Sliding caliper jaws
animated mechanism (parameter sweep)
Stylized vernier caliper with `jawExtension` swept 5 → 110 mm over 36 frames.
What it is
A stylized vernier caliper: a long beam, a fixed jaw at one end, and a movable jaw that slides along the beam. The jawExtension parameter is the inside-face distance between the two jaws — sweep it to animate the caliper opening and closing.
Why visual feedback matters
Animated mechanisms are where parameter sweeps shine. The crank-sweep on the engine showed slider-crank kinematics; this one is simpler (pure translation) but makes the value of "GIF, not still" obvious — the geometry doesn’t look like a caliper until you see it move.
Screenshots
`jawExtension` ramps from 5 mm to 110 mm over 36 frames at 12 fps.
Parameters
Parameters 9
| Name | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
beamLength | — mm | Caliper beam length. |
beamWidth | — mm | Beam width. |
beamHeight | — mm | Beam height. |
jawBlade | — mm | Jaw blade dimension. |
jawSpan | — mm | Jaw span. |
jawY | — mm | Jaw Y offset. |
sliderLength | — mm | Movable-jaw slider sleeve length. |
sliderClearance | — mm | Clearance between sleeve and beam. |
jawExtension | — mm | Opening between the two inner jaw faces. |
Try it
- Open in your browser → openjscad.xyz, bundled single-file
- Source on GitHub →
- Full walkthrough on GitHub →