Making Things Move 101
NuVu brings creative education to students around the world.
Our Core
Mission
Today's Session Goals
- Build foundational knowledge about when and how to deploy moving parts in the prototyping process
- Provide overview of cardboard mechanism prototyping techniques
- Explore integration of electronics and motors into projects and what is needed
- Provide resources for future use
INSPIRATION: Manual Movement
INSPIRATION: Motor Driven
MATERIALS
These mechanism and movement principles apply to all materials, but for today we will focus on the incredible things you can do with humble cardboard!
Considerations:
- How can the cardboard's corrugation orientation make it more structural, or allow for the pieces to bend in the correct orientations?
- Can the cardboard be layered, rolled or scaled to make it perform better?
- Cardboard has a thickness- take this into account when designing connecting parts and mechanisms
CONNECTIONS
Tape it, Glue it, Pin it, Screw it...
Considerations:
- Does the connection need to be static or mobile?
- Is the connection permanent, or do you want the pieces to be able to be disassembled?
- How much surface area is in the connection and can I add extra pieces (braces, brackets, etc.) to strengthen the joint?
HIGH-FIDELITY
LOW-FIDELITY
. . .
We usually think of cardboard as a material for low-fi prototypes. It is cheap and easy to try ideas out with.
HIGH-FIDELITY
LOW-FIDELITY
. . .
In some cases, though, cardboard can be a high-fi material, where more advanced building methods and mechanisms can be used
Structure
+
Mechanism
+
Electronics/
Motors
(optional!)
Some Cool Mechanisms
+
Project Examples
How can we make moving parts out of cardboard?
The following slides show simple machines and a few mechanisms, including templates for their parts and gifs of their completed assemblies
SCISSOR
GEARS
SLIDER
RAMP/ SCREW
PULLEY
TENTACLE
- Cardboard
- Straw
- String
SPINNER/ WHEEL AND AXLE
CLAW
Grabbing
How to make it
1
4
2
3
5
6
Expanding/ Fanning
How to make it
1
4
2
5
3
6
How to make it
Waving
How to make it
1
4
2
3
5
6
Oscillating
How to make it
1
4
2
3
NuVu automata!!
NuVu automata!!
Structure
+
Mechanism
+
Electronics/
Motors
(optional!)
Introductions
1
2
3
4
Making Things Move 101
Flow Chart: Make it Move!
Motors + Boards: a Primer
Simple Materials, Complex Interactions
Servo Motors Projects
DC Motors Projects
Motors
Servo Motors
DC Motors
- Rotate to specified location, 180 degress (or less)
- Require a microcontroller (like Arduino) to function
- Simple to program
- Lightweight / cheap
- Rotate 360 degrees
- Can run using just a battery (and switch)
- Require microcontroller for interactivity/ controlled motion
- Higher power
Motors
DC Motors
Simple Circuit
- Power, switch, motor
- Great for endless rotation
DC + Arduino
- Allows for Interactivity
- Hardwired w/ Mosfet
or Motorshield
Microcontrollers
Simple computers built for interactivity
Arduino
Microbit
Allows for wider-range of sensor and motor integration
More difficult programming language (C / C++)
More of a closed system / harder to integrate certain sensors and motors.
Supports block coding and text-based coding in Python.
Introductions
1
2
3
4
Oct 29, 2025
Making Things Move 101
Flow Chart: Make it Move!
Motors + Boards: a Primer
Simple Materials, Complex Interactions
Q+A
Let's discuss your questions!
Do you have projects in mind?
Resources
Book: Making Things Move
This-to-That website
Instructables.com
... and more here!