Project and realization:
IBM Italia, 1952
Model from:
Leonardo da Vinci, Codice Atlantico, f. 108r
carved wood / painted, cotton rope, iron
cm 98 x 110 x 58
Description:
Two supports are fixed on a special bench, their distance apart corresponding to the length of a spindle shaped like two truncated cones united along their smaller bases.
A cord is wound onto the spindle, tied at one end to a very flexible leaf spring and at the other to a lever which, when pulled, makes the leaf spring oscillate. Through this movement the spindle winds itself up and unwinds, forcing the metal rod with a drill head, placed horizontally, to follow its to-and-fro movement. Through a screw turned by a crank, the block containing the rod can move along the bench causing the drill to advance into the piece that is to be drilled. All this work can be performed by just one person.