Iron Man Mark VII Forearm -- Automated Aluminum/Foam Hybrid build + Tutorial

Artimis

Active Member
Hi Everyone,
Long time lurker and would like to share some of my recent work as well as try to contribute back by posting a quick tutorial and answering any questions.

Last year, I started a foam Mark VI suit which, unfortunately, was not finished in time for Halloween 2013. While scraping together a last minute Tony Stark costume as a substitute, I came up with an easy technique to overlay aluminum onto foam and decided to start prototyping a more complete build. This year, rather than making a full suit using this technique, I decided to focus just on making a fully functional arm.

Here is a video and some pics of the final result:

Finished Product
2014-11-03 12.26.56.png

Easy display stand using a paper towel holder
20141102_162934.jpg20141102_162744.jpg20141102_162812.jpg

Some specs on the arm:
- The forearm and glove are two completely independent systems that can be coupled together as one
- Both are controlled by separate Arduino nano boards
- The forearm uses 2 servos to open/close the missile pod and a 3rd servo to extend/retract the missile/laser
- The electronics for the forearm are housed in a separate module that I have on a strap attached to my shoulder -- there just wasn't enough room for everything in the forearm.
- Activation of the missile pod is done via a small pushbutton switch on my thumb
- The glove uses a magnetic reed switch on the wrist to activate the repulsor
- The majority of the electronics for the glove are housed under the hand plate.
- The handplate magnetically attaches to the top of the hand which turns on the glove on contact.

Specs on the Arc Reactor:
- Self-contained and runs on 3 AAA batteries
- Magnetic mount system
- Adjustable brightness control
- All external components mechanically attached (I had too many issues with adhesives in the past) -- This model was originally intended to take a beating but I'll post more on that separately later ;-).

Credits:
@Honus - Thank you for posting all your automation work. It was incredibly inspirational and helpful (e.g. extend/retract missile, etc).
@STEALTH - The Hero tutorials and Mark 6 files you originally posted got me started with Pep work
@JFcustom - Your foam building tips and tricks have helped me tremendously
@darkside501st -- Thank you for the Mark VII Pep files for this project
@undertaker -- Your motorized faceplate videos gave me the knowledge needed behind some of the mechanics (e.g. using two servos to open/close the hatch).
@7sinzz and @xl97 -- your posts in the motorized faceplate thread helped a lot with some of the circuit design and code that went into this.


-- Foam/Aluminum Hybrid Tutorial ---

This technique is a simple way to give an authentic metal look to your foam work. It eliminates the need to go through the tedious sealing process before painting (minus the edges) if you choose to paint (personally, I think the Mark 2 look of the raw metal looks great). Any wear and tear on your paint will reveal metal underneath instead of cracked paint lines in the foam.

Materials needed:
Typical foam pep materials -- pep software, foam, exacto knife, cardstock, etc.
Aluminum duct flashing -- any sheet metal will work but I specifically chose this stuff at Home depot because it was cheap, easily accessible, and thin enough to cut with scissors (about as thick as an aluminum can).
Hot Glue -- Important: Not all hot glue can be used!!!! I learned the tough way. Glue sticks that are cloudy do not bond well to metal! Use glue sticks that are crystal clear or your metal overlay will peel off.

Step 1: Cut templates, trace onto foam, and cut out your foam parts like you normally would.

Step 2: Coat the Top of your foam piece with a generous layer of hot glue
20140719_154111.jpg

Step 3: Press down onto the aluminum sheet firmly and quickly -- the metal dissipates the heat quickly so it will dry very fast!
20140719_154137.jpg

Step 4: Repeat with all your parts
20140719_160426.jpg

Step 5: Cut out your pieces essentially using the foam as the template/guide -- I use scissors since the metal is thin enough
20140719_154319.jpg

Step 6: All your foam pieces will now have a nice overlay/veneer and can be assembled like any other pep piece
20140719_170050.jpg 20140719_220648.jpg

Finished Piece:
20141011_215649.jpg
 
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this is beautiful. About to buy some extra aluminum when I buy a piece for my cap shield's star. Im acctually really excited to see if i can make this work! But how would you go about doing the more rounded out pieces?
 
this is beautiful. About to buy some extra aluminum when I buy a piece for my cap shield's star. Im acctually really excited to see if i can make this work! But how would you go about doing the more rounded out pieces?

That was the advantage of using the thinner aluminum. I was able to use scissors and still cut curves with relative ease. I do believe they make snips designed for left and right curves but I've never used them.

There were some cuts (not rounded ones) that were tough like the grooves in the missle pod or the inside of the center part of the forearm where the angles are tight and don't allow much rotation for the scissors. In these scenarios, I would cut the left and right edges and then bend the metal along the center until it broke off.
 
Thank you for the mention. That means a lot to me. This looks absolutely fantastic. Very nice work indeed.
 
this is so cool! I'm curious, do you have any plans to paint this?
I've gone back and forth and ultimately decided that I'm not going to paint it right now. I will try to finish the rest of the suit over the course of the next year (will be doing the motorized helmet starting in two weeks) and decide whether or not to paint it at the end. I've always liked the look of the raw Mark 2 finish so I'm going to see how the whole suit looks with that first and go from there.

Thank you for the mention. That means a lot to me. This looks absolutely fantastic. Very nice work indeed.
Thank you. I try to give credit wherever it is due as I don't think this would have been possible without the support of the community and the work of it's members.
 
This fantastic.

Do you have any/willing to share blueprints for the original foam cuts? Awesome work


Thanks. The forearm and hand plate are darkside501st's files (mentioned in credits) and can be found on his thread here:
http://www.therpf.com/f78/darkside501sts-iron-man-mk-vii-pepakura-files-password-first-post-139470/

As far as the gloves, I don't know the origin. They were from a set called "Easy hands" which I found on a thread here somewhere but can't remember where. Some parts were modified from the original though.

Edit: while searching for the gloves again, I found them in this thread
http://www.therpf.com/f78/quick-n-easy-iron-man-gloves-tutorial-185607/?highlight=easy+gloves

Coincidentally, the technique described in that thread is very similar to how made mine to a degree
 
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My friend,
are you doing anything about the sharpness of the aluminum? Since it is so thin and all? Like are you going to coat it with anything prior to painting it? Or is it not that sharp? I'm considering going this route for a future build, but I worry that my idiot kids will wanna touch the suit ( knowing it can fly and all ), and cut their fingers when they graze it
 
Nope, haven't done anything specific about the sharpness per say. I just try to make sure any pointy edges are properly glued down to the foam to prevent any lifting/catching. Some points were cut down a little or the metal slightly bent down into the foam. Once all the pieces are assembled, there doesn't seem to be much of an issue with sharp edges.
 
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