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Pantograph
Pantograph, Christoph Scheiner (1603)
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Description
The pantograph is an elegantly simple device. With only a few parts, it makes precise scaled enlargements, reductions, and one-to-one copies of any image. Christoph Scheiner’s 1631 treatise’s title, detailing his 1603 invention, says it all: Pantographice, seu ars delineandi res quaslibet per parallelogrammum lineare seu cavum, mechanicum, mobile, which translates to, The Pantograph, or the art of drawing anything by means of a mechanical, movable, linear hollow parallelogram.
The Pantograph is a parallelogram with flexible vertices. Two of the sides have extended arms. One endpoint is fixed to the table; the other two points move freely. One free end has a pointer to trace an original image. The other free point contains a drawing stylus. As the user moves the pointer to trace the original drawing, the pivoting parallelogram automatically draws a copy next to the original. The ratios between the three points determine the output’s scale. If the pointer is in the middle, the far drawing stylus produces an enlargement. Switch their positions, and the drawing is a reduction. Place the fixed point in the middle and the pointer and stylus on opposite ends to make a mirror-image drawing at a one-to-one scale, which is useful for making a printing plate.
While the geometry has remained unchanged since Scheiner, inventors have continuously improved the pantograph’s performance through precision metal fabrication, suspension cables, geared belt drives, and counterweights.
Examples
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How It Works
The Pantograph makes copies by tracing an original placed under the Pointer (P). As the pointer follows the original image’s outline, the Drawing Stylus (S) automatically draws a corresponding shape at a predetermined scale.
All of the arms are free to pivot at their connections, allowing the parallelogram to expand and contract as the Pointer and Stylus move.
The Fixed Point (X) does not move, but it is free to rotate.
The Stabilizer (Y) is a small support that glides across the paper to keep the entire pantograph, which is elevated off the page, from sagging or bending the linked arms.
Ratios
The pantograph is modular: parts can be rearranged to make drawings at different scales. If you equally space the pointer and the drawing stylus, the drawing is 2x larger than the original. If you double the distance between the pointer and the stylus, your drawing will be 3x larger. The ratio between the pivot point, the pointer, and the stylus will affect the drawing size. To determine the enlargement scale, horizontally align the pivot point, the pointer, and the stylus. The enlargement ratio equals the ratio between the pivot point to the drawing stylus distance and the distance between the pivot point and the pointer.
To make a 2:1 enlargement, make the distance between the drawing stylus and the pivot point twice that of the pointer to the pivot point.
To make a 3:1 enlargement, make the distance between the drawing stylus and the pivot point three times that of the pointer to the pivot point.
To make a 4:1 enlargement, make the distance between the drawing stylus and the pivot point four times that of the pointer to the pivot point.
