I started with just two bunnies and then look what happened! Actually, I was prototyping a modular cam assembly and simulating the motion of hopping bunnies seemed like a good place to start.

The outer ring of bunnies jumps three times while bunnies in the inner ring jump two times. Both must dive into the burrow at the same time or they’ll bang their little bunny heads.

See here for a video of the automata in action: https://youtu.be/qjkFrhv4enk

See here for stable download: https://thangs.com/mythangs/file/54704

This automata is an advanced print. You’ll need good knowledge of optimal print settings for your machine and the skills and tools to do some post-print processing.

This assembly video (https://youtu.be/wfsd5Y0_sJE) is for a similar cam-based kinetic sculpture: https://youtu.be/wQxTIqx9OIY . The only difference is that this bunny automata has a modular cam assembly. The pictures above show some views of the modular cam assemble process.

Printing

Print as many of the “Follower (Thin Neck)” and “Bunny” files as you want. The model shown has six in each ring for a total of twelve.

Print one of each of the remaining files. Carefully remove any burrs or imperfections in the print especially on surfaces that move against one another.

The “Spinning Terrain” prints best upside-down with tree supports. When removed, the tree supports leave a nice textured “ground” surface. The hex attachment also prints best when oriented upwards.

The critical bit of cleanup here is that the “followers” slide perfectly through the guides in the “lid.” If there is either too much friction or too much slack the machine will jam.

Lubricate any moving surfaces with Vaseline prior to assembly.