A friend sent me this, and it is just incredible. Since it's a machine, and most of the components were made by John Deere, I figure it's OK on Tool Talk.
OK, Read this first, then open the attachment, and watch. This is almost unbelievable. See how all of the balls wind up in catcher cones.
This incredible machine was built as a collaborative effort between the Robert M. Trammell Music Conservatory and the Sharon Wick School of Engineering at the University of Iowa. Amazingly, 97% of the machine's components came from John Deere Industries and Irrigation Equipment of Bancroft, Iowa. Yes, farm equipment!
It is now on display in the Matthew Gerhard Alumni Hall at the University and is already slated to be donated to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC.
extraordinaire_instrument_de_musique.wmv 5880.2 kb