Introduction: Make an Animatronics Pac Man Tree Ornament

By

Here is how to give your tree some motion with an robotic pac man.
Simple put the solar panel near some lights, and pac man's mouth will rapidly open and close.

Step 1: Parts and Tools

the tools include
1 soldering iron 2 scissors
3 wire stripers 4 hobby knife
5 super glue 6 pliers
7 pen 4 solder

parts include
1 sheet aluminum and plastic 2 solar panel
3 low voltage motor 4 capacitor
5 electrical wire 6 steel wire
7 two yellow plastic Christmas bulbs

The Christmas bulbs that you start with must be plastic, glass bulbs cant be cut easily.

The solar panel can be found by dissassembling a solar powered garden lamp, the capacitor can be found by dissassembling a power supply, and the motor could be removed from an RC car. I got these parts from an electronics store, the capacitor was $0.10 the motor was $1.50 and the solar panel was $4.

Step 2: Interior Construction

Start this step by cutting the first plastic bulb at the back then cut open the mouth and make holes in both sides.Then take the second bulb and cut it in a way that it is twice as large as the mouth, then use some steel wire to make two headed pins that will act as hinges and glue them in place. Finally, glue a piece of aluminum to the mouth piece. This will be used later .

Step 3: The Mechanical System

Start by making a circle with two holes out of plastic and use some super glue to attach the shaft and a piece of steel wire to make a crank shaft. Then make a slotted plastic piece for the crank, and a mount for the motor.

Step 4: Wiring

Solder two wires to the motor and then to the capacitor. Most likely the capacitor will have a positive and negative side that indicates in which polarity it will work best. You don't need the capacitor but it will increase the power of the motor. Once you have the right polarity on the capacitor, connect the capacitor to the solar panel.

Step 5: Finishing

For the last step, glue the back cover in place then draw on the eyes and you're finished. Place the solar panel near a tree light for a power source, and pac man will chomp continuously.

I hope you enjoyed this instructable. I welcome your comments or questions.