Can Suit

by Prototyp 81

46K13162

Intro: Can Suit

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 won´t be a problem.

The gloves for this suit aren´t part of this instructable, they have their own and can be found here:  https://www.instructables.com/id/LED-Gloves/

STEP 2: Tools


This image shows the most important tools and materials i used.

STEP 3: Tools


Before you start connecting you need holes. Therfore use a puncher or a special bin rail. The hole-diameter has to be larger (1mm) than the grommet-diameter (5mm). This is necessary because the grommets fit better and the pieces stay flexible towards each other. The connection of the pieces works well with grommets (do you call them grommets?). For more solid connections, especially between the can pieces and the steel band, use blind rivets. The steel band helps you to strut some parts like the helmet or the shoulder components.

STEP 4: Cutting

Remove the cap and the bottom of the can, then cut the cans if you want to give your suit a special optic. I choosed the diagonals where the colours change. Be carefull and use gloves, otherwise you will hurt yourself at the cutting edge!!!

STEP 5:

Here you see an inside view to the shoulder and front component. Based on my body size, i used a chain to get the most important data, i constructed something like a frame out of steel band and tin-foil. After that, i took the can pieces and connected them bit by bit with the frame.

STEP 6: Connecting

For the legs i made a frame out of tin-foil and connected everything with grommets...

STEP 7: Knee


For the vertical stabilisation i used elastic band which is in addition flexible enough to allow you to angle your knee. For covering the gap between the thigh and the shank i connected the elastic band in the middle with some loosely rivetted strips. (next step)

STEP 8: Knee


This picture shows the loosely rivetted strip which is very flexible. It can be banded in every direction without being destroyed.

STEP 9: Connecting


I needed about 2800 grommets to connect all the pieces...  here you see a part of the suit that covers the torso...

STEP 10: Legs

On the backsite i connected the pieces with zippers.

STEP 11: Pants


STEP 12: Helmet


The helmet is made out of two parts. On the top these parts are connected with a hinge. I choosed a hinge that you find in your kitchen unit. It is cheap and it has a snap fit so after opening the helmet it stays in that position.

STEP 13: Join Them


All together the suit resists out of 12 pieces.

2 shoes: each shoe has two parts which are connected with hook and loop fastener so unter your "new shoes" you can wear your "old shoes".

2 legs: the pieces for the legs are connected on the backsite with zippers. They fit very good at the thighs (work exactly with the diameters) so they dont glide off.

2 pieces for the hip: on the inside of these pieces i added nooses for a belt. What is more, a hook and loop fastener helps to join the pieces. (pictures will follow)

1 piece for the torso: with a piece that looks like a mat you surround the torso. On the backside you connect it with a wide loop and hook fastener. Advantage of the wide one: it still fits after eating to much ;)

1 component for shoulders and front: (look the previous step)

2 arms: The arms are joint with your body with elastic bands. At the elbow they have a articulated joint. (picturs follow)

1 piece for the neck and a
helmet.

STEP 14:


STEP 15:


STEP 16:

more information on facebook... search for: "BenJeneer" and dont forget to "like" :)

62 Comments

AndroidMax 8 years ago

Use spray paint with it to make it look cooler!

dudes 9 years ago

dude this is insane!

bobert610 11 years ago

Bravo! This is awesome man! The craftsmanship is fantastic!

KneXtreme 11 years ago

Wow! That's amazing! The last picture is awesome.

firepup104 12 years ago

Is it aluminum foil like at a grocery store?

AlternateLives 11 years ago

If you're asking about the rolls of aluminum foil...

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.

wobbler 11 years ago

Is it a Bull? Is it a Cola? No, it's Can Man!

Those who can do, those who can't can always make a can suit.

jgonzalez-2 12 years ago

i bet with all that red bull he was up for a week or two making that suit. with all that time in it. it did come out pretty good. one question though... any problems with getting cut by the edges of the cans ?

Prototyp 81 12 years ago

no, i wear long johns and a longsleeve shirt...

jgonzalez-2 12 years ago

is saw another question posted about where did you get all the cans from ? dont remember seeing the answer. so where did all the cans come from.. and if they were all bought periodically by yourself. how long did it take to get em all. thanks and thumbs up on your build

Prototyp 81 12 years ago

i answerd this question already further down... got these cans (empty) from red bull!

djimdy 12 years ago

Hang on. Not to be pedantic, because this actually does matter, but "tin-foil" is aluminium. Not many people actually use foil made of real tin (Sn, element name Stannum, the dominant component in regular, rosin-core electronics solder).

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.

Prototyp 81 12 years ago

Thank you for the information. Perhaps i am not that good with these technical terms but for me tin-foil is not foil made out of real tin... Its a thin sheet steel coated with tin...

djimdy 12 years ago

You probably mean thin, galvanized steel sheet. If it was actually tinned steel, that would be pretty useful, since it means you could solder directly to the sheet and make lots of really great things.

In any case, nice job with the design and construction!

mysss 12 years ago

He means tinplate, which is what most food cans are made of. (Or at least they used to be?) That's mild steel plated with tin for foodsafeness and corrosion resistance. I don't come across many Coke cans, but I thought they were aluminum too, so...doesn't clear up the issue entirely I guess.
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