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Hallowe'en is a passion of mine and for this time around I wanted something really neat, so I started thinking about trying to make some wings.
Much Googling later and I came to the conclusion there wasn't much out there. There were a few pictures of simple single-hinge wings but those weren't very impressive to me, and the professional version was well over a thousand dollars and not what I was trying for anyway.
Since there weren't many how-tos out there, and since nobody had really done what I wanted to do in an affordable (mostly) way, I tried to take some pictures and help others who want to build wings that open and close without manually pulling strings.
Steampunk Hawkman is the result. This is a tutorial on building his wings (V1.0).
Much Googling later and I came to the conclusion there wasn't much out there. There were a few pictures of simple single-hinge wings but those weren't very impressive to me, and the professional version was well over a thousand dollars and not what I was trying for anyway.
Since there weren't many how-tos out there, and since nobody had really done what I wanted to do in an affordable (mostly) way, I tried to take some pictures and help others who want to build wings that open and close without manually pulling strings.
Steampunk Hawkman is the result. This is a tutorial on building his wings (V1.0).
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I spent a lot of time googling and attempting to find people who had done it before, and most were simple single-hinge angel-wing style costume wings. That's okay, but it means you're limited in size since they don't fold down very well and are limited to your own height. A proper bird or bat-style folding ought to be better.
They're fairly similar, although skeletally they're a bit different, so I chose bird, just because there's more of them out there.
This diagram shows a greatly simplified way of creating the parallelogram that does the work. When the base of the wing is attached at the ends, moving any of the members should cause the wing to fold and unfold.
Originally, due to all the manual wings I saw, I thought only about pulling or pushing on the attached ends, but once built, it became clear that any change to one of the angles affects all the rest. That opens up a lot of ways to cause the folding motion.
They're fairly similar, although skeletally they're a bit different, so I chose bird, just because there's more of them out there.
This diagram shows a greatly simplified way of creating the parallelogram that does the work. When the base of the wing is attached at the ends, moving any of the members should cause the wing to fold and unfold.
Originally, due to all the manual wings I saw, I thought only about pulling or pushing on the attached ends, but once built, it became clear that any change to one of the angles affects all the rest. That opens up a lot of ways to cause the folding motion.
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Here's a link to the 4-inch version of what I have:
http://www.princessauto.com/power-transmission/hydraulics/pneumatic/cylinders/8188187-0_8-bore-x-3_9-stroke-pneumatic-cylinder
The keywords to look for are pneumatic cylinder. I've heard good things about Fry's if you're in the US, but I can't speak from experience.
Each year I make costumes for our local Wearable Art Show. My sons have modeled since third grade. They are seniors this year and I have been wanting to make pneumatic wings for their grand finale. Would you mind sharing more details on the electronic circuit for your v 2.0 set? I think I have most of the components but any advice would be great and would save me tinkering time.
My e-mail is jackiekeizer@yahoo.com if you'd be willing to share any other advice.
Thanks and again, very, very nice work!
For art, I would definitely go with a solenoid switch, I got one (5-way 2-position) for 35 dollars, it takes standard 12V, and if you get a 2-position, it will only need a momentary switch to activate, so there's no constant power drain. The circuit is as simple as it gets once you have the switch.
The Version 1.0 wings suffer as a halloween costume because the moving air tubes will cause leakage and tend to get caught on stuff. This isn't a problem for a fashion show, though, just for moving through crows. Once you go with the solenoid switch though, you can make everything self contained so none of the workings are visible, and hide the switch in your hand, which is REALLY nice, nobody sees you tap it.
Let me know what you're having trouble with specifically and I'd be glad to help.
Does the solenoid work so that a burst of electricity changes the position, and each time the switch is hit the position changes again? Or does the polarity reverse so that you do need a two position switch so toggle forward and the piston goes up, toggle back and it goes down? And, lastly, since there is no neutral on the two position solenoid, is CO2 always being depleted? Is it continually pushing up with the excess being exhausted? I didn't think so but I couldn't convince my friend, and when I thought about it I wasn't sure.
At this point I probably sound like I have no business attempting this, but help...I'm in too deep to quit right now! I'm on an island so it is a bit hard to get things. I ordered everything I thought I needed but got a couple of the wrong fittings. Otherwise I'd hook up the air to the solenoid to the pistons and see what happens. The solenoid has a manual override so I could get an idea of how exactly it operates.
I'd really appreciate knowing exactly what the circuit is that I need to operate the solenoid. I'm thinking I might be better off going with the manual valve but that would mean ordering new parts. If I can make this work with the solenoid it would be nice as the wearable art show is coming up pretty fast. I have the wings made...they just aren't moving yet!
NOW, to be clear, there's nothing wrong with the 2-position, as long as you're not leaking.
Once the piston is full of CO2, there's nothing further happening in terms of exhaust, so yes, it's 'on', but it's not exhausting co2 so you aren't actually using air, except for whatever leakage is in the system.
My solenoid was a 5-way, 2-position.
(5 way is 1 in, 2 out, 2 exhaust, and 2-position for a solenoid generally means 2 electromagnets)
For the 5-2 switch, you need a 2-way rocker (momentary) as once you click it, the switch moves into the position you are clicking and stays there, This is helpful, since you aren't using a lot of power at all.
The piston will stop when it's full, and the system will be at equilibrium. When you switch it back, at that point the air in the piston is pushed back by the air in the second half of the system, and out the exhaust.
SO this all depends on the switch you have, can you post the exact type?
The 2-way rocker is just a simple switch, right? Basically hooked up battery to switch to solenoid and complete the circuit? My friend is an electronics guy who puts in car stereos, auto starts, etc for a living. I went to him to see what kind of switch, or to buy one from him, but he thought I needed a much more complicated system and was pretty apprehensive about the whole idea. NAPA has lots of switches, rockers included. Would one from there work? I'm pretty limited in town on components.
Thanks so much for your help with this. I'll be sure you get credit!
Either way should work fine. I used a pair of momentary switches because I found that switch first to buy and wire in the time I had. You do want momentaries though, no point in burning juice holding them open with a solenoid.
In a pinch, use regular switches, but remember to flick them on and off again for usage. It's a bit of a hack, but really just a training issue.
Leaks are always an issue. we worked out a lot of that in V2.0 with a really nice articulation system. I did find that silicone on the tube before pushing it into the fitting, and then siliconing the entire area worked, but take care to let it cure properly.
I assume you know how to test with dish-soap and a brush? I found that even plumbing tape wasn't as good as I hoped, so my mechanic buddy and I siliconed the fitting threads as well.
Do remove the canisters between uses, but I did find that my 9oz canister was enough for 88 open-closes, while testing with the V1.0 rig. Real usage was about half that, due to the fact that I didn't have good leak sealing then, and the movement of the tubes.
I have found a lot of schematics showing the air workings, but really nothing on wiring except to say there is a +, -, and ground!
That's workable, although it will drain more power than the dual solenoid type.
I'm assuming you're using 24v? The spec seems to say it needs that. I can't find a spec sheet that describes the default and action states.
So then I would try to set it up with a momentary so that when in default mode it's powering closed. Then it should open and stay open only as long as you are holding the momentary switch, and close as soon as you let go.
Sometimes these things won't click without actual pressure in the system (mine wouldn't), so you'd have to test it live.
the Wearable Art show was this weekend. There are shows on Thur, Fri, and Sat nights with a matinee on Saturday. I filmed the matinee if you want to see how they turned out. I'm really happy I got them done, but I'm also really glad its over! Thanks again.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=735RN583fjU
The solenoid is a good idea. I didn't have one so I used two valves. One valve would pressurize the system. Once shut off, the second valve was opened to release the pressure and the wings reset. It was only a single action cylinder. The control still fit in my hand through and allowed for seamless movement of the wings.
At tip, if you want totally silent wings when the pressure releases, put a short piece of tube on the exhalation port and sew up a piece of cotton material layered 3 times to fit as a boot over the end. Make the cotton boot about 3 inches long and just tape it onto the tubing. It works like a charm as a silencer so no more hissing as the wings go down.
Here is a picture of the set I built. You can see the single cylinder in the center. Hopefully it comes through.
Just an example. I think there's a video of the complete Hawkman outfit somewhere but I don't seem to be able to find it on short notice.