Arc Reactor - first project - complex build

[IronDude]

Hey guys,
some weeks ago I registered here and was introducing myself. Now I finished my latest project.
The Iron Man Arc Reactor from the first movie.
Most of the parts are self made, so it took a lot of time to completed it.

The following pictures shows some of the main steps during the work of process.


In the first step I poured the external ring. I used a transparent acryl-polymer and taped it 10 times with black tape.
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Subsequently I taped 10 windings each made of a copper wire.
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In the second step I concerned with the electric parts. I bought a hole-raster-plate (1 to 1 translation - :thumbsdown - sorry) and 11 SMD-LEDs. 5 x 2 LEDs I put into a series connection but all in all are in a parallel connection, the last middle one in parallel connection too.
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to be continued...

 

[pr3dato8]

Re: Arc Reactor - first porject - complex build

looking very nice so far

just a note: if you are doing this arc reactor to pop it in the chest of your iron man suit (that you might be building) i would advise to just buy a white EL sheet, cut it into a cirlce and put it into the chest, much easier

but if you are just doing this arc reactor as a prop- looking awesome, post more pics soon

 

[IronDude]

Re: Arc Reactor - first porject - complex build

Now I cast the internal ring. First of all I sculped it in wax, a special carbon arm casting wax.
After I completed sculpturing I put the ring in a fire prove investment material. You have to know I'm a dental technican, so I got the access to some nice fabrication possibilities.
After the liquid metal cooled down I grinded and polished it. In the center of the internal metal ring I placed a little convex hemisphere.
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Finally I checked up the translution effect...
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to be continued....

 

[IronDude]

Re: Arc Reactor - first porject - complex build

In the third step I was sculpturing the internal screen, I used a carbon arm pattern for this procedure. I mixed the pattern really thinly and cast it on two thermoplastic foils. There is no connection between these components so I'm able to specify the thickness of the screen if I give some pressure to the foils.

I cuted out the pattern screen and built up the screen in the way I liked to. Now I used the fireproof investment material again to cast it in liquid metal.
Here is the result of it...pretty nice screen after cooling down and sandblasting it.
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After I grinding and polishing the screen I lasered onto the internal metal ring. Now its like one inseparably part.

Next I attached the external acryl ring to my complete screen, it is one major part I'm able to remove with three screws whenever i like.
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to be continued...

 

[IronDude]

Re: Arc Reactor - first porject - complex build

Now I attached the complete LED-plate on an acryl-base-plate and fixed it with three screws again. The complete screen construction fixed the same way on the LED-plate.
The acryl-base-plate got a groove which fits into complementary notch of the covering (I used a 90mm alu-round-profil, 3mm wall thickness, 25mm high).

You can compare it to unscrewing the cover of a coke-bottle.

All in all i got 4 divisibly parts, so im able to reach every part if something breaks down...

Here are the final pictures of my Arc Reactor...its finished!!!
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Lights on!!!
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[pr3dato8]

Re: Arc Reactor - first porject - complex build

looks amazing

just one thing: in the middle the little circle that lights up sticks out, i dont think that its supposed to be like that, but of course i might be wrong

 

[IronDude]

Re: Arc Reactor - first porject - complex build

Yes you are right.
But as I made it I thought myself how to fill the internal ring. I wanted to set the hemisphere a little more deeply. But it did not please me. I tryed to cover it with a wire-web but this was not better anyway.
So i decided to lift the hemisphere up to the upper margin of the ring.
I think it looks nice, cause the curvature of the hemisphere refracts the light very well...

 

[MooCriket]

I like your choice! Very nice, indeed

 

[aquila125]

looking very nice! We've modified a piece we bought online (the one that says: Proof that Tony Stark has a heart) and it uses 37 normal leds (not smd), they have two extra rings of leds between the 10 leds on the outer ring and the middle led, to make sure the arc lights up completely.

 

[thomp]

Nice job, that's a lovely even glow

 

[aquila125]

I've found an image of the leds we're using (37 in total):