Iron Man see through eyes - CONCEPT

[Talshadar]

I've been working on a Mark VII iron man and right from the start I've been trying to decide what to do about the eyes.

pRoJectEarth7 had a great example here but when I contacted him about them he said they were too difficult and he wasn't going to be offering them. So that left me having to design my own. With my limited skills I hacked together a 3D model using 123Design and after tweaking the settings managed to print off something to carry the concept. I ordered a couple different type of LEDs to see which works best and I'll pick up a couple different types of plexiglass and see what works.

I have hopes that it'll work, then it's just a matter of fine tuning the model and the process and I might be able to offer them up for people that are interested.

 

[Talshadar]

I reworked the model and reprinted it. Much smoother print. Just waiting for the LEDs etc next week. I am curious whether there'd be interest or not.

 

[kyxz2]

Cool! Are you doing the etched lens? From my observation, (actually I'm not sure with this), projectearth7 uses 2 LEDs, left and right side.

 

[Talshadar]

Yesbi will be doing etched lens. I'm going to try 2 different types of LEDs, surface mount as well 3mm strip. If the strip works then I might be able to get 1 on each side. The LEDs should get delivered tomorrow I hope.

Ill post more pictures as I go

Cool! Are you doing the etched lens? From my observation, (actually I'm not sure with this), projectearth7 uses 2 LEDs, left and right side.

 

[dday]

IF you can do see through eyes that don't give you blaring headaches when you were the helmet for 6 hours at a time, you will sell these nonstop. The biggest problem with a good looking pair of LED eyes currently is that you can only see through a little strip under the eye socket, which means super limited vision. Having a helmet with two eyes you can fully see out of, will be a big thing for situational awareness.

If the price is reasonable, I'll buy em.

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But then again, you know the biggest problem, which is why you are taking this project on!

 

[Talshadar]

Lol. That is exactly why I wanted to do it. And one of the reasons I bought my 3D printer.

i can't wait to fully test them out. This is only version 1, this the red. I have black filament coming so I'll be reprinting and tweaking everything until I have one that works.

IF you can do see through eyes that don't give you blaring headaches when you were the helmet for 6 hours at a time, you will sell these nonstop. The biggest problem with a good looking pair of LED eyes currently is that you can only see through a little strip under the eye socket, which means super limited vision. Having a helmet with two eyes you can fully see out of, will be a big thing for situational awareness.

If the price is reasonable, I'll buy em.

- - - Updated - - -

But then again, you know the biggest problem, which is why you are taking this project on!

 

[brand]

This is kinda interesting. For my helmet I'm using the same method of Xrobots. I think you already know it. The only difference is that I've made the lenses detachable with 3 small velcro pieces in case of need. The lenses are from a pair of chinese mirror-surface glasses (3.50 euro) maybe that's why my vision is a bit blurry (also because of the cloth in front of them). My budget didn't allow me to buy better quality lenses. When lit, the result is pretty good and I still can see thru them because I'm using 3 low power leds for each eye, masked under the frame around the lens. The reflecting surface evenly and smoothly reflects the light all over the lenses with almost no visible hotspots.

I wanted to try some EL wires or EL sheets but they're sold in meters and I would have wasted a lot of money and material. I will consider them to light up the glowing parts of my next suite.

If you'll ever make a kit with the same or even better visibility, I'm definetely interested

 

[Talshadar]

Do you have pictures of your eye set up? You described it very well but I'd love to see how it looks/works.

I'm hoping to have almost full visibility. Depending on the amber lenses there should be a tint but no more than some sunglasses but i won't know for sure until I get everything.

This is kinda interesting. For my helmet I'm using the same method of Xrobots. I think you already know it. The only difference is that I've made the lenses detachable with 3 small velcro pieces in case of need. The lenses are from a pair of chinese mirror-surface glasses (3.50 euro) maybe that's why my vision is a bit blurry (also because of the cloth in front of them). My budget didn't allow me to buy better quality lenses. When lit, the result is pretty good and I still can see thru them because I'm using 3 low power leds for each eye, masked under the frame around the lens. The reflecting surface evenly and smoothly reflects the light all over the lenses with almost no visible hotspots.

I wanted to try some EL wires or EL sheets but they're sold in meters and I would have wasted a lot of money and material. I will consider them to light up the glowing parts of my next suite.

If you'll ever make a kit with the same or even better visibility, I'm definetely interested

 

[Talshadar]

I should mention that I worked the dimensions for the eyes off my existing helmet and it fills most of the eye. This may or may not work for everyone. I can't make them too much smaller height wise simply because of the tolerances of my printer and the characteristics of the ABS. I can modify the length of them though which should make them fit in other suits.

If I do get this to a point where I can make them to sell etc - I will probably have interested members send me the dimensions of their iron man eyes so I know if I need to shorten or lengthen them. I'm not building off a mold so I think it would be easier to print on demand the size that fits. Makes sense?

 

[brand]

They're made very similarly to this XRobots.co.uk - Iron Man MkVI Armour Motorised Faceplate or this XRobots.co.uk - Iron Man MkVI Armour Lighting the Suit but with only 3 LEDs for each eye so that I'm not completely blinded, powered with a 3V flat button battery with a simple switch I can turn on/off from the lower edge of the helmet. The interior design is pretty messy but cool enough for an half halloween costume made with cheap foam

I'm sure yours will be nice and clean.

I also didn't add the white plastic.

 

[Talshadar]

Cool. I'm going to go pick up some acrylic and maybe some tinting and see if that works as well. I'll update as I go.

 

[dday]

I'm avidly watching your progress. I would think based on the eyes I see in your photo, you could make the housing larger, giving a better field of vision. I'm thinking the lens will fill the entire eye socket, and the thing behind is the frame to hold everything in?

 

[Talshadar]

I could make them that way - would be easier in a way. the biggest issue is the thickness, how far into the helmet the eyes stick out. I'm working on my first build so I'm not entirely sure how much space is in the for the eyes. the one helmet I had that I had got far enough on to cut apart I don't have at the moment to test, thus the other helmet example. I'm anxiously awaiting for the LEDs so I know whether the dimensions will work.

For those of you that have eyes already - how thick are they? Currently mine are set at 12mm (1/2 inch) thick. If I had a little more space to play with things would probably print and fit better. But it's all trial and error at this point.

matt

I'm avidly watching your progress. I would think based on the eyes I see in your photo, you could make the housing larger, giving a better field of vision. I'm thinking the lens will fill the entire eye socket, and the thing behind is the frame to hold everything in?

 

[Talshadar]

Is there a trick to getting plexiglass cut smoothly? lol Almost have the right size.
the string LEDs that I got look like they'll work perfectly, will be able to get 3 LEDs per light in the 3mm groove like I planned (wooo!) - if I could only get the stupid thing working properly. It's lighting sporadic so I know in concept it'll work, just have to fine tune the wiring. Then I can try an idea I have to tint the inside lens to cut the glare and see how it works.

Pretty stoked that the concept in my head actually looks like it'll work.

 

[ultron]

Is there a trick to getting plexiglass cut smoothly? lol Almost have the right size.
the string LEDs that I got look like they'll work perfectly, will be able to get 3 LEDs per light in the 3mm groove like I planned (wooo!) - if I could only get the stupid thing working properly. It's lighting sporadic so I know in concept it'll work, just have to fine tune the wiring. Then I can try an idea I have to tint the inside lens to cut the glare and see how it works.

Pretty stoked that the concept in my head actually looks like it'll work.

Yes! Unfortunately, the cleanest way is with a laser cutter. This needs virtually no polishing. Alternatively you can cut it traditionally with, say, a bandsaw, and then use an acrylic polish to smooth it out.

It's not, to my knowledge, a garage operation to get professional results.

 

[Talshadar]

Huh, well I can't really go that route without it jumping in price. I'll just keep testing techniques to see what I can get to work.

Thanks

Yes! Unfortunately, the cleanest way is with a laser cutter. This needs virtually no polishing. Alternatively you can cut it traditionally with, say, a bandsaw, and then use an acrylic polish to smooth it out.

It's not, to my knowledge, a garage operation to get professional results.

 

[joshvanrad]

I will be watching this very closely. If it works out I would definitely be up for a set of them.

 

[Talshadar]

Thanks for the interst, hopefully I can get it working satisfactorily

I will be watching this very closely. If it works out I would definitely be up for a set of them.

 

[Talshadar]

Well I have a VERY rough prototype working. There's still a lot to be done (fine tuning the model I'm using, better plexiglass template and actual wiring) but the concept works.

Booyah!!

 

[omarbou1]

hey man if those are see through eyes then you could just model a complete eye socket instead !
it would provide more accuracy, it would be easier to install onto the faceplate !
i would be definitely interested in a set of those when the time comes !