Ok thanks
Dude i saw your video on tik tok and didnt even connect it was you! This project is awesome and i cant wait to see more. (also love seeing people people from tik tok on here) You on instagram?
DrCyanide
Active Member
I'm not on Instagram, just YouTube and TikTok.
DrCyanide
Active Member
To briefly recap the video, this update includes:
- Rotatable wrist
- Removable plates
- Touch controls
- Laser
- Sounds
- Lights when the rockets come up
What's next?
I think I'm at the point where I need to modify my workflow in order to push this design further. I've been using Fusion 360 to model the mechanical parts - which works great - but it sucks at handling the shell. Fusion 360 likes to have everything in a very precisely defined position, which I just can't do when I'm trying to orient parts to where they fit best on my body or under a curvy shell that might get resized again.
To get around that, I think I'm going to try to model some components in Fusion 360 (rockets, laser, wrist rotator, Arduino mounts, etc.), then import them in Blender where I can more easily manipulate the shell and positioning. Hopefully I'll be able to use some Boolean operators to make cutouts for the Fusion 360 parts to slot in or screw onto.
DrCyanide
Active Member
Boy, it's been a long time since my last update!
Oh, were to begin with this update?
I needed to mesh my mechanical parts (designed in Fusion 360) with a more organic design to fit my arm and fit inside the outer Iron Man shell. I took a 3D scan of my left arm (that'll be important later), and positioned everything around that inside of Blender. Placing my original designs in side-by-side, it quickly became apparent that changes would have to happen.
My first arm mechanical parts, and DO3D's Mk 6 Arm, not sharing space nicely.
I redesigned the mini rockets a ton to make them compact enough, going from revision 3 for my first arm to revision 10 for the new arm. That took quite a while, but it dramatically shrunk the size of the mechanical parts. This made them almost look like they could fit inside DO3D's Mk 6 Arm.
However, there was no way to squeeze every rocket I wanted, plus the rotating wrist, into DO3D's design. They designed for movie accuracy on the exterior, I'm going for functionality. So I needed to design my own outer shell, roughly the same size as DO3D's outer shell so it'll go well with the rest of their suit files.
My outer shell
You think it looks pretty now? Wait until you see what's inside!
Outer shell removed, showing where the rockets go
That's right, all of the rockets fit inside!
In addition to modeling the shell, I needed a new way to connect all the rockets together. My previous designs have all relied on two loops - one front and one back - and the rocket assemblies screwed into both of them, like spokes. To save space, that design had to be dropped, so instead I came up with this internal frame. It took a lot of Boolean modifiers, but I like the way it turned out. I decided to print it so I could test and see if I was on the right track.
Frame 3D printed
It's hard to describe just how solid and "real" this part feels in the hand. Some of that might be the ribbing (Blender's Wireframe modifier), but it also had a good heft to it. Not heavy, but still dense.
Anyway, there's one major problem with this arm. Remember when I said I scanned my left arm? Well, my first Iron Man arm is a left arm. I didn't want two left arms, so I decided to mirror it to be a right arm - my dominant arm - which is slightly larger than my left arm. And in my quest to make the Iron Man arm as compact as possible... it's too small to fit properly. It doesn't get close enough to my elbow, and if I flex my forearm it pops right off!
Valuable lesson learned: scan your dominant arm, then mirror that. Better to have a suit a little too big than too small.
Rather than just scrap the design (and the hours I'd spent trying to wrestle Blender into submission), I decided to finish assembling this arm, and find any other design issues I had missed. I've found a few, which will be used to make my next version of the arm even better.
Assembled second arm closeup
It's hard to say how long it'll take for my next update. But one thing's for certain: I know I'm making progress, and I love how this Iron Man suit is developing!
Oh, were to begin with this update?
I needed to mesh my mechanical parts (designed in Fusion 360) with a more organic design to fit my arm and fit inside the outer Iron Man shell. I took a 3D scan of my left arm (that'll be important later), and positioned everything around that inside of Blender. Placing my original designs in side-by-side, it quickly became apparent that changes would have to happen.
My first arm mechanical parts, and DO3D's Mk 6 Arm, not sharing space nicely.
I redesigned the mini rockets a ton to make them compact enough, going from revision 3 for my first arm to revision 10 for the new arm. That took quite a while, but it dramatically shrunk the size of the mechanical parts. This made them almost look like they could fit inside DO3D's Mk 6 Arm.
However, there was no way to squeeze every rocket I wanted, plus the rotating wrist, into DO3D's design. They designed for movie accuracy on the exterior, I'm going for functionality. So I needed to design my own outer shell, roughly the same size as DO3D's outer shell so it'll go well with the rest of their suit files.
My outer shell
You think it looks pretty now? Wait until you see what's inside!
Outer shell removed, showing where the rockets go
That's right, all of the rockets fit inside!
In addition to modeling the shell, I needed a new way to connect all the rockets together. My previous designs have all relied on two loops - one front and one back - and the rocket assemblies screwed into both of them, like spokes. To save space, that design had to be dropped, so instead I came up with this internal frame. It took a lot of Boolean modifiers, but I like the way it turned out. I decided to print it so I could test and see if I was on the right track.
Frame 3D printed
It's hard to describe just how solid and "real" this part feels in the hand. Some of that might be the ribbing (Blender's Wireframe modifier), but it also had a good heft to it. Not heavy, but still dense.
Anyway, there's one major problem with this arm. Remember when I said I scanned my left arm? Well, my first Iron Man arm is a left arm. I didn't want two left arms, so I decided to mirror it to be a right arm - my dominant arm - which is slightly larger than my left arm. And in my quest to make the Iron Man arm as compact as possible... it's too small to fit properly. It doesn't get close enough to my elbow, and if I flex my forearm it pops right off!
Valuable lesson learned: scan your dominant arm, then mirror that. Better to have a suit a little too big than too small.
Rather than just scrap the design (and the hours I'd spent trying to wrestle Blender into submission), I decided to finish assembling this arm, and find any other design issues I had missed. I've found a few, which will be used to make my next version of the arm even better.
Assembled second arm closeup
It's hard to say how long it'll take for my next update. But one thing's for certain: I know I'm making progress, and I love how this Iron Man suit is developing!
