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Paper Automata III: Walter Ruffler
In this third series of our investigation of paper automata, we travel to Bremen, German to visit the mechanical wonders of Walter Ruffler. For a number of years Walter has been creating "paper machines" that have delighted and inspired people the world over with their lifelike movement and clever arrangements. His strong background in philosophy and art as well as mechanical design and technical drawing provide a solid base for some of the innovative and creative automata we see below. For more information, more models, and free downloads visit: www.walterruffler.de/index1.html .

In "Stormy Sea" the Captain and his first mate have a stare down as the rolling waves carry the little boat. "Silent Night" is not so silent as Santa trades in his sleigh and trusty reindeer for a motorbike. Walter has some fun with the crowd at the "Wimbledon" tennis match.
This "Fire Dragon" gets a little ornery and jumps up, flaps his wings, and snaps his fierce jaws! "Roland of Bremen", who raises his sword and steadies his mighty horse, could have given that cranky dragon a reason to behave. Walter shows that automata can be both silly and serious as in this political commentary on German unemployment titled "Labor Market Policy".
Besides the gallery of paper machines, Walter does a fantastic job of illustrating the mechanical principles of transforming motion as in this diagram of an oscillating lever. Here is one of the main mechanical principles put to motion to show the viewer how a rotating motion can be converted from vertical to horizontal. Walter Ruffler has many more paper automata to share with you and his handbook can be found at his website or from Tarquin Publications. We can't wait to see more amazing work from you Walter!
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