Make an Iron Man Arc Reactor

I didn't have a lot of time to make a great Halloween costume this year so I figured I'd do something relatively simple that was still eye catching and cool. I wanted my Arc Reactor to look pretty realistic, but not necessarily 100% movie accurate, so it's kind of a cross between a MkI and MkII version. There are some things I'd change on the next version (and I'll point them out) but overall I'm pretty pleased with it.

The reactor is attached to an old heart rate monitor strap and it's powered by a 3 volt battery pack that just slips in my jeans pocket. It's light weight and is comfortable to wear for several hours at a time. In the photos below you can see how bright it is- it easily shines through my t-shirt under normal office lighting conditions and is very bright at night.

Follow along and see how it's made.....

Update: see page six for the new style reactor!

Step 1 Tools and materials

There are a few necessary tools:
soldering iron
dremel tool
drill bits
metal snips/shears
jeweler's saw (or some kind of saw to cut metal and plastic)
needle nose pliers
wire cutters
files/sandpaper
glue gun

And for materials:
thin brass sheet
plastic sheet ( I used Delrin- you can buy Delrin and acrylic sheet from Colorado Plastics)
clear acrylic sheet
copper wire- 22ga and 24ga thickness solid wire
sheet metal- 22ga thickness (.025in or about .5mm thickness)
PCB (printed circuit board)- at least 4" square (Radio Shack sells some that measures around 4.5" x 6")
several small bolts - I used 10ea 2.5mm bolts and 3ea 3mm bolts w/nuts
3 volt battery
11 ea NTE30027 surface mount LED's - I bought them from a local supplier but you can order them here: http://www.cablesandconnectors.com/30000-30.HTM
battery hook up wire

As an option for LEDs and making a circuit board you could use these instead-
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8735

I'll make specific notes about the materials used and possible substitutes/workarounds on the specific construction pages.

Please note: be careful cutting sheet metal as the edges can be very sharp and it's pretty easy to cut yourself.

Comments

[ski bum]

Hi Honus
I am having an extremely hard time cutting my PCB into a 4 inch circle. The PCB keeps on cracking and I can't even remotely get a clean cut. What do you recommend that I use to cut it?
Thank you.

[ski bum]

Ok cool thanks for the advice. I have been using a jig saw with a metal cutting blade on a scrolling feature. I'm assuming that it was to violent for the PCB to handle.

[Honus]

How are you cutting it? I would cut it with a scroll saw or jeweler's saw or coping saw.

[Frasbo09]

Would it be possible for you to take a pictuer of all of the individual parts?

[Frasbo09]

picture

[Frasbo09]

For model 1.

[Honus]

The pictures in the instructable are the only pictures I have. I no longer own the arc reactor so I cannot take additional photos- sorry!

[book man]

do you have a template for all of the pieces so I can laser cut them out ?

[Honus]

Sorry I do not have any templates.

[DareDevil147]

Iroman147 says: cool :)

[fugher]

Hey I wanted to ask you have you been able to get a kit together for this cool project?

[Honus]

Not yet- I'll have a lathe soon to make the patterns. :)

[fugher]

Cool. Whats the price range on it?

[Honus]

No idea yet.

[tech dawg]

This is the Arc reactor I made.It took a while to make and I made it the day before halloween.

[Honus]

Wow- that looks awesome!!

[tech dawg]

Thanks!

[Sethaulton]

Hi, you have said that you are using sheet metal as you're primary material and that you have been welding them with an unspecified welder. i am not familiar with welding. and would like to know what kind of welder you used ( in the bill of materials and tools it was not listed)
Thanks, Seth

[Honus]

I used a laser welder at my work. There are multiple options available- if you use mild steel sheet you can weld it using TIG, MIG or gas welding equipment as well as brazing using silver solder with a torch. Brass sheet would also work and you can join that using a small propane torch and solder.

You could probably even join the metal pieces using JB weld epoxy.

[Sethaulton]

Thank you very much, i was just wondering cause my neighbor has a garage full of welding equipment and i had no idea what kind of welder was used.
also may i suggest something for the outer ring ?
in my variation of the arc reactor i am building i am using a material for the outer light ring called light pipe
http://www.sparkfun.com/search/results?term=light+pipe&what=products
you may want to look into said products they are very applicable to projects like these!

[Honus]

If your neighbor has a TIG welder that can do thin sheet metal that could be the way to go- welding thin gauge sheet metal can be tricky due to distortion so you may want to use thicker metal. Honestly your best bet is probably silver solder w/ a propane torch or JB Weld epoxy. If you use silver solder brass sheet will be much easier to join than steel.

Another option I just thought of is to cut the parts from double sided blank copper PCB sheet and then you could use a soldering iron and electrical solder to join it. Cutting it wouldn't be fun but it would definitely work and wouldn't require special welding/brazing equipment.

I've seen the light pipe at Sparkfun (they are about 15 minutes from me) but never thought of using it in this application- that's a great idea!

[Sethaulton]

I'm inclined to use JB weld, but in my experience its always been messy and kind of a pain in the butt. ( i built electric racing cars in high school) that and the few things we used it on the welds never held up. How strong would the weld be in that case? also if i am so inclined to use JB weld. what kind of gauge sheet metal should i use?
and yeah light pipe is really neat. i just got a order in from sparkfun for my own arc reactor. i cant get over how good it looks ( i'm replacing your acrylic outer ring with two 6mm light pipes stacked on top of each other)

[Honus]

If you use JB Weld I would still use 22ga sheet metal and then bend a small flange on the bottom of each piece- you'll have to modify the patterns slightly but the flange will give you additional gluing area and make it stronger. Just be sure to rough up the areas you apply the glue to get a better bond.

That exactly how I envisioned using the light pipe too- make sure to post some pics! Are you lighting it from underneath or through the end?

[Sethaulton]

Lighting it through the end, i'm drilling holes in the ends and inserting LED's to get maximum brightness. as well as saving plenty of space. i intend on hiding the ends of the light pipe under one of the copper windings.
and what do you mean by roughing up the areas?

[Honus]

Use sandpaper on the areas where you apply the JB Weld epoxy.

[Prestond]

I'm sure this has already been asked, so I hope I don't annoy any body by asking this.

How did you make the lens for the center light? I can't seem to find one anywhere to buy, and I'm not sure how I'd go about making one.

Any help would be awesome!

[Honus]

I made mine from Acrylic rod that was turned on a lathe. You could make it from clear plastic sheet by taking a wood dowel and rounding the end and then heating up the plastic and stretching it over. Another method would be to cast one in clear resin but that can get expensive since you have to make a mold.

You could try shaping the Acrylic with sandpaper and then hollowing out the bacl side of the lens with a Dremel. Then use a polishing wheel to finish it.

[Prestond]

Stretching it over a wooden dowel, what a great idea! I'm gonna have to try that this weekend! Thank you very much!

[Honus]

You could use a heat gun or make a frame and put it in the oven for a bit. Let me know how it works out. :)

[TTAMREKRAP]

Could you give an estimate of how expensive this was? (sorry if you already did)

[Honus]

I used a lot of materials I already had on hand but it could definitely be done for under $100.

[UlyBoy83]

Awesome work!!! I'd like to try and make one. Can you send me in the guide please? [e-mail] Thanks a bunch!!! =D

[Honus]

Thanks- glad you like it! There is no "guide" other than what you see here- all of the information on how to make it is posted here.

[keys_smittyfreak]

Honus- I'm also making one (very great design by the way), however I'm wanting a self-contained pack (as opposed to the strap with the battery pack) Mine will be an inch smaller in diameter than your 4" version, and am trying to figure out the battery wattage. I'm fairly ignorant but my dad is tech-savvy. We do have a way to do it with my design, but I don't want to use a AA battery due to size. I saw the post you have for the Lily Pad LED strips... what kind of battery do these take (or are they self powered with a small battery of their own?) I tried to find the answer on Spark Fun but had no luck and thought you may have a better insight? Thanks!

[Honus]

Just use a single cell LiPo battery- that would be the easiest way to do it.

[keys_smittyfreak]

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly- one more quick question, where do you pick up batteries like this one? (I mean you personally) I hit Radio Shack a few days ago and they seemed a bit limited... thanks again!

[Honus]

I'd use this one-
http://www.sparkfun.com/products/339

It's pretty much perfect for what you want. The only real disadvantage to LiPos is they require a special charger (Sparkfun has several chargers that will work.)

[nrakoski]

Hey Honus,
I sent you a message about your Arc Reactor.

thanks for your help,

Noah

[Spidey28]

Hey Honus,

I have researched and studied your tutorial for about a year now and I'm finally worked up the nerve to try it. = )

During my research I found tons of other reactors and yours is the best, not just by design, but in overall execution.

I'm sure I'll have more questions as I'm working, but my first is, what instrument did you use for your measurements. Was it a digital caliper? What would you recommend as a replacement tool?

Thanks for any input you can provide.

[Honus]

Glad you like it! It certainly is a bit of a challenge to make but it's pretty rewarding when it's done. :)

I did use a digital caliper- I've had the same calipers for over 15 years and they've served me well. None of the measurements are super critical though- there is a fair bit of trial and error fitting parts together as you build it so you could even use just a ruler that has fine gradations.

Digital calipers are available pretty cheap these days-
http://www.amazon.com/SE-Caliper-Electronic-Stainless-Steel/dp/B0019O6OCO/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1316745967&sr=8-4