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Step 1: Cans
At first you need a lot of cans... about 350-400!
I decided to use RED BULL COLA cans because of two reasons.
First one: i like the colours and their combination in this diagonally way.
Second one: some cans are made out of aluminium, others are produced out of tin-foil (coca-cola). Red Bull uses aluminium. The advantage of aluminium is, that you have no corrosion (rust) at the cut edge and its much easier to cut and to punch!
The disadvantage of aluminium is that its not that ductile, tin-foil is more ductile, and therefore it breakes easier when you start buckling it 2 or 3 times at the same place... but if you act carefully with your suit, this is not a problem ;)
The gloves for this suit aren´t part of this instructable, they have their own and can be found here: http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-Gloves/
I decided to use RED BULL COLA cans because of two reasons.
First one: i like the colours and their combination in this diagonally way.
Second one: some cans are made out of aluminium, others are produced out of tin-foil (coca-cola). Red Bull uses aluminium. The advantage of aluminium is, that you have no corrosion (rust) at the cut edge and its much easier to cut and to punch!
The disadvantage of aluminium is that its not that ductile, tin-foil is more ductile, and therefore it breakes easier when you start buckling it 2 or 3 times at the same place... but if you act carefully with your suit, this is not a problem ;)
The gloves for this suit aren´t part of this instructable, they have their own and can be found here: http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-Gloves/
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Not exactly. The stuff you buy on rolls to cook your turkey or what have you is much, much thinner than the stuff they make pop cans with. (I'm a midwesterner, and that's what we call those. Deal with it.) That's why it crumples and punches through so easily.
It is almost impossible to use Reynold's Wrap to create something like this (unless you're up for melting it down and hammering it out), if that's what your asking.
Those who can do, those who can't can always make a can suit.
Not only that, but were your cans made of actual tin, they wouldn't rust at all (nor would they hold much pressure) -and- they would in fact be a piece of cake to cut.
While it's also true that true tin foil is more ductile than aluminium, ductility does not in and of itself lead to breakage. But you're not using tin, you're using 2 thicknesses of aluminium with differing amounts of work-hardening, which actually does determine resistance to breakage.
Steel cans, on the other hand, will rust, weigh a lot, are hard to cut, harder to find, harder to shape, etc.
Just thought you guys should know.
In any case, nice job with the design and construction!
Very cool suit, by the way! Great construction!
CC
I'm trying to make a suit of armor like this, and it would really help to know what exactly I'm buying.
Thanks!
Ok i will try!
Cutting:
1: I used metal shears to remove the bottom of the can which is harder than the rest of the can and to cut the steelband and the tinplate.
2: For the rest of the can i used a ordinary shere.
3: To punch the holes in the can pieces i used a hole puncher and a punch pliers.
Connecting:
4: To connect the can pieces to each other i used a grommet pliers. (The Grommet diameter should be about 1 mm smaller than the hole diameter --> can pieces stay movable)
5: For the places i couldnt reach with the grommet pliers or that needed a more solid connection i used a blind rivet pliers.
Materials:
6: Steel band to structure some parts like the helmet or the shoulder component.
7: Tinplate for the same reason but its more flexible than the steel band and can be used at other places.
8: Gloves for your saftey!
9..... CANS!!!
I think these are the most important things you will need everything else is optional and i`m sure there are several other ways and tools that work as well as mine did, or even better!!!
As said, these tools were used to work with aluminium cans!
What is more, the tools aren`t that expensive... the absolutely most important thing you will need is a lot of time!
just a silly question... did that suit give you wings? :D
nice job, bsenger!
I understand why people want MORE DETAIL!!! However, I tend to think it's fine the way it is. Do they want a suit EXACTLY like yours or do they want to improvise in a few places. They will likely have to do that anyway because of their body type.
Anyway, keep up the good work!
Maybe Red Bull will give you wings next!
Can you show more detail on the construction part? You have great photos of the completed item... and some good photos of the tools and prep work... but the actual INSTRUCTIONS that make this an Instructable... they are a but vague.
You could include things like...
1) How you calculated the layout / shape.
2) How the parts were joined.
3) What did you do differently at the joint areas.
4) How many sections, and how are they held together.
Thanks,
Jerry