After I had the opportunity to scuba dive with manta rays, I wanted to recreate and channel that beauty into an object I could idly watch on my desk. The final lamp consists of three mechanically actuated manta rays that individually flap their wings as they swim around the periphery of a tank filled with mineral oil.
To create the appearance of swimming, I decided to make the mechanisms out of clear acrylic and fill the tank with mineral oil. Since they have a similar refractive index, the acrylic “disappears” and all that’s left is the manta. Also, mineral oil does not short circuit electronics, making it a safer option to fill the tank than water.
To recreate the fluid motion of swimming mantas, I laser cut kerf bending pattern into the manta ray, allowing the acrylic to flex. Then, I tied fishing line to the tips of the wings to create a flexible joint. Finally, I installed linear actuators to move a plate connected to the fishing line the wings up and down.
Using an Arduino, I set each linear actuator to have variable cycle times and offset their start to make them seem more natural. The linear actuators were set on a large gear and connected to a DC motor, allowing the mantas to spin around the tank. Finally, I sewed a cover for the top half of the tank to cover the mechanism and it was complete!
