Automata
Hand-cranked paper machines, kinetic sculptures and mechanical models in which cams, gears, linkages and gravity turn paper and card into movement. This section collects paperPino’s automata, from playful characters and narrative mechanisms to experimental machines, with downloadable models and building information.
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The Ballerina in the Breathing Tower
Build a free mechanical paper automaton with a rotating ballerina, opening tower, gears and music box. Download the model and illustrated assembly instructions.
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The Birthday Flower — Tribute to Peter Markey
Build The Birthday Flower, a free paper automaton inspired by Peter Markey. Removable Interlocking Pins let you assemble, dismantle and store it as a reusable kit.
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EPM – Electro Paper Man
Build EPM – Electro Paper Man, a hand-powered paper robot inspired by the 1960s Electro Man tin toy, with a walking quick-return mechanism and moving arm.
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URSUS (1914)
Build a free paper model of URSUS, Trieste’s historic floating crane, with its industrial history, images, video and downloadable template.
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MACHINA
Build MACHINA, a free mechanical paper model where gears, levers and tracks guide balls through a theatrical sequence of movements. Download the complete model.
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Sand-Powered Mechanical Hammer
Build a free sand-powered paper automaton inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s mechanical hammer. Falling sand drives the wheel, cam and hammer mechanism.
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Leonardo’s Anemometer
The model translates one of Leonardo’s compact mechanical observations into a buildable object: simple in appearance, but closely tied to his broader interest in air, motion and flight. As part of his…
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WAP – WARNING! Air Pockets
Build WAP – WARNING! Air Pockets, a free paper automaton where gears and cranks send a tiny airplane through an apparently chaotic flight. Download the complete model.
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Peace Dove
Build a small paper automaton around a simple, enduring symbol of peace: a white dove carrying a message. Download the model, print the parts and assemble your own moving paper dove.
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The Rolling Reels Circus (2005)
The Rolling Reels Circus — Il Circo dei Rocchetti Rotolanti — is one of my early paper automata. The idea is very simple: a set of reels rolls and moves through a…
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Wandering in the Sky
Released on 2 February 2006, Wandering in the Sky (WITS) is the largest and most complex paper automaton I have designed. A clown pedals a tricycle while a small bird beats its…
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Sweet Dreams
A small paper automaton driven by a Geneva stop mechanism: continuous rotation becomes a sequence of intermittent movements, turning a technical device into a quiet little paper scene.