Iron man motorised faceplate electronics tutorial!!!

[Ace0ne]

Hi everyone guys!
I'm 32 years old from milan, new to prop world and i'm building my foam ironman suit, with smoothcast 65d and resin. I'm struggling with the circuit to open the faceplate and light up the eyes, and this thread is very useful but unfortunately i have no basis of electrinics.

7sinzz & xl97 you are my heroes!!! well here's my question, hope you can help me out!

I read all of your threads: i have:
arudino NANO v3,
2 servo hitech hs 322 HD,
a pack of 5 mosfets STP16NF06
and 6 leds + resistors for each one.

The circuit ( with a different cose) seems to work, but it's now powered by a 4 battery pack AA 1,2v...the main problem is that maybe the power is not enough to light up leds and move servos..the light coming from the leds is REALLY low ( even in dark you can barely seen them) so i tought of adopting XL97 code and schematics...with a 9V battery

My question is quite simple: i think i will use the code and schematics by xl97, but he uses 2 transistors... can i use 3 mosfets instead of 1+2transitors? And Can i power up everything with a 9V battery going to the VIN ( pin 30) and GDN?

thank you very much!

 

[xl97]

I dont think using mosfets over transistors will be a problem, as long as they meet spec. (are able to handle the voltage and current you need to supply)

I would say try to stick to ONE diagram & code.. if you mix-n-match.. things will go bad. Each code is designed to work with the specific diagram. (some minor differences)

I would pay CLOSE attention to the voltages you are giving all yoru devices.. as they differ.


Usually:

Arduino needs +5v (depending on how you power it...if using usb or going through vRegulator your power source can be bigger, but I tend to NOT go over +7.4v (2 x li-ion packs)

9v are no good, do not use them.. you get odd results as they do not provide alto of current I believe


** Better check your specific Arduino... but I think VIN needs +5v.. RAW pin can take more..(goes through the voltage regulator.. VIN by-passes this I believe)

Your servos (most likely) need a steady +6v..
(please check your servos' data sheet for the true specs)

 

[Ace0ne]

I dont think using mosfets over transistors will be a problem, as long as they meet spec. (are able to handle the voltage and current you need to supply)

I would say try to stick to ONE diagram & code.. if you mix-n-match.. things will go bad. Each code is designed to work with the specific diagram. (some minor differences)

I would pay CLOSE attention to the voltages you are giving all yoru devices.. as they differ.


Usually:

Arduino needs +5v (depending on how you power it...if using usb or going through vRegulator your power source can be bigger, but I tend to NOT go over +7.4v (2 x li-ion packs)

9v are no good, do not use them.. you get odd results as they do not provide alto of current I believe


** Better check your specific Arduino... but I think VIN needs +5v.. RAW pin can take more..(goes through the voltage regulator.. VIN by-passes this I believe)

Your servos (most likely) need a steady +6v..
(please check your servos' data sheet for the true specs)

Thank you XL97! Well Maybe I explained my intentions badly I want to use your schematics and code cause it's the best I think. I'll use a 7,2 v battery to power everything: 9v was abandoned, my servos works between 4,8 and 6v, my mosfet can handle 25 A, and I have only 6 leds now...but I would like to ask you what kind of led and resistors should I use in order to recreate your. Schematics. It's not s problem to rebuild the circuit but since I have no understandings of how to calculate the power needed I was hoping in your help arduino nano says it can be powered with 5 to 20 V ( unregulated) from the pin 30 ( vin ) so I think I can power it directly and not from usb, any advice? Thank you again!!

 

[xl97]

I say use whatever leds work best for your project/application.....

the resistors will depend on what the power source is.. and what ultimate is going to the leds... I think I posted how I did my eye pcb's..(not sure of the page off hand)..

might even benefit from having its own voltage regulator on each EYE pcb/circuit...

really it depends on the design I guess... series? parallel? serallel?...etc

when it comes to picking a power source (it depends).. lol..

You want a big enough power source to power everything and provide enough current... but you dont want it so OVER the operating spec/voltage that any excess is burned off as heat.

I like to use 7.xv packs for my +5v based Arduinos... not too far above the +5v spec.. and still enough to power +6v servos etc...

on my personal board.. I have both +5v & +3.3v regulators and outputs... so I can tap either.. (if there is enough current...to be usable)

IMHO.. work on this in individual steps...


IE:

get the servos working
then
get the eye-leds working..
etc..
etc..

 

[memebr]

Thank you XL97! Well Maybe I explained my intentions badly I want to use your schematics and code cause it's the best I think. I'll use a 7,2 v battery to power everything: 9v was abandoned, my servos works between 4,8 and 6v, my mosfet can handle 25 A, and I have only 6 leds now...but I would like to ask you what kind of led and resistors should I use in order to recreate your. Schematics. It's not s problem to rebuild the circuit but since I have no understandings of how to calculate the power needed I was hoping in your help arduino nano says it can be powered with 5 to 20 V ( unregulated) from the pin 30 ( vin ) so I think I can power it directly and not from usb, any advice? Thank you again!!

You need to give another read to the whole topic paying attention to the stuff we already have in here.

 

[Cri7e]

Hey guys,

first of all I want to thank everybody in this thread for their incredible work and knowledge you shared with the community. Im currently working on my own mark 2 Helmet, with electronics.

So from what I have seen so far, I only saw, that the opening and closing mechanism was triggered by a button press. I saw a video of this guy, who has built a mechanism that triggers, when you nod with your head. He does incredible work and is also selling it on his website but he charges about 300$ for the electronic kit, which is for me as a student impossible to afford.

I have tried coding before but did not really enjoy is but I know that there are amazing people out there who like stuff like that. I was wondering if somebody could rewrite the code for the opening and closing mechanism to work with a giro. So when you nod your head to the front, the helmet closes and when you nod back, the helmet opens.

Here is the video of the guy, who sells the kit. Its basically how I would love my helmet to work. Sounds are not really important, would be nice but I think it adds a whole lot more of complexity to the project

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLU295cgURQ

Thanks you already for being such a great forum!

Best regards, Cri7e

 

[xl97]

What is a giro?


Perhaps you mean gyro?

Either way.. I dont think that is what Ryan used. I believe it was just a n accelerometer. (I thought some had posted code for that here as well....no?, Id go back and re-read to make sure you didnt miss it)

(the real trick is getting one of those expensive Surreal Studios helmets!!) lol..

Do you have an accelerometer?

what one?

You can add music you want.. if you watch the video.. Ryan has MANY boards in there.. why? becuase they are all off the shelf boards, that each do a some specific..

the Arduino.
The accelerometer
The micro SD/Sound module..
etc..etc

this could all be made into one board if desired.. but that costs time & money.. and is much cheaper to do what Ryan did without the cost of extra learning curve too.

 

[Cri7e]

Haha thanks for the correction dude, Im from Germany so English is not really my first language, even though I lived in the states for 10 months!

I found code for an accelerometer in this thread on page 56 posted by ShaunDark80 which is highly appreciated! Im gonna buy the accelerometer he uses to realize this project. Its an ADXL335 accelerometer. So sorry for bothering with the same questions over and over, I shoul´ve done a quick research first!

For the sound, actually all I want is the metal sound when the Faceplate closes. So what I thought about was to buy an Adafruit Audio FX Sound Board with two little speakers, which I will hide in the ear cups. The sound will be triggered by a simple connection, once the helmet closes. And maybe add two more buttons to add stuff like "I am Iron Man" or a cool soundtrack or something!

Today I also built my first testing setup for prototyping following the instructions in the first post. It works pretty nice so far and I love the "boot-sequence" of the LED.

Now all I have to do is order the accelerometer and start testing.

Thanks for the help!

[/h]

 

[xl97]

no problem.. I just want people to be able to understand/follow along.

its a long thread, much stuff can be overlooked!

Not sure what FX board you are looking at? (If its the full blown Adafruit Wave Shield.. it might be too big to fit in your bucket.)

I think they have some smaller variants of that board though (or close) that still play .wav file..

should be difficult at all to add in the line to trigger the sound effect whenever you want it.. or adding more buttons to trigger playback at other times.

 

[Cri7e]

No its a standalone board that does not need an arduino to run. You just copy/paste the .wav files onto it and connect a button or something similar and it plays the audio instantly, no coding required. It even comes with onboard amps so you can connect two speakers to it.

http://www.adafruit.com/product/2217

In the end all the Electronics are gonna cost me about 60€ so I saved about 240€ over Ryans kit, which is quite nice.

Is it allowed to post my deviant art link? That is where I post all my updates of what I´ve been working on, in case people are interested. Since it seems a lot of people do props but unfortunately dont share their knowledge.

 

[ShaunDark80]

Hi Cri7e. Welcome to The RPF.

I'm glad you found the code helpful. Please share any useful changes, and ask for help if you need it.

 

[Cri7e]

Here is my DeviantArt blog for everybody who wants to follow my work:

http://cri7e.deviantart.com/

Feel free to hit me up if you have any comments or suggestions.

What color LEDs are the most people here using for the eyes? I see a lot of people use white, but looking at pictures, the eyes of the mark 2 are more blue. I found cyan LEDs which I think might look very nice. Any suggestions?

 

[ShaunDark80]

Here is my DeviantArt blog for everybody who wants to follow my work:

http://cri7e.deviantart.com/

Feel free to hit me up if you have any comments or suggestions.

What color LEDs are the most people here using for the eyes? I see a lot of people use white, but looking at pictures, the eyes of the mark 2 are more blue. I found cyan LEDs which I think might look very nice. Any suggestions?

You could get a couple of neopixel strips, and go for whatever colour you like.

 

[Cri7e]

You could get a couple of neopixel strips, and go for whatever colour you like.

Thats a good idea, but these neopixel strips are like 3times as much as a normal LED would cost. Not sure yet if thats worth it to me

 

[floppydannyboi]

Hi All, i know this has probably been mentioned already in a previous page but i cant seem to find anything, please could anyone help me with an issue i am having, i have used the circuit and code from the start of this thread for my iron man helmet build and it all works fine, the only thing i find a problem is the servo's 'Buzzing' and getting hot, i know there are a few fixes one i found was adding a relay to the circuit, tho i don't know where and if i would need to add anything else such as the code or add more components, please could someone help me with the circuit diagram with a relay or help with a better easier fix? Much appreciated. Dan

 

[memebr]

I'm going to repeat myself once more.

i - Make sure your servos are getting what they need to work, if they work with 5V, feed them with 5V

ii - Connect all the GND together.

iii - Cheap servos usually don't like to be at the extremes of their travel path (0~180), make sure you set a lower value to those set points (for example 10~170) or change it until your servos like it.

iv - if nothing of this works, try using a capacitor in parallel close to the servos. (1000uF would be a decent value)

v - you can also try to use a ferrite core on the servos wire to reduce noise and external interference.

There is no mistery!

 

[Ace0ne]

Guys i made it!!!!!!!!
THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH ( first of all MEMEBR, who had the patience to reply to my stupoid questions regarding electronics) 7SINZZ ( AND XL97!sorry i forgot you !!!) who created this thread and every one who contributed to it!

here's my video showing my pepakura yoga mat helmet hardened with smooth-CAST 65 D!

PS: i slowed down the servo speed with the library var servospeed available for arduino, HERE'S THE ORIGINAL CODE MODIFIED:
#include <VarSpeedServo.h>
//THIS IS THE MAIN AND SIMPLE MOPDIFICATION IN ORDER TO SET THE SPEED OF THE MOVEMENT!!!




//In VarSpeedServo.cpp, replace #include <WProgram.h> with #include <Arduino.h> .
//#include <Servo.h>
//servo 1
VarSpeedServo myservo;
VarSpeedServo myservo1;
int val; // variable for reading the pin status
int val2; // variable for reading the delayed/debounced status
int buttonState;
int pos = 0;
int pos1 = 120;
int servostatus = 0;
int switchPin = 2; // Switch connected to digital pin 2
int ledPin = 5;
int ledPin2 = 18;
void setup() // run once, when the sketch starts
{
//servo 1

myservo.attach(9);
myservo1.attach(10);
pinMode(switchPin, INPUT);
pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
buttonState = digitalRead(switchPin);
myservo.slowmove(0, 30); // move to 0 degrees, use a speed of 30, wait until move is complete
myservo1.slowmove(120, 30);
pinMode(ledPin2, OUTPUT);
}

void loop() // run over and over again

//servo 1
{
val = digitalRead(switchPin); // read input value and store it in val
delay(10); // 10 milliseconds is a good amount of time
val2 = digitalRead(switchPin); // read the input again to check for bounces
if (val == val2) { // make sure we got 2 consistant readings!
if (val != buttonState) { // the button state has changed!
if (val == LOW) { // check if the button is pressed
if (servostatus == 0) { // is the light off?
servostatus = 1; // turn light on!

myservo.slowmove(0, 30);
myservo1.slowmove(120, 30);
delay(1000);
digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);
delay(50);
digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);
delay(00);
digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);
delay(50);
digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);
delay(00);


// fading
for (int fadeValue = 0 ; fadeValue <= 255; fadeValue += 5) {
// sets the value (range from 0 to 255):
analogWrite(ledPin, fadeValue);
delay(30);


}

} else {
servostatus = 0; // turn light off!


digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);
delay(15);
digitalWrite(ledPin2, LOW);
myservo.slowmove(120 , 30);
myservo1.slowmove(0 , 30);


}
}
}
buttonState = val; // save the new state in our variable
}
}

AND HERE A RESULT...( pre slow-move, so now is much more slow than this video )

 

[xl97]

We have all posted MUCH code in here.. feel free to share whatever you want.

 

[7sinzz]

Oh wow, 2 and a half years later and folks are still using this thread. Absolutely mental. I regularly see it linked in forums and stuff. xI97 and memebr have been amazing. These two dudes deserve so much more credit then me in here. Im just overwhelmed that it has helped so many people.

 

[7sinzz]

Its been two and a half years since I wrote this tutorial on how to motorise the Iron Man helmet faceplate and in that time it has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times and helped thousands of people. We've had some fantastic people jump on board and help us out and share their knowledge. This thread has become an absolute gold mine of information relating not only to motorising your Iron Man helmet, but also adding sound effects and lights and all sorts. Along with the growth of it came an element of complication. I initially embarked on this learning curve to keep things as simple as possible, I wanted to make it as easy as possible for noobs like me to get their helmet motorised. Reading back over it, I noticed my initial post was quite messy with badly formatted images and random text everywhere. With that in mind, I've decided to tidy it all up and host the tutorial on my own website. I've completely streamlined the code and the equipment to make it as easy and flawless as possible. Anybody following my new streamlined code and method should be able to have the equipment working in less than half an hour. Please follow this link:

Electronic Iron Man Helmet Tutorial