Here is a great little collection of animations of various mechanisms from the simple everyday to the more sophisticated. A brilliant way to learn how things work. We hope you like them. Please leave your comments.

4-speed Gearbox

Engine power enters through the shaft on the left and is transferred out of the gearbox on the right. The lower shaft is known as the layshaft. You can find out more about manual gearboxes at How Stuff Works.

Constant velocity joint

A constant velocity, or CV, joint is used to connect parts of a drivetrain that may change angle during use. They are usually used on driveshafts where the angle of connection between moving parts will change due to steering or suspension movement. There is a good article with further explanation here.

4-cylinder boxer engine

A boxer engine, also known as a horizontally opposed engine, is a V engine where the angle of the V is 180 degrees. Engines in this configuration have the advantage of being well balanced and having a low centre of gravity. However, the trade-off is that they are wider than a normal V or straight engine. Read more at AnswerBag.

Sewing machine needle

A very simple, but ingenious mechanism.

Radial aircraft engine

An aircraft radial type engine. It should be noted that only one piston (the uppermost one) is directly connected to the crank and the others are attached to that piston’s connecting rod. You can read more about the radial engine here.

Rotary to reciprocating motion

Devices to convert rotary motion to reciprocating (up-down, side-to-side etc) are amongst some of the oldest. These are often used to drive tools and have been in use since Roman times or before. Some other examples can be found here and here.

Gun turret loading mechanism

How ammunition is supplied and loaded on large calibre ship mounted guns.

Rotary engine

A rotary internal combustion engine. These are most commonly known for their use in the Mazda RX-7 and RX-8 models. It is more correctly referred to as a pistonless rotary engine or Wankel engine. Strictly speaking a true rotary engine is a type radial engine as seen above. Find out more about the Wankel Engine on Wikipedia.

Maltese Cross movement

A deceptively simple mechanism used when rotation is required, but with a pause at fixed intervals. The most used application of this is in a movie projector.