Trammel of Archimedes (Ellipsograph/"Do Nothing Machine") 3D model thumbnail

Trammel of Archimedes (Ellipsograph/"Do Nothing Machine")

by brimstone326 · via Thingiverse
FormatSTL
CategoryGadgets
LicenseCC BY-NC-SA
UploadedApr 12, 2026
❤ 1 likes 👁 18 views

Description

I was looking at mechanical devices to apply to my Tectonic game and I like the function of the Trammel of Archimedes (also called an Ellipsograph). These are often posted as "Do Nothing Machines", but it is a misnomer. It's a device to create an elliptical shape. I made several of these for various trials, there is no benefit to additional legs as far as I could tell. Warning: this is not a clean listing of parts. I tried and printed several iterations before moving on to try it for Tectonic.
archimedes trammel do nothing machine do-nothing machine do-nothing-machine ellipsograph geometry trammel trammel Archimedes trammel of Archimede trammel of archimedes trammel tool

Originally published on Thingiverse