Freaklord's Cheap Iron Man Repusors

[Freaklord]

Picture-based description of my cheap repulsor, based on some of the wisdom learned from JFcustom's $2 arc reactor: http://www.therpf.com/f24/inexpensive-5-days-built-foam-iron-man-147915/ THANKS!

Bottom is the LED light, top is the (semi) finished product:


Bottom, the underside of the light. Top: I Dremel-ed off the edges of the round light to make a triangular battery back. I dismantled the rest of the light and set it aside (with some pieces I will use in a sec). I call attention to the little green circuit board in the center, attached by wires. This board houses the LED and switch.


This pic shows my foam cover for the battery case, and the LED/Switch resting on another foam piece, Dremel-ed out in the center to provide some space:


Now I place another 3mm foam piece in as a "spacer"


This shows the spacer on, and the "reflector" and other assembly parts fitting overtop the LED:


I am just using a simple paper to diffuse the LED light, but I will likely use vellum and maybe tint it blue in the future:


Finished product!


I am a noob, but I know that this is not a practical set up. the problem is that the wires are too short:


Add wire..


Works!


The repulsor will fit into the palm, have some flexibility, and the best part: turn on and off requires just a squeeze, kinda like Spiderman webshooters...

 

[Freaklord]

I need more wisdom from you all. Please help if you can.

- Is that the right wire to use? I just picked out one covered in plastic and one that was not. I tried to match the original wire.

- Am I going to short out and burn myself?

- I just stripped, wound and crimped the connections, should I find my solder gun and solder the connections, or will the crimp work long term?

- How should I protect the wires? I plan on running them to the back of the hand, and hiding the batteries under the wrist plate. I was thinking just electrical tape, but is there a better way?

 

[TaylorMcManus]

Very awesome! I wish I knew how to do this kind of stuff haha.

 

[rensole]

I need more wisdom from you all. Please help if you can.

- Is that the right wire to use? I just picked out one covered in plastic and one that was not. I tried to match the original wire.

- Am I going to short out and burn myself?

- I just stripped, wound and crimped the connections, should I find my solder gun and solder the connections, or will the crimp work long term?

- How should I protect the wires? I plan on running them to the back of the hand, and hiding the batteries under the wrist plate. I was thinking just electrical tape, but is there a better way?

ok the basics:

1) burn yourself? lol you might feel a little bit of a sting (like a bugbite) if the cable's iron parts touch your skin nothing more

2) you should solder it and THEN shrinkwrap it, wrapping it on its own wont work long term.

3) get/use flexible wires, and then use shrinkwrap (this is how i protect my suits electronics) then some extra electrical tape. under the wrist plate aint a bad ideah tbh

 

[dabiddabird]

Nice simple design and works just as well as more expensive options. This is exactly how i planned on doing mine. Dollar stores always have such useful materials

 

[itsaplane]

this is... simply amazing. Thanks bro.

 

[endo500]

losts of good information in your post. I have one question though. I'm trying to build a similar LED center light for a costume of mine however the problem is that instead of looking like a full glowing chest piece (like yours) it looks like a single LED behind a lens. Is the paper or vellum what stops this from happening in yours? Also what would you do if say you wanted it to have a red or blue tint.

 

[Freaklord]

Thank you for all the kind words.
@TaylorMacManus, I just bought the lights and started cracking them open, if I can do it, anyone can.
@rensole, thanks a ton! I googled shrink wrap wires and watched some demos, and I learned a lot. I appreciate the guidance.
@endo500, I just used paper out of my printer, standard stuff, cut to fit. my wife tells me that vellum would be better, but i havent researched that at all. as for the tint, I just intend to print some image on the paper with my color printer. maybe they sell tinted vellum? You should make sure you check out the example arc reactor from JFCustom i mentioned above, its the same concept of printing / shining through. He also mentions using oil to lighten the paper...

 

[mark0017]

Stumbled upon this thread after reading JFcustoms speed building thread.

This idea is nothing short of genius....so i hope you don't mind if i borrow this idea too

cheers mate, looking forward to more money saving ideas
:thumbsup

 

[Durkness]

This was perfect! Thanks for posting this!

 

[ekino]

Thanks for the very helpful information~

 

[Verity444]

Thats pretty slick dude!

 

[Dynofiend]

I did exactly the same thing with my hand repulsors (see post #6 of my build thread below on page 1). I would highly recommend shrink wrapping the terminations at the LED and battery case end, and also encasing these joints in hot glue. The solder joints will come off very easily otherwise. The wire youve used will be fine, but any two core wire will probably do the job. I just used cheap speaker cable. You might also find that once you have built the gloves up, that pressing your fingers into the palm of your hand is hard to do and stresses the gloves. You might want to consider an alternative switch design

 

[blennus]

@endo500 I could be wrong, but I suspect a piece of celophane of a desired colour should give you your blue or whatever colour you chose. The paper indeed would be acting as a "diffuser" ie spreading the light out so it appears less like a point light source... as mentioned, other materials may provide better results... but paper is cheap and easy to get hold of

 

[IronSmidge]

I used these exact taplights! Good to know I already have the base materials! I was a goob and just popped the casing off and shoved them in my glove. It bulges a little BUT it has a practical upshot. The pressure of opening my palm tightens the glove on the switch and I have a jury-rigged light that turns off then I close my hand, like so:

http://www.facebook.com/video/embed?video_id=4406583161691

(I hooope that link works. I'm not as tech savvy as the guy I'm cosplaying.)