Deluxe P1 Countdown

[Ei luj]

Deluxe P1 countdown

Here's the countdown I am doing that fits a Mannowar P1 gaunt.

I got a gaunt bottom and lid from him, plus a partial bottom window piece to help figure the layout. Many thanks to Mannowar

Cut holes in lid and make the layout.

Cut holes in partial bottom and make a template.

LED positions

Everything has to line up so checked the lid and bottom so no parts got in the way.

Overlays made; tape the layout in back of frosted stencil material, put frisket film on top of the stencil, mark the led openings with sharpie marker, then xacto knife the windows and peel off the film leaving the marked rectangles, then lacquer spraypaint.
When its dry peel off the rectangles and the windows are left for the LEDs to shine through. (the last one is of a Nolan P1, but technique is the same)

Top and bottom boards.

Video of it running, when the lid is closed the lid will be on and the bottom will be off.
When the lid is opened, the lever switch turns it off, and the lever switch that is in the bottom will turn the bottom on and it will run.
Here both are on; full video of each running separately is 95M and too large to upload to photobucket...


Whats left to do:
The bottom board needs the switches glued in and overlay and insulator installed, and the bottom gauntlet itself needs holes cut out, then it is ready to be installed.

---
Ei'luj

P.S.

New workshop at my place in Texas; relocating 1500 miles didn't stop the build

 

[Philby]

nice......i was wonderin the other day how one might be made,.....
i'm not gonna try but might hit you up when i need one,.....

 

[PredatrHuntr]

You're awesome Julie!

 

[hez1]

That's awesome Julie! But I gotta ask, where in Texas did you move to?

 

[Ei luj]

That's awesome Julie! But I gotta ask, where in Texas did you move to?

Hez, Jason, Philby

many thanks (shy grin)

Hez, I moved to Dallas; minimum 4 months, could be 6 mos to a year. Am writing this on the train on the way back to LA; better half is still there holding down the fort

---
Ei'luj

 

[xdmray]

nice!

top and bottom lights. what's the lid casted out of?

 

[Ei luj]

nice!

top and bottom lights. what's the lid casted out of?

many thanks, daman

I don't know what kind of resin it is.

I like it, its already frosted looking so diffuses the 'x' part nicely.

---
Ei'luj

 

[hez1]

So long enough to hit Allcon in Dallas with us in March. Good stuff.

 

[Elkman]

Good work there. Did you do a new custom circuit board for each of the top and bottom pieces? Or did you just use a stock design, or perhaps altered it? I've thought about having custom circuit boards done, so I wouldn't have to do a lot of point-to-point wiring every time I build a countdown timer. I'm not sure if the setup charges are worth it if I'd have to redesign a board every time I do a custom job, though.

By the way, as long as you're in the Dallas area, you should meet up with Xenosphinx and Punhulk. Xenosphinx is in Carrollton, while Punhulk is somewhere in the Mid-Cities area, like Bedford or something. (I know my Dallas-area geography because I lived in Plano from 1990 through 1994.)

 

[Mannowar]

nice!

top and bottom lights. what's the lid casted out of?

They're cast in Smooth-on 326. It's a tintable resin that I generally tint black for the gauntlets, but now with Julie working out boards for them, I'll likely just cast the blade gaunt in black and leave the CPU gaunt untinted. The 326 resin is actually pretty clear if you're just doing one roto-cast or dwell cast, but since I don't have a machine for the roto-casting, I have to do 2 to 3 thinner roto-castings, as it will really start to glob up just as it starts to set up if you have a lot in the mold... The multiple layers of resin seem to be what cause the "frost" in the final product. I've actually been experimenting with different methods to get a completely clear casting, but if the frosted look is working for what Julie's doing, then I'll leave them as is.

Gotta say, I'm pretty excited about this, as she's been sending me vids of the prototype designs for the last couple months and I'm really happy she was able to work out the switch to kill the lid and activate the gauntlet when the lid is open. Nice work as alway Julie!

 

[afedorniak]

hey julie that work ive just seen looks brill,cant wait for the final part !!

 

[predator666]

Pure genius! Defo be getting 1 for my P1 suit when I start it

 

[Ei luj]

So long enough to hit Allcon in Dallas with us in March. Good stuff.

Many thanks, Hez

Gotta look up Allcon and see exactly when it is... and see if I can find a suitcase to pack my Pred stuff in.... more STUFF

Good work there. Did you do a new custom circuit board for each of the top and bottom pieces? Or did you just use a stock design, or perhaps altered it? I've thought about having custom circuit boards done, so I wouldn't have to do a lot of point-to-point wiring every time I build a countdown timer. I'm not sure if the setup charges are worth it if I'd have to redesign a board every time I do a custom job, though.

By the way, as long as you're in the Dallas area, you should meet up with Xenosphinx and Punhulk. Xenosphinx is in Carrollton, while Punhulk is somewhere in the Mid-Cities area, like Bedford or something. (I know my Dallas-area geography because I lived in Plano from 1990 through 1994.)

Elkman,

Yup, did a different layout for both of them. It sure does save time on the wiring; last point-to-point wiring I did was on the one for my silver and black gaunt... #30 wire aaaargh!!)

Many thanks for the info about xenosphinx and Punhulk... holy smokes, Carrolton is the next town over from me; its where I get my parts from (when you were there, did you go to Tanner's Electronics on Valwood past the 35?)

They're cast in Smooth-on 326. It's a tintable resin that I generally tint black for the gauntlets, but now with Julie working out boards for them, I'll likely just cast the blade gaunt in black and leave the CPU gaunt untinted. The 326 resin is actually pretty clear if you're just doing one roto-cast or dwell cast, but since I don't have a machine for the roto-casting, I have to do 2 to 3 thinner roto-castings, as it will really start to glob up just as it starts to set up if you have a lot in the mold... The multiple layers of resin seem to be what cause the "frost" in the final product. I've actually been experimenting with different methods to get a completely clear casting, but if the frosted look is working for what Julie's doing, then I'll leave them as is.

Gotta say, I'm pretty excited about this, as she's been sending me vids of the prototype designs for the last couple months and I'm really happy she was able to work out the switch to kill the lid and activate the gauntlet when the lid is open. Nice work as alway Julie!

Mannowar,

many thanks for the info on that resin, having it frosted for the countdown is really great, it has that nice diffused look for the windows for the counts and the "x".... I'm working frantically this week on the last bits (mechanical).


@ Predwolf and Predator666....

many thanks, its been a blast (pardon the pun) working on these; PM when you're ready for some

---
Ei'luj

 

[TuaCathach]

Julie .. sent ya Pm .. did you get it

 

[afedorniak]

hey julie, are you going to do a vid of them working,would love to see it!

 

[Ei luj]

Julie .. sent ya Pm .. did you get it

yup, and PM'ed back

blinkenlights

hey julie, are you going to do a vid of them working,would love to see it!

I have just the short vid up here linked from photobucket... there's a longer one that I have to figure how to post up... maybe on megaupload... its 95M (aaargh!!)

...blinkenlights for my birthday cake

---
Ei'luj

 

[Ei luj]

Please excuse my absence, I have had my hands full with housing search, moving, and dealing with repair people...

Here's an Update on the mechanical part of Deluxe P1 build.

I was stumped on how to make a hinge that attached to the lid, and would lift the whole lid up further to allow room for the board beneath.

There wasn’t room to put the regular hinges on the lid.

So I thought ‘outside the box’ and designed my own hinge.

Heavy gauge wire goes along the inside curves and outside some amount and goes lengthwise across the lid; see pics below

For the other part of the hinge that attaches to the main gaunt, I can either

Drill holes on either side of the lid wire, at both ends, and put a loop of similar gauge wire over the lid’s wire at either end to keep it from wiggling back and forth and the loops go through the main gaunt and attach underneath… and bend wire to secure it.

OR

Put a semicircular groove in the resin of the main gaunt for the lid’s wire deep enough for the wire to go below the flat surface, and put a plate on top of that which would screw down to the main gaunt on either side, at both ends (how difficult to get a straight groove in resin?)

Original hinges:

back without hinge on it:

side of lid, not enough room for regular hinge:

Hinge details:

back with hinge:

edge with hinge:

hinge closeup:

hinge no board installed, shows how it runs along the curved part:

Power connection:

power cord goes from lid to bottom board:

power closeup; I made spiral harness cover from some small shrink tubing; zoom in to see it:

power connection to bottom board; diffuser is off to show detail:

Almost there… last bits are

Finish hinge attachment to main gaunt

Set the bottom board Power and Run switches at the proper level so the top board turns off the bottom board power when its shut, and theres enough room to press Run; bottom board just velcros in underneath, and the diffuser sits on top of the board.

Put magnet and metal on main gaunt and lid, so lid won’t flop open

Route the power wire; either loop around the end of the gaunt or put a slot in there; the hole that is needed for right angle connector may be too big.

--
Ei’luj

 

[AlienatedPredator]

Really cool man, nice job

 

[afedorniak]

great work there julie!

 

[xdmray]

Julie! that is freakin awesome.. you do such great work. im gonna have to find some other electronic work for you to do for me. lol