Following on from the success of our original Penduloz Wall Mount and

Penduloz Arc, we bring you the Penduloz - Desk/Tabletop.

Mesmerizing, Kinetic, Sleek, and so Addictive. Unleash the artist in you.

Penduloz on tabletop showing the optional LED light.

The new Penduloz desk/tabletop edition mounts to any flat surface*, such as a desk or table, offering great versatility in positioning. Whether intended as a curiosity in a small studio, a science project, or as an art experiment, the Penduloz desk/tabletop edition will be right at home with you. The desktop version serves a wider audience, especially those who are homebound or limited in mobility.

*(Clamps to a surface thickness between 1.5 & 1.74 in/3.81 & 4.45 cm)

The Penduloz Desktop is available with or without LED lighting. Whether you are creating designs with the Penduloz or simply using the light as a desk light, it is a perfect choice for those who need a light readily available.

Penduloz desktop/tabletop shown with an optional LED light that dims from low to bright.

Powered by nothing more than gravity and physics, no batteries or electrical hook-ups are required!

harmonograph kinetic art spirograph drawing

If you've ever explored the intersection of art and geometry, you've probably played around with Lissajous curves. You recognize them instantly.

These psychedelic spirals may give you 80s arcade vibes, but ambitious artists have been making them since the Victorian period — long before roller rinks or computer algorithms!

harmonograph drawing kinetic art

This is the Penduloz Desktop - a modern kinetic drawing machine modeled after the experimental harmonographs from the 1800s. The Penduloz desktop renders hypnotic designs in infinite permutations — all powered by gravity and physics.

Draw with multiple colored pens.

The Penduloz Desktop combines all the elements of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Mathematics) into a machine that playfully subverts electricity and the digital age.

The Penduloz is a dual elliptical harmonograph with several novel, patentable elements. It features no motors and combines kinetic energy, friction, and gravity to create dazzling original imagery.

The machine consists of a long pendulum with spherical disc weights. A second shorter free pendulum, known as the ‘deflector’, hangs from the bottom of the first.

Self-aligning gimbals.

We’ve built the Penduloz harmonograph with self-aligning gimbals a specialized magnetic pen lift holder, and a centering clutch that centers the pen effortlessly on the drawing paper. The spring penholder lets you easily change out colors and pens.

Unlike a kinetic sand ball sculpture device, the Penduloz Desktop draws patterns you can use to make unique personalized stationery, postcards, greeting cards, business cards, tee shirts, placements, or wall art. No designs are the same! The patterns the Penduloz creates mirror many structures and formations found in the natural world —like galaxies, planets, spiderwebs, mollusk shells, or the path of subatomic particles.

Watch your kids thrive on interdisciplinary activities as they grasp the connections between SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, ART, and MATH (STEAM) while engaged in self-directed exploration.

For adults looking for the tranquility of a concentrated flow state, the Penduloz gives you problem-solving stimulation akin to crosswords or sudoku, combined with a relaxation effect like knitting or painting.

For further variety, draw on your iPad* with Apple Pencil* and print your creations for T-shirts, banners, business logos, and posters — the possibilities are as limitless as the designs themselves.

Use either pen and paper or iPad and Pencil to draw mind-blowing creations.

The Penduloz compliments the sister arts by allowing your mind to deepen its perspectives. If your skills lean more musical or literary, or you specialize in a scientific field like chemistry or biology — we’re willing to bet you’ll find new applications and inspiration from working with the physical-visual innovations of the Penduloz.

Hugh Blackburn, a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Glasgow, is credited with inventing the harmonograph using pendulums with pen attachments.

By the end of the 19th century, harmonographs caught on with the art crowd and became a popular parlor entertainment, inspiring hundreds of different models. Many harmonographs were designed to fold up in a box the size of a violin case to “take to a friend’s house for the evening.”

If you are interested in the intriguing mathematics behind the harmonograph click here.

This harmonograph is very different from the older types of harmonographs as it is a dual system with a secondary weight below the primary weight that provides a chaotic mystical vector to the drawing. It is sometimes referred to as the driver or deflector.

Penduloz Desktop with LED Light

Designed and built in California by D. A. Rorabaugh

Because of the current global conditions and the rise in shipping costs, the price of shipping is hard to estimate further out.

These are estimates and may be subject to change. Exact shipping will be calculated after the campaign has ended.

International Orders

We are not responsible for any kind of import fees, duty fees, import taxes, or any kind of fees when entering the country of your purchase. It is the recipient's responsibility to be aware of the policies in their country and to pay the additional fees associated with their purchase.

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Penduloz Desktop Drawing Machine