Online Exhibits > Leonardo and the Engineers of the Renaissance > Models

Spring motor

Dimensions: 125x174x71 cm
Materials: chestnut, oak, metal
Constructor: SARI, FA-MA e Mariani, Firenze
Date: 1987

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Working model after Leonardo da Vinci, Madrid Ms. I (BNM), fol. 14r

A highly complex device designed to regulate the force of the spring concealed inside the cylindrical drum. The crown wheel on the cylinder drives a winding cone-shaped gear. Continuous meshing is provided by the worm screw at the base of the shaft carrying the cone-shaped gear. The screw meshes with a toothed wheel that drives a rack segment, shifting a horizontal slide to which the cylindrical drum is attached. The top part of the shaft bearing the cone-shaped gear consists of a screw. As the screw turns, it drives down the cone-shaped gear, which pushes the drum toward the right.

This machine, probably intended to regulate the movement of large clocks, offers a varied combination of basic mechanisms including a toothed wheel, a worm screw, a spring, a cone-shaped gear, and a rack.

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