Strandbeest Walking Mechanism

One pair of legs from Theo Jansen's wind-walking Strandbeest sculptures, driven by a hand crank through 2:1 gears. Turn it and watch the foot trace a smooth, flat walking path.

A beautiful introduction to linkages: how a turning crank and a set of rods of carefully chosen lengths make a leg walk.

Design by Wright4TheJob on Printables, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. The files and photos are the designer's, unchanged.

1. Print all parts; the two sides are not mirror images, so keep them apart.
2. Join the links with filament pins as in the bill of materials; glue the stand tabs and gears to their shafts.
3. Students trace the foot's path on paper and explain why the flat part matters for walking.