Ratchet and Clank – OmniWrench Replica WIP Thread

[Studio 49]

G'day folks, it's been awhile but I'm excited to share some photos of a new project I'm working on.

I grew up playing the Ratchet and Clank games on the Playstation and I still very much enjoy the franchise.
Since I'm already in the process of building Clank (the small robot you see below), I figured I may as well create Ratchet's OmniWrench as well to go with the display!

The OmniWrench is the blue/silver weapon Ratchet is holding. The weapon changes every few games, so I decided to settle on the current iteration which is dubbed the 'Millennium 12' OmniWrench.

To build this I'm 3D using reference photos from the game to create 3D models in Autodesk Inventor.
I first started with modelling the handle and grip section as can be seen below. The Ratchet and Clank games are known for oversized fun weapons and gadgets, so I'm scaling my wrench to fit that category. From that, my OmniWrench will total 600mm/23.5 inches in length.

Since it'll be a considerable size, I've designed my files to incorporate metal piping and steel tubing internally. This serves the dual purpose of reinforcing the prop as well as providing me hollow internals that I can run electronics and LED's through.

Here's the work I've completed on the jaws, complete with cavities that I can slot in my LED assemblies

The handle/grip section then transitions into this "central junction" type piece that branches off to each jaw of the wrench, each of which will be connected with steel tubing internally.

 

[Studio 49]

And then here's where I'm up to currently with my 3D Model, super please with how it's coming along.

 

[Studio 49]

With the exterior modelled, it was time to detail the interior so I could run electronics and wires.
To achieve this I sourced metal pipes/tubing and then modelled the opening to be a really nice tight friction fit.

 

[Studio 49]

With the 3D model pretty well complete I was able to start 3D printing.
For starters I printed the parts for the central junction area where that connects the handle to the wrench jaws.
I designed this so that the parts were a really snug friction fit over the steel piping. Tight enough that they won't come come off by accident, but I can take parts off for sanding or painting individually prior to final assembly.

With the top junction area finished it was time to start printing the main handle/grip section. Thankfully I was able to fit this all in one print on my Zortrax M300 3D Printer. Here's some photos of it in progress:

With the handle printed I was able to sleeve it onto the metal pipe I'd be using to house the bulk of the electronics.
I needed to fit a x4 AAA battery holder inside, so I was able to find a metal table leg at Bunnings that was the perfect size for electronics whilst fitting inside the printed parts. This photo was prior to the pipe being cut to length.

 

[ScoobiJohn]

looking good so far - good idea incorporating some steel pipe for strength - should give it a more satisfying heft too - is the join between the metal going to be welded or some mechanical join? anyway looking forward to seeing the finished article and the new game too

 

[Studio 49]

Thanks man! The steel has helped heaps, and you're spot on as it give a really nice "authentic" feeling heft to it!

 

[paulsboutique]

nice design, looks like a zortrax there. Are you building in tolerence with your files or scaling it as you go ?

 

[Studio 49]

It sure is, I love my Zortrax M300, it's an absolute workhorse of a printer.
As for your question I already had the metal pipes/tubes on hand so I designed the files to fit prior to printing

 

[Studio 49]

More updates! In the last few days I've printed a bunch more parts. I now have a cap for the pommel and also the jaws of the wrench printed.
Here you can see the junction point for the jaws being fitted to the handle/grip:

Next up, I was able to do a test fit with the first jaw which when really well.
As for the gaps I designed it so that I can drop in a seperate part that contains the light up section.
I also popped in the large decorative flat head bolt caps onto the sides of the handle/grip.

And then here's the wrench with both halves of the jaw fitted! It's really starting to look like the real deal now
You can also see one of the light panels for the blue LED's. For the lens I used an transparent blue arcade button to get the look I was after.

 

[Studio 49]

With nearly the entire wrench printed I was able to begin developing a prototype solution to lighting the jaws of the wrench.
Initially I was looking at LED strips, however the uneven distribution of the lighting would leave a lot to be desire for me.

So after some reach into alternatives, I settled on Electroluminescent Tape. The Electroluminescent Tape is great since it provides a nice consistent lighting source. It's really nice and flexible and I can bend it even up to 90 degrees, the only down side is it isn't as bright as LED strips.

This is the strip as it arrived:

To mount it the LED strip in the jaw area I printed a thin profile that's a nice friction fit. I then used strong double sided tape attach the Electroluminescent tape.

Here's how it looked in position within the jaw:

With the tape mounted I needed to make an addition 'lens' to further add to the look.
My low tech solution was to go to the local office supply shop and purchase an opaque blue plastic folder.
I then chopped some strips on a guillotine. Once cut, I got my heat gun and heated a section at a time and then bent it to shape.

Then the moment of truth! The first test with lighting it up!
Super stoked with how this is looking

 

[13doctorwho]

Excellent work. I didn't play the game, but the tool is a beautiful design. You're prop looks great.

 

[Studio 49]

Thanks so much!

I'll have some more WIP pictures soon as well.

 

[Studio 49]

With the Electronics prototype sorted I needed to make the steel piece that connected the two jaws to the handle.
To achieve this I used the square steel tube I cut from earlier. Next I marked out which sections I needed to cut with the angle grinder.

After the cutting with the grinder was complete, this was how the steel was looking.
The sections I had removed allow for my to run the electronics inside without obstruction.

With the cutting complete I used my power file to quickly remove all the burrs and removing flashing so that the wiring wouldn't snag on anything.

After a once over with the power file, this is the result:

With the steel piece completed it was time to prep the jaws with threaded inserts.
Essentially what will happen is I will have holes in the steel that I just made that line up with threaded inserts in the jaws. Then when I sleeve the jaw onto the steel I can thread a bolt through securing the two parts together. This allows for a rock solid assembly that I can still disassembly If I need for working on electronics or painting.

When I 3D modelled the jaws I allowed for a while that I could fit some M6 coupling cuts into. The tolerances were designed such that I needed to hammer them into the hole. There's no way they're going anywhere! I also measure to bump up the infill on the 3D print to make sure that nothing buckled when hammering.

Here's the coupling nuts:

And then here's the coupling nut installed into the hole:

With the coupling nuts installed I was able to drill the corresponding holes in the steel. Here's how it looks with the jaws bolted in place to the steel and the handle:

 

[Studio 49]

Today I was able to make a huge amount of progress and pretty well knocked off all the of the electronics.

My setup consisted of 3 strips of Electroluminescent Tape, one for each jaw and then the light panel on the centre junction piece. The Electroluminescent tape is powered by x4 AA batteries, which runs into an inverter which then illuminated the Electroluminescent tape.
Then branching off from the wires before the inverter are my wires for the 4 blue 10mm LEDs. These 4 LEDs are used to light the circular light panels on the sides of the jaws. Each LED was also wired to have a resistor, so the battery voltage didn't blow the LED.

After an afternoon of soldering and problem solving I had my finalised set up completed!
I've since added the other two bits of EL Tape and removed any excess wire to help it hit nicer inside of the wrench.
I'm not super experienced with electronics so I'm super stoked with how this came out

As for the switch to turn the lights on, I've got a latching switch that's recessed into the base of the pommel.
This way it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb!

With the electronics all sorted I needed to create another jaw lighting rig and this time I remembered to take proper photos.

It starts with a 3D printed profile which I then run a strip of Tesa double sided tape along (Tesa is beyond brilliant for prop making, super reliable and durable for long term mounting). After peeling the protective film I carefully stuck the EL Tape down along the centre line.

The profile was designed so it was thin enough that it could flex, which was very helpful for fit it into the jaw as the printed part is a nice snug fiction fit. This way I can insert the lighting setup into the jaw and then move the sides of the profile up flush to the jaw to eliminate any gaps that spoil the look of the EL tape.

With all the electronics soldered and assembled I was just about ready for the first full assembly.
First however, I needed to glue the two halves together. For this I'm using Z Poxy, which is a two part epoxy adhesive that goes off in 5 minutes.
I cannot recommend this stuff enough, it's deadset brilliant! Obviously if you use it you need to wear PPE with glasses, gloves and a respirator.

To prep the parts to have a nice solid bond, I used my grinder to quickly cut some channels/grooves into the 3D print. These grooves allow the glue to sit inside and help increase the reliability of the bond between the two parts and the Z Poxy as it has more to grip onto.

I then taped up the areas that would be affected by excess Z Poxy oozing out when the two parts are glued and fitted.

I then mixed and applied the Z Poxy to each piece. Following which I pressed them together, and once the excess glue stopped oozing from the join I wiped excess with a rag. Then after a minute to let it settle I peeling the tape off while the Z Poxy was still green (still going off). You can see below I already removed the tape from the bottom part.

With the two halves glued together, it was time to start the process of installing all the wires inside!
First, I ran the wires fort through the central unction at the top, down through the prop to the batteries.
From there I was able to thread the LEDs and EL tape through the steel pipes into their respective jaws and neatly tuck everything inside.
I'll have some more WIP photos soon with the LEDs all going!

 

[prev]

Nicely detailed thread dude. Can't wait to see some paint on it!!!!!

Bunnings? You're either an Aussie or a Kiwi...

(edit: just saw you're from Brisbane. West Coast of the South Island of NZ here.)

 

[Studio 49]

Nicely detailed thread dude. Can't wait to see some paint on it!!!!!

Bunnings? You're either an Aussie or a Kiwi...

(edit: just saw you're from Brisbane. West Coast of the South Island of NZ here.)

Thanks so much mate! I'm super stoked with how it's coming along

And good eye man! I am indeed an Aussie haha

 

[Studio 49]

I redesigned the parts for the blue led windows on the side of the jaws today. They now allow for the 10mm blue led to be friction fit into the back hole/opening of the bezel.

The entire sub assembly can then be inserted into the side of the jaw with yet another friction fit.

I forgot to mention that the blue lens seen inside the bezel is from some cheap Arcade style buttons that I purchased and gutted to get the lens and diffuser as it was the first diameter for the prop.

I also needed to install the EL Tape in the top window that sits between the two jaws.

The central junction piece on the prop has a lip that I designed in, so I have essentially designed another little 3D printed mounting plate that friction fits into that opening and that lip stops it from going too far.

Again I used Tesa tape to mount the EL tape.

Once the 3D print plate and EL tape were in place I was able to insert the blue diffuser.

And then the final part I needed were the fake bolt/rivet heads that are seen on the prop in the game.

I designed these so that I could fit them after the fact to help make the sanding and painting process easier.

 

[13doctorwho]

It's really beautiful work. Your design is well thought out.

 

[Studio 49]

It's really beautiful work. Your design is well thought out.

Thanks so much man, really appreciate it

 

[Studio 49]

And here it is! The prop has all the part assembled and the electronics are all working as they should
I'm seriously stoked with how this has come out and it's beyond satisfying seeing it light up properly for the first time.

Obviously there's still more to do with plenty of sanding, filling and painting however, I can't really do painting in the town house we're at so that will have to wait for another day.
I also plan to get some different diffusers for the side mounted round LED's to try bring the shade of blue more in line with the EL Tape lighting.


Speaking of the Omni-Wrench prop, I've already 3D modelled another version seen in one of the other games. So I'll be sure to document the 3D modelling and build progress here