Cycloids
01 Jan 2008
A cycloid is the curve traced by a point on the rim of a circular wheel as the wheel rolls along a straight line without slipping. A cycloid is a specific form of trochoid and is an example of a roulette, a curve generated by a curve rolling on another curve. You can read more about cycloids at it's wiki page here.
Below I have two cycloids that I find particularly interesting, a Hypocycloid, and an Epicycloid.
Each cycloid has adjustable parameters that produce interesting effects.

Hypocycloid
Inner circle ratio :
Distance of inner point :
Epicycloid
Outer circle ratio:
Distance of inner point :

Javascript Demos ▼

Here's a bunch of javascript... things I wrote over the years whenever time permitted.