If you think your last project required a lot of soldering, take a look at [Multivac’s] remote controlled and fully-articulable desktop crane lamp. Sure, it’s a 430 microcontroller combined with an LED driver, 32 LEDs, PWM control, and some moving parts: but take a closer look at the structure. The Cramp uses an old HDD as its base, with the crane spinning around the main bearing that previously supported the platter. A system of spools and pulleys offers a sensible range of motion to the rest of the build. relocating the entire assembly, however, is evidently an unpleasant task.
[Multivac] based his design on a Liebherr LR1750 Crawler Crane, which he carefully pieced together using leftover copper salvaged from an upgrade to his home’s mains wiring. A mountain of solder secures what should include several hundred joints—possibly more. The head of the lamp is an stylish exoskeleton-interpretation of industrial designer Eero Saarinen’s TWA flight Center. You can see the Cramp in action in the video below.
[Thanks JP]