CworthDynamics
Active Member
Hi all, I wanted to share my project of the last few months - a fully 3D printed Ghost Trap and Pedal complete with lights, sound and smoke. It's a hybrid trap as I liked the overall size of the GB2 trap (and it would fit on the printer bed) but I liked features of the GB1 trap such as the protruding cartridge and the red side rods. I initially started working from excellent plans on GBFans.com but some of the sizing didn't look right to me based on my screen grabs and reference photos so I did some tweaks. Everything on the Trap can be fully 3D printed but is held together with real nuts and bolts. I did this for aesthetics, strength and to allow easy access for installing electronics, mechanics and other mods. I based as many parts on real material measurements as possible so 'deluxe' parts could be swapped in if desired. The Pedal was trickier as it has many parts that can't be printed, such as the relay, ribbon cable, bellows, etc. You can download and print your own Trap and Pedal here:
Files are available under a Attribution - Non-commercial - Share Alike Creative Commons license.
Trap Files: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1394492
Pedal Files: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1394639
I've written fully illustrated guides for assembling both here: http://charlesworth-dynamics.com/2013/08/instructions.html
There will be an electronics guide at some point, but it's really time-intensive. I will be releasing an Adafruit electronics shopping list, SFX files and Arduino code at a later date.
The trap and pedal are 80+ parts, 95+ screws, and 40+ hours of print time.
This is the deluxe version with as many real parts as possible, but the frame, body parts, pedal, etc are all 3D printed, puttied, sanded and painted.
Photo: Norman Chan
This is the fully 3D printed version with as many 3D printed parts as possible, no paint except for the brass parts and red side rods:
The deluxe version runs off an Arduino with an e-cig smoke generator:
3D printing the trap allowed me to embed a pipe in the top plate with outlets for the smoke:
The rear panel is magnetic to allow access to the e-cigs for refilling and the battery for recharging (USB port lower left).
One of the things I'm most proud of is the door mechanism, I didn't want to see any servo rods sticking out through the top which left little room left to work. I designed a servo-driven chain drive that is hidden in the front 'wings' :
Triggering the trap from the pedal was problematic as the movie-accurate hose uses real Foster pneumatic connectors that didn't allow the passage of wires and still remain detachable. I should take a moment here to state that I do not consider myself an electronics guy - I can select basic parts and put them together but can't built much from scratch, I also don't program. That's where Jeremy Williams came in and helped me out with electronics selection and did all the programming. You may recognize Jeremy as the guy who recently built the Zombie Axe v2 for MythBusters. Anyway, we initially tried using an RF transmitter. The pedal had a cannibalized RF remote in the bellows and the trap had the receiver. It never worked right, the components were unreliable and we had to scrap the whole thing.
I eventually did figure out a way to hardwire the Foster connectors by using a 3D printed insert in the male and a brass rod that turned it into a 2 contact connector. The female has a spring loaded stopper that seals the hose when disconnected. Luckily it fits into a rubber gasket that insulated it from the body. I was able to solder wires to the stopper and body. I've had a few people ask why I 'just didn't use an air sensor, or fiber optics or something else' - the simple answer is - I am not that smart. The electronics were already getting complicated and expensive and I understand soldering and wires and that made sense to me and it worked. The end.
I write for Tested.com and we did a few videos and additional write ups you can check out here:
In depth with the electronics and mechanics:
In-depth write up on design of the trap here.
I have to thank a lot of people who helped out, whether they know it or not:
- Norman Chan of Tested for helping to get this project off the ground.
- Mark Dubeau at Tippett Studio for pointing me in the right direction and feedback.
- www.gbfans.com - a great community and wealth of Ghostbusters information
- Sean Bishop and Stefan Otto’s meticulous plans which were used as a jumping off point
- Terminal Reality Games (RIP) for releasing SFX files into the wild and Jack Doud and Frank Ippolito for hooking me up with them.
- HProps and Demon Vice Commander for great decals.
- Last but not least, Jeremy Williams who was a tremendous help with his programming and electronics skills and editing SFX files. The Deluxe Trap would not exist without him
Hope you enjoy the trap, happy to answer any questions.
Tip - if you don't currently have a printer, you can check 3D Hubs. They also started offering a 25% discount if you are a student. I am no way affiliated or even use 3D Hubs, but I have been getting asked this a lot. Also check out local hackerspaces. A regular FFF (plastic filament) print is more that enough for this, fancy resin prints not necessary. I love the Shapeways print service but it would be OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive in their materials. Look at the print guide included with the trap download for more info.
View attachment pDFzdxh.gif
View attachment pDFzdxh.gif
View attachment pDFzdxh.gif
View attachment pDFzdxh.gif
Files are available under a Attribution - Non-commercial - Share Alike Creative Commons license.
Trap Files: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1394492
Pedal Files: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1394639
I've written fully illustrated guides for assembling both here: http://charlesworth-dynamics.com/2013/08/instructions.html
There will be an electronics guide at some point, but it's really time-intensive. I will be releasing an Adafruit electronics shopping list, SFX files and Arduino code at a later date.
The trap and pedal are 80+ parts, 95+ screws, and 40+ hours of print time.
This is the deluxe version with as many real parts as possible, but the frame, body parts, pedal, etc are all 3D printed, puttied, sanded and painted.
Photo: Norman Chan
This is the fully 3D printed version with as many 3D printed parts as possible, no paint except for the brass parts and red side rods:
The deluxe version runs off an Arduino with an e-cig smoke generator:
3D printing the trap allowed me to embed a pipe in the top plate with outlets for the smoke:
The rear panel is magnetic to allow access to the e-cigs for refilling and the battery for recharging (USB port lower left).
One of the things I'm most proud of is the door mechanism, I didn't want to see any servo rods sticking out through the top which left little room left to work. I designed a servo-driven chain drive that is hidden in the front 'wings' :
Triggering the trap from the pedal was problematic as the movie-accurate hose uses real Foster pneumatic connectors that didn't allow the passage of wires and still remain detachable. I should take a moment here to state that I do not consider myself an electronics guy - I can select basic parts and put them together but can't built much from scratch, I also don't program. That's where Jeremy Williams came in and helped me out with electronics selection and did all the programming. You may recognize Jeremy as the guy who recently built the Zombie Axe v2 for MythBusters. Anyway, we initially tried using an RF transmitter. The pedal had a cannibalized RF remote in the bellows and the trap had the receiver. It never worked right, the components were unreliable and we had to scrap the whole thing.
I eventually did figure out a way to hardwire the Foster connectors by using a 3D printed insert in the male and a brass rod that turned it into a 2 contact connector. The female has a spring loaded stopper that seals the hose when disconnected. Luckily it fits into a rubber gasket that insulated it from the body. I was able to solder wires to the stopper and body. I've had a few people ask why I 'just didn't use an air sensor, or fiber optics or something else' - the simple answer is - I am not that smart. The electronics were already getting complicated and expensive and I understand soldering and wires and that made sense to me and it worked. The end.
I write for Tested.com and we did a few videos and additional write ups you can check out here:
In depth with the electronics and mechanics:
In-depth write up on design of the trap here.
I have to thank a lot of people who helped out, whether they know it or not:
- Norman Chan of Tested for helping to get this project off the ground.
- Mark Dubeau at Tippett Studio for pointing me in the right direction and feedback.
- www.gbfans.com - a great community and wealth of Ghostbusters information
- Sean Bishop and Stefan Otto’s meticulous plans which were used as a jumping off point
- Terminal Reality Games (RIP) for releasing SFX files into the wild and Jack Doud and Frank Ippolito for hooking me up with them.
- HProps and Demon Vice Commander for great decals.
- Last but not least, Jeremy Williams who was a tremendous help with his programming and electronics skills and editing SFX files. The Deluxe Trap would not exist without him
Hope you enjoy the trap, happy to answer any questions.
Tip - if you don't currently have a printer, you can check 3D Hubs. They also started offering a 25% discount if you are a student. I am no way affiliated or even use 3D Hubs, but I have been getting asked this a lot. Also check out local hackerspaces. A regular FFF (plastic filament) print is more that enough for this, fancy resin prints not necessary. I love the Shapeways print service but it would be OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive in their materials. Look at the print guide included with the trap download for more info.
View attachment pDFzdxh.gif
View attachment pDFzdxh.gif
View attachment pDFzdxh.gif
View attachment pDFzdxh.gif
Last edited by a moderator:
