This is my reconstruction of the Antikythera Mechanism, using epoxy gears printed by iMaterialise. There are 54 gears in the Mechanism with over 3,300 individual gear teeth.
The Mechanism is an astronomical calculator built over 2,200 years ago by Greek astronomers and engineers using data both from their own observations and those made by Babylonian astronomers over many hundreds of years. The remains of the Mechanism were discovered in an ancient shipwreck off the coast of Antikythera; a small Greek island lying between Crete and the Peloponnese peninsula. They are now displayed in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.
In a single instrument, the Mechanism incorporates many of the theoretical models of the Solar System developed by the Greek astronomers. These models were not revised until the time of Kepler and Newton in the 17th century.
The Mechanism is the first geared “clockwork” mechanism known in history. It predates medieval astronomical clocks by 1600 years, yet offers far more sophisticated functionality in a very compact design.
I needed a precision of <0.1mm in all the parts to be able to construct a working machine. iMaterialise are one of the few companies I could find in Europe that could print components to that specification. It’s taken 18 months, but the machine now works well. Still lots of tweaks to go though!
