I have made for my daughter steampunk wings which can fold open and closed with the help of Lego Technic parts.
I was running out of time for the "make it real" contest, so I posted this instructable before I am all done, with the intent to improve/expand as I go... I have not yet been able to do the fabric on the wings, but the rest is done and working.
This is my first instructable, so bear with me as I tweak my style...
So where do you start? You find wings you like that fit the style... Leonardo DaVinci was a prolific drawer and researcher of wings, so I started with looking for images by him, and found one that my daughter liked and looked doable...
Finally, what would I do with the printer? It'd print the parts I used and make them look more Steam Punk and less Lego... And then more, obviously.
I'd also like to start a little 3D printing workshop to allow others access to affordable 3D printing...
I was running out of time for the "make it real" contest, so I posted this instructable before I am all done, with the intent to improve/expand as I go... I have not yet been able to do the fabric on the wings, but the rest is done and working.
This is my first instructable, so bear with me as I tweak my style...
So where do you start? You find wings you like that fit the style... Leonardo DaVinci was a prolific drawer and researcher of wings, so I started with looking for images by him, and found one that my daughter liked and looked doable...
Finally, what would I do with the printer? It'd print the parts I used and make them look more Steam Punk and less Lego... And then more, obviously.
I'd also like to start a little 3D printing workshop to allow others access to affordable 3D printing...
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I then designed the mechanism for the wings in Lego Digital Designer, and subsequently built it for real to test whether it actually worked...
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And hey, it got an email telling me it's featured in the Technology section! Flabbergasted! Esp. as it is my very first Instructable, and not even finished yet!
A few more pictures and a videoclip to be added, but over all, the project itself is finished!
OK, thanks.
That might be a bit small for me, so i'll probably add an extra foot. To bad the engine won't hold up, it was an nice solution (everybody has easy acces to lego's).
I also thought about using gas pistons and then linked to the small 12gr co2 canisters. I haven't found an affordable piston though.
If you were to use lighter materials (aluminium, fiber/resin spines, nylon fabric, etc.) you might still be able to get away with using the Lego... Perhaps adding springs to take some of the load (esp. when extending the wings, which is clearly the heaviest task for the motor) may help as well...
I chose to not glue anything together, so it can be repurposed... I think that using glue and resin to reinforce the cogs and stick the 'bricks' of the framework together would also increase the load they can take!
I have pictures for another instructable (a steampunk reactor/powersource) ready, but no time to make it...
I'll try to make pictures and post them though... Not giving an ETA tho!
One question though (well 2 actually). What was your wingspan, and do you recon the little motor could handle more (and thus a heavier weight)?
I have looked at using either pistons (but that requires a source of pressurized gas/vapor), which would be more true to the theme, or electric linear actuators, but the (10V-12V) ones that have sufficient range (IIRC approx 14cm or 7") of movement are very expensive...