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Build the Air Kraken

Links

The following sites have been helpful to me in figuring out elements of this project, and are listed in no particular order.

Feed the Kraken!

The kraken thirsts for propane! FEED IT!

About

The Air Kraken is a kinetic sculpture and human-powered machine. It is a device conceived of and imagined from the sights and scenes of Burning Man, and of the ocean, and of my love of cycling. And also, because I can.

Design / Progress

  • Frame - welded/brazed alloy steel tube frame.[Done!]
  • Drivetrain - cog and chain based on #35 industrial roller chain and on bicycle parts. [Done!]
  • Brakes - Go-kart disk brakes. [Brake mounted; need to place brake handle (90% done)]
  • Steering - Ship's wheel driving a cable assembly to the rear steering wheel.[Done! ]
  • Flame Effect - Puffer effect on a pole 8 ft above the riders, utilizing multiple shutoff valves. Propane fueled.[Done and awesome]
  • Wheels - Steel cable spokes in HDPE plastic culvert pipe for rims, with mountain bike tires screwed and glued onto the ribs.[Wheels complete; need to add treads]
  • Kraken - Steel wire frame with cloth stretched over it to form the body.[Done]
  • Lighting - LED and EL wire lighting on the kraken and trike body; eye effects; headlights via high-powered LEDs.[Done software written (click for Processing sourcecode)]

Documentation

News / Needs

  • 10/10 -

    Loads of things have happened. The Air Kraken went to Burning Man this year and was very well received. Much awesome fun was had. It'll be showing up at SeaCompression in Burien this Saturday. Come out and see it!

  • 7/26 -

    The Kraken is complete. It went to Critical Massive and was well loved. Check it out at Burning Man (and help me transport/fuel it!)

  • 7/15 -

    The kraken is mostly done. I am so excited and anxious. This weekend, I'm taking it to the local burn, Critical Massive, where it will be unveiled in its complete form. This project has been a great learning experience for a wide variety of reasons. I've gotten to get my hands dirty on a lot of things, and come to know a good deal more about large projects.

    At this point, I'm wrapping up a lot of loose ends, and getting things done. Gotta attach a lot of stuff, and fiddle with things. But at this point, it's definitely a success.

    And a special shout-out to Mike Begley of SeattleLumin -- without his help with the EL wire, this project wouldn't be where it is now. Thanks Mike!

  • 6/21 -
    Happy solstice! The kraken was unveiled at the Fremont Solstice Parade this past weekend, and it performed very well. I rode it the whole route, and it did not suffer any failures. I am very pleased with the progress thus far. The rest of the work to do on the Kraken is finishing work -- kraken, flame effect, lighting. That's fantastic.
  • 6/6 -
    The project is coming along. I've performed some road tests of it, and have ironed out some issues. The steering/brakes/utilitarian trike part is basically completed. The sculptural part of the kraken is in production. The wireframe of the body is partially completed. Here are some videos of the progress: The steering is based on a cable system, see this diagram for details.
  • 5/20 -
    Status update. The project is progressing well. I've figured out the steering system, and am going to be mounting the rear wheel assembly to the frame in the coming week. The kraken's skin has been selected, kudos to SeattleFabrics for having cool mesh cloth to work with. The seats are mounted on the project, and the cranks are, too. The drivetrain is ready to tie together and testing is coming soon. Next steps:
    • Fabricate frame neck
    • Mount frame neck, attaching rear wheel assembly
    • Build kraken body
    • Skin kraken body
    • Get treads and apply to wheels
  • 4/28 -
    Finally decided to put up a progress/news section where I talk about parts of this. That's this. So where things are at with this is that the frame is partially completed, and I've mounted the wheels on the front frame for the first time this past Tuesday. That was an exciting day. Next steps in the project are:
    • working on mounting the seats to the frame and building that stuff.
    • Modifying some bicycle frames to mount for the drive train
    • Making some chainrings that'll mount onto my collector axle and
    • Building the rear half of the frame
    I also need to find a motorcycle head tube for mounting my steering forks onto the rear frame. I'm planning on checking out some of the motorcycle shops around town, but if you've got one that'll fit a 1" diameter head pin, I'd love to take it off your hands!
  • 4/25 -
    [backfill entry] Worked on mounting the collector and drive axles to the frame tonight. This went really well, and I got the wheels on for a little while. So awesome to get a sense of the thing in the physical world.

Media

Here is a collection of build images. This set updates as I upload them, and will grow as the project grows.

Sponsors and Contributors

Ignition Northwest

Thanks for your fantastic support, INW. I really appreciate it.

Interested in helping?

Please contact me if you'd like to help me build this thing, either through funding, parts, or support in some other way. Thank you.