Make Spirograph-like Graphics
Roulette runs on Vista and later versions of Windows.
The Roulette program plots curves from the roulette family. Roulette
curves are formed by “rolling” one curve around another.
The Roulette program “rolls” a circle around the inside
or outside of a fixed circle. If the circle is “rolled”
around the inside of the fixed circle the resulting curve is an
hypotrochoid. If the circle is “rolled” around the
outside of the fixed circle the resulting curve is an epitrochoid.
Those are the 2 types of curves that the Roulette program plots.
The program icon (at the top left of this page) is an example of an
epitrochoid. The icon was produced with the aid of the Roulette
program, but extensive editing outside of the Roulette program was
necessary to achieve the final result.
To the right is an example of several hypotrochoids layered to make
a colorful compass. This image was produced by the Roulette program.
The only editing of the image was scaling it to fit this page.
And to the left is a fancy clock face produced by layering both
epitrochoids and hypotrochoids. Again, the only editing
outside the Roulette program was to scale the image to fit this page.
The Roulette program is a Windows program and runs on Vista and newer versions of Windows (sorry, no XP). The download is a .zip file. Extract the setup files from the .zip archive then run the setup.exe program. This will install an icon on your desktop and a link in your Start Menu. Should you wish you may uninstall the program from the control panel.
Here are some screen captures of the Roulette program in the process of plotting the hypotrochoid used by the Spirograph toy in its logo. The Roulette program had its Animation option on so you see an articulated arm in the picture, which shows the hypothetical mechanism used to draw the curves. (Click to enlarge)
And finally, the finished plot plus a variation on the same theme. (Click to enlarge)
Here are some graphics produced by the program (click to enlarge):
