Daft Punk Guy Helmet: Final p.16, TRON p.20

Re: Daft Punk Helmet Build

Actually, I was looking over some tutorials on Instructables and looking to see what was done for tutorials on props in general. I've found tons of them, from "how to make an Iron Man Custom" (and many "how to make an Iron Man arc for (insert dollar amount here). One of the tutorials I found was "how to make a Daft Punk outfit, which shows how to make the other outfit of the duo. Hope this is somewhat useful if you decide to do the second one as well: http://www.instructables.com/id/Daft_Punk_Halloween/
 
Re: Daft Punk Helmet Build

DAMN! you guys rock with the info!

I never knew about the different "actors" that wear the DP helmets, but man is it obvious now. It seems that Guy actually wears the helmet slightly canted forward as well. In the shots where Michael is wearing it, the "ears" look perpendicular to the ground. On Guy, they actually seem to angle inwards slightly. Its stuff like that thats been giving me such a hard time in getting the shape right.

I haven't really been working on sanding and shaping recently though... seems like I've been living in Cadsoft's EAGLE program for the last week or so. Every time I think I've gotten the boards nailed down, I look through Digi-Key and find something to make the boards smaller/more easy to make/simpler... which of course means I need to remake them and my schematic again!

Example: This was the first "finished" version of the transistor board that will supply power to the chin LEDs. In order to cut down on components on the illumination boards, I decided to house the transistors/resistors on a separate board and split the signal coming out of there to the 2 "chin" LED boards. You can think of it sort of like a power/signal distribution block.

V1 was 1.65" x 1.7":

3727010075_79205101ec.jpg


After poking around on Digi-Key for a while, I found some smaller molex plugs that can house more pins. I played around with the layout a bit and came up with this:

3739349138_629344f2f7.jpg


This version is 1.75" x 1.25" - an extra .4" of square space means a lot when you're cramming all of these things into a helmet! Also, this means that this board can actually fit in the back "hoop" part of the finished cast.

A few more "final" versions:

Chin LED banks - there will be a mirrored version of this for the right side of the helmet. These are the boards that will receive power from the transistor board above. Size: 3.625" x 2.65"

3738555923_c04c898eac.jpg


Shift Register board - This will sit next to the Arduino controller and process the signal from the arduino (3 channel) into 24 channels of output to drive the LEDs. This board, along with the Arduino and power supply, will be housed in a separate box outside the helmet. There's a DB25 connector on one side which will run from this "signal box" to a distribution board on the inside of the helmet itself (this board has yet to be designed, and may be combined with the transistor board, above, if space is permitting) Size: 1.6" x 2.2"

3739349108_5ef6258978.jpg


Last is the humble "rainbow" color bar LED boards. These are all separate and there are 16 in total. The only large change to this was changing the copper tracing to the top, adding a locking 3-pin plug, and making drill holes so it will be easier to mount:

3739349176_67c63cd759.jpg


Only one (okay, two.... maybe three) more board(s) to go, then final checks, and I can send them to production. Total LED count: 136!
 
Re: Daft Punk Helmet Build

Its really turning out awesome. If you decide to make more than (1) of these i'd be more than interested :)
 
Re: Daft Punk Helmet Build

That looks like quite the schematic! Electronics is always something I've tried to learn and tinker with but have never fully grasped. Where did you pick up all your knowledge to be able to design the lighting features and integrate it with Arduino?
 
Re: Daft Punk Helmet Build

Chiok said:
Where did you pick up all your knowledge to be able to design the lighting features and integrate it with Arduino?
Click to expand...

Nearly all of it has been self-taught. I do have some experience and training in DC electrical systems from working in car audio for 5 or so years. I got MECP certification, which means you know basic stuff like ohms law and what all of the individual components (resistors, transistors, caps, etc) do and how they're wired.

This project has actually taught me a lot about Arduino and coding. I didn't know any C when I started, but there are a TON of tutorials out there to teach you pretty much anything you need to know. Same thing goes for EAGLE. I basically just downloaded the freeware version and messed around for a few days, googling things whenever I got stuck.

I'd imagine a lot of the reason I've gone through so many board designs is because I'm teaching myself this stuff as I go. My first "large" board, the chin LEDs, has gone through about 7 or so versions. By contrast, my most recent board has only been through 2 revisions, so I'm definitely getting faster.

Here's a preview of one of the boards (old version - top copper, silkscreen and solder mask) I hope to have these done and ready for production by tomorrow evening. We'll see...

3739349958_eb1008c2c5.jpg
 
Re: Daft Punk Helmet Build

i actually have no idea of electronic stuff but if this turns out half as good as your helmet so far, this will be a stunning piece when finished!

ME WANT ONE TOO!!! :love:thumbsup
 
Re: Daft Punk Helmet Build

I just saw a magazine at Borders that had some pics of the helmets. Forgot the name of the mag though but it shouldn't be hard to find.

FB
 
Re: Daft Punk Helmet Build

The electronics are over my head, but what you've done looks VERY impressive.

Have you given any thought as to how your going to do the gloves?
 
Re: Daft Punk Helmet Build

Hey Volpin, came across some new (new to me at least) pictures from a magazine. Not the best resolutions, but I think they could be helpful. The shot of the gloves is probably one of the better ones I have seen. Also, I've never noticed, but it looks like that black protrusion between the red ad green LEDs is some sort of audio jack, does it not? I've always just thought it was a button, or something.

whitewallmagGM.jpg


whitewallmaghands.jpg
 
Re: Daft Punk Helmet Build

Thanks for the uber-hi rez there man! Made me take a closer look at my ear parts. I ended up filling my circuit board carvings in based on this new info. Mine sat about 3/8" deep, and it looks like these are 1/16" max.

Also, the ear pieces seemed to be really tall on mine compared to the shot above, so I shaved those down while I was at it. I'm thinking this is a lot more accurate now (obviously needs some sanding, but you get the point):

3770901024_cf38cd71c1_b.jpg


3770099967_4a5d9a3ff7_b.jpg


Ive been working on shaping the chin and upper hoop. Still some work to do with that (no pictures right now) but I think one more skim coat and we're set.

I really want to be in silicone on this project by Saturday, so I'm going to be working my ass off until then. Should get interesting.
 
Re: Daft Punk Helmet Build

I swear Volpin every time you post I feel like a kid on christmas morning! Looking awesome!

I hope I am not irritating you with all my little suggestions/observations, but it seams like the ear "cone" is undersized. I am sure you are aware of this, since we seem to be on the same level of perfectionism :lol Although you couldn't make the ear cone larger without making the ear itself bigger to accomidate the larger ear cone, and that would really mess things up.

So I came up with this idea. Bare with me, its hard to put into words. Lathe a larger ear cone, but sand down the edge the rests up assainst the inner "wall" of the ear "box". That way the ear can appear larger and come closer to the circuit board without having to make the ear "box" larger. I made a picture to illustrate my idea.

daftearcopy.jpg


Also please excuse my 2 am English. "Point to which you sand" sounds like a poorly translated instruction manual from japan :lol I mean to say "sand away" or something similar.

So, anywho, just a thought :)
 
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Re: Daft Punk Helmet Build

I saw one these helmets at anime expo..His helmet played music too. It was really cool, I wish I took a picture of it
 
Re: Daft Punk Helmet Build

Arafinwe said:
it seams like the ear "cone" is undersized
Click to expand...

Its less a problem of the ear cone being too small and more an issue of the "D" shaped ear ring being too tall. This was something I noticed some time ago, but fixing that error would mean a rather significant teardown of the helmet... and with my deadlines fast approaching, that isn't really something I have the luxury to fix.

Your idea seems like a good cheat though... I'll chuck up an MDF disc tonight to see what I can come up with. Thanks for the suggestion!

EDIT: WAIT A DAMN MINUTE!

Look at the chin on your leftmost image here:

daftearcopy.jpg


Its angled inwards! I've been spending all my time to make my chin part parallel with the front of the visor, as is shown in this picture:

3507835966_4514e60697.jpg


so... which is more accurate?

THIS:
3505765175_9abe1eff30.jpg


or THIS:
3700594777_6f0076df59.jpg


I swear to god they have 6 helmets with subtle differences just to keep people from making accurate copies...
 
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Re: Daft Punk Helmet Build

Hurm...

I think what is happening is the subtle "blocky chin" is distorting things.

The discovery helmet had a very blocky chin, rather than a curve, as you can see here (please excuse my rushed photoshopping):

helmetchin.jpg


Although it is not as noticeable on the transition/HAA helmets, from certain angles its still there:

501809010_7a87b4a969_o.jpg


So, when you see the helmet directly from the side the chin appears slanted inwards, but when you see it slightly turned, you are seeing the "edge" of the chin, so it makes it look more parallel.

Personally I like you're more recent version of the chin looks better, the slant on the first one looks a little too drastic in my opinion. But my best friend whose dressed up as Guy-Man with my a few years ago says your first one looks better. I guess if you went some where in between the two versions that would look good, too.

Either way it looks good. I think you and I are the only ones who would notice, not even daft punk themselves :lol
 
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