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You can probably find many more links about these or similar concepts on the internet by using one of the many search engines. I have located some selected links on these subjects to let you know about some concepts that might lead to the start of an interesting project that you might perhaps employ CAD and CAM programs in the construction of. Always check and thoroughly inspect all parts manufactured by using my programs before using them. You should not use my programs to produce components for anything that could produce damage or injury.
If reports about Reidar Finsrud's "Perpetuum Mobile" are accurate, then he may have created an interesting mechanical devise, if they are not, then it may be less interesting.
If we assume that Reidar Finsrud's "Perpetuum Mobile" operates as described, i.e. that the ball goes around the track for extended periods of time without the formal introduction of additional power, then understanding why it operates might allow informed development of such devices that may operate better.
From just a casual observation of the "Perpetuum Mobile" it is not immediately apparent as to how the device might absorb enough energy to stay in motion for prolonged periods. Reidar Finsrud's "Perpetuum Mobile" might be some kind of energy converter, perhaps converting seismic and other vibrations into rotary motion. The wires that brush the ball as it runs around the track, along with the magnets connected to them, may act as ratchets subtly reflecting some reverse motion of the base that comes from the environment, so that the net effect of all motions of the ball sum toward reinforcement of the forward motion of the ball. Reverse motion of the track might occur when the earth moves the base and track making the ball slide "backwards" on the track (while still rolling forward) so that it bumps into the wires making the ball run down hill a little or the wires acting as an elastic bumper reflecting the energy to make the ball bounce forward, like a boy kicking a ball along as he walks up a hill, i.e. the ball is always rolling up the hill but its rate of motion relative to the boy slows and reverses relative to the more constant forward motion of the boy just before the next kick.
There may be other factors that may be at work. For instance, there are parts of the machine that are metal and in motion, so small electric and magnetic "fields" are generated in the presence of the Earths magnetic "fields" and ambient RF and microwave background radiation. The machine might be powering itself in some way with such ambient energy, who knows. Prototypes made of different materials both conducting and non- conducting and magnetic and non-magnetic could be tested to isolate the factors that contribute to operation, if indeed the device works as described. The answer may be as simple as the device being powered by the foot steps of the people coming to look at it, or the vibrations of the cars and trucks driving by the building it is in.
Since what keeps it going may not be apparent, observing it to try to see if anything special happens that causes it to stop might lead to some insights. The "Perpetuum Mobile" might be recorded on video "24/7" to see what happens around the time when it stops to see if some modification might keep it going longer. Such video recordings could be correlated to seismic monitors and other sensors to see if there is any pattern to the events leading up to its stopping. Passive sensors could be used to measure all of the machines motions and timing, e.g. the ball velocity, the motions of the pendulums, and other factors such as flex of the base and such to see if the stopping can be predicted.
The "Perpetuum Mobile" might be viewed as some kind of a stick-slip ratchet operated by vibrations at various frequencies including or particularly sub-sonic. Higher frequencies might also be involved, such as Brownian motion, or collisions with air molecules, and such. It might also operate in other ways, but its operation at all cannot be confirmed unless the device is duplicated by others. To mass produce components for the construction of such devices you might use CAD and CAM software to try to keep some consistency to the component production, and thereby perhaps reduce failure to reproduce results, which might be of particular interest when building devices whose operation relies on unknown forces or effects. If you can make ten, or more, devices that all work the same then you might be able to say that something is indeed happening consistently, even if you do not understand why.
If I understand the design, there seems to be a larger mass in the center of the "Perpetuum Mobile" so the device is somewhat, or a little, like a model of a hydrogen atom, i.e. a large mass perturbed by a smaller orbiting mass. The additional magnets and additional pendulums acting on the ball are something like collisions with other surrounding particles and atoms that keep bumping the electron and deflecting it back toward the center of its orbit. Applying what is known about orbiting bodies might offer some insight, particularly with regard to the relative masses of the bodies. The fact that the machine stops from time to time is not necessarily inconsistent with the atomic analogy since atoms lose their electrons from time to time, e.g. the process which contributes to the formation of static electricity. Increasing the resonance "Q" of the device's systems to better capture the Earth's vibration frequencies might also help, this might require making the device larger or smaller. When using CAD and CAM software it might be not too difficult to scale the tool path files to make larger or smaller models of the same components.
There are probably no true perpetual motion machines since the universe will probably one day collapse and be reborn in another big bang, or expand and freeze to near absolute zero so everything will stop, but there are things that move for extended periods, in fact everything around us, and in us, is in constant, if restrained, motion. When you put a refrigerator magnet on your refrigerator it does not fall to the floor, so in fact it can be viewed as doing work of a small amount to stay up, but the magnet will probably not last forever, so the question is does the total energy required to keep the magnet up over its lifetime exceed the energy input when the magnet was manufactured and if so why? Perhaps the magnets in the "Perpetuum Mobile" are contributing something through their demagnetization or in some other way.
More to the point, can devices be constructed that convert the potential energy in or on masses and magnets in a gravity "field" into macroscopic mechanical motion, or at least can masses and magnets be used to construct energy converters that yield mechanical motion for extended periods of time. There may be some unanswered questions about the utility of relationships between gravity, mass, and electromagnetism, perhaps there may be useful energy conversions that are still undiscovered.
If Reidar Finsrud's results can be reproduced, then the construction of "Perpetuum Mobile", or something of the kind, might become a popular hobby project for metal working and CAD or CAM enthusiasts. Who knows if useful power might someday be extracted by the descendant of such a device, much like getting power from the waves in the Ocean. If the results cannot be reproduced then something has also been learned, although perhaps not something as interesting. To find out experiments must be done, and to try to help reduce the work involved in building and designing many prototype devices CAD and CAM software might be employed.
Reidar Finsrud's Perpetuum Mobile, the builders Web site.
http://www.galleri-finsrud.no/sider/mobile/tegninger.html
Page with photos and links.
http://www.galleri-finsrud.no/sider/mobile/foto.html/
Photos and video of machine.
http://www.galleri-finsrud.no/sider/mobile/linker.html
Links to more sites about the machine.
http://www.theverylastpageoftheinternet.com/magneticDev/finsrud/finsrud.htm
Seems to be some photos and story, in English, that seem to be by John Pasley.
http://www.padrak.com/ine/FINSRUD1.html
Seems to be some articles on Reidar Finsrud's perpetual motion sculpture.
http://www.keelynet.com/energy/finsrud.htm
Seems to be said to be a description of the mechanism with a diagram.
http://www.keelynet.com/energy/finsrud2.txt
Seems to be a document said to be a "Transcript of interview with Reidar Finsrud (from Norwegian TV Channel 2)".
http://www.keelynet.com/energy/finsrud3.txt
Seems to be a document said to be a description of a visit to see the machine.