The name originated in the 18th century because of their similarity in appearance to gas giants when viewed through small optical telescopes, and is unrelated to the planets of the solar system....
     that displays delicate, spirograph-like filigree.
  • Bruno Abakanowicz
    Bruno Abakanowicz

    Bruno Abdank Coat of Arms-Abakanowicz was a mathematician, inventor and electrical engineer....


External links

  • - Collection with photos of many versions including UK and Australian issues.
  • in Javascript und AFLAX/Flash