- pantograph
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—pantographer /pan tog"reuh feuhr/, n. —pantographic /pan'teuh graf"ik/, pantographical, adj. —pantographically, adv. —pantography, n./pan"teuh graf', -grahf'/, n.1. Also, pantagraph. an instrument for the mechanical copying of plans, diagrams, etc., on any desired scale.2. Elect. a device usually consisting of two parallel, hinged, double-diamond frames, for transferring current from an overhead wire to a vehicle, as a trolley car or electric locomotive.[1715-25; PANTO- + -GRAPH]
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instrument for duplicating a motion or copying a geometric shape to a reduced or enlarged scale. It consists of an assemblage of rigid bars adjustably joined by pin joints; as the point of one bar is moved over the outline to be duplicated, the motion is translated to a point on another bar, which makes the desired copy according to the predetermined scale. In the Figure—> the links 2, 3, 4, and 5 are connected by pin joints at O, A, B, and C. Joint O is fixed to a support, while joints A, B, and C are free to move. Link 5 is a solid bar continuing on to Q. Point P is the guided point and is usually fixed on link 4. As P is guided on a specific path, such as the square in the Figure—>, point Q will follow a similar path on an enlarged scale. Conversely, if point Q is guided, point P will follow a similar path on a reduced scale.The links in a pantograph may be arranged in other ways, but they all contain a parallelogram. Pantographs are used for reducing or enlarging engineering drawings and maps and for guiding cutting tools over complex paths. Artists specializing in miniatures use pantographs to achieve greater detail.* * *
Universalium. 2010.