Leonardo: Machines and Instruments

Winch for lifting heavy weights
This particular winch drawn by Leonardo transforms the alternating motion communicated to the lever into the continuous circular motion of the shaft. Leonardo drew this winch between 1478 and 1480, shortly before transferring to Milan, probably on the basis of observation of an existing machine.

Rotatable crane
On the two sides of the same folio, Leonardo drew two cranes for lifting and moving heavy weights, probably observed at construction sites in Florence or Milan. Each crane has the same structure and is supported on a circular platform capable of rotating by means of wheels, or perhaps ball bearings, to allow rapid transfers of material.

Double-arm crane
The function of the double-arm crane is clarified by the inscription for emptying moats, possibly referring to the moats at the Castle of Milan.

Double-movement drill
This drill could be used for excavating deep into the earth. It is formed of an endless screw anchored to a wooden structure with four feet. The screw is actuated by two bars: one allows it to turn as it descends and penetrates into the ground, and the other raises it while holding it steady so as to carry away the earth.

Crane for excavating canals
The crane has two arms and can rotate on a shaft. The extremity of one of the arms rests on the upper ground level, assisted by a wheel. The principal shaft is reinforced by a supporting framework. Two pulleys move the system of cords, at the extremity of which are a wooden base and a crate that opens from the bottom (method for emptying the earth). The counterweight for lifting the crate is provided by an ox and two men.

Screw for raising water

Anonimous from Francesco di Giorgio Martini (Siena 1439-1501)
Treatise on Military and Civil Architecture - early 17th cen. Parchment manuscript

Hydraulic pumps

Anonimous from Francesco di Giorgio Martini (Siena 1439-1501)
Treatise on Military and Civil Architecture - early 17th cen. Parchment manuscript

Column-raising machine
The model represents an automatic winch equipped with a system for raising columns, composed of two endless screws, along which a cart is inserted, moving on two bolts. Working from the basis of systems already drawn by Francesco di Giorgio Martini and other engineers, Leonardo drew this mobile winch for transporting and raising columns and obelisks.

Trench digger
This trench digger for canals or moats is formed of an arm that rocks on a pivot: at one extremity is the hoe, at the other, a half-moon balance wheel to which a weight is connected by a cord. The excavating device, the balance wheel, and the weight are all mounted on the same structure. The hoe moves owing to the action of the heavy balance wheel, which lowers making it rise, while the attached recipient fills, allowing the hoe to descend with great force, thus digging the trench.

Hydraulic saw
Leonardo’s drawing dates from his first years in Florence and refers to the study of a type of automatic saw used in that period, which was also described by Francesco di Giorgio Martini.
The saw was actuated by hydraulic energy, which is transformed through a complex system of gears and mechanical elements to produce the vertical movement of the saw at the same time as the synchronized advancement of the cart on which the tree trunk to be cut is placed.

Machine for cutting files
The machine is constituted of a base on which a cart runs, connected to an endless screw, which is connected in turn via gears and pinion to a transmission shaft. At one of the extremities of the shaft, a wheel with four teeth engages a pivot, which in turn is connected to a hammer. There is also a sprocket connected to the transmission shaft. A weight connected to the sprocket falls by gravity to unwrap a cord from the sprocket, causing the transmission shaft to turn. The rotation of the shaft actuates the wheel with four teeth, lifting the hammer and causing it to fall, like a cam wheel. The hammer thus cuts the file. The shaft simultaneously moves the pinion and the toothed wheel connected to the endless screw, moving the cart on which the file is positioned in a manner synchronized with the hammer’s movement.

Inclinometer
This measuring instrument is for controlling position of flight with respect to a horizontal plane. During the same years, Leonardo drew other studies relating to “instrumental” flight. It is constituted of a wooden base surmounted by a glass bell, inside of which a small pendulum is hanging. When the little ball inside the glass ball hangs at the very center of the instrument, it shows that the horizontal position has been reached, indispensable for certain flight conditions. The bell ensured that the little ball would not be disturbed by gusts of wind.

Automotive carriage
The model is constituted of a carriage structure with three wheels plus a fourth wheel mounted on a long bar acting as rudder. Mechanisms previously studied by Leonardo are put to use in the carriage, such as leaf springs, springs, and toothed wheels. The carriage is actuated by a manual loading system for the leaf springs, which transmit, via a complicated system of gears, their stored power into the moving wheels, causing it to advance. In the drawing, a veritable worksheet, not all the elements are described with the same level of refinement, which has given rise to various problems of interpretation. Long considered to have been an ancestor to the automobile, this carriage probably refers to a study for a machine to be used in the theater, a sector Leonardo was involved with first in Florence and later in Milan.

Wind carriage

The model reproduces a cart driven by a pair of paddle wheels, which are in turn driven by the wind. It is based on a woodcut in the tenth book of De Re Militari by the humanist Roberto Valturio, a book owned by Leonardo in the vernacular version published in 1483.