Iron man motorised faceplate electronics tutorial!!!

I'm looking around on Ebay for stuff......before I buy this I wanted you to check it out and make sure that this is the right one.....I see several different kind when I search for "Arduino UNO."
(Click this link)
Uno R3 ATMEGA328 ATMEGA16U2 Controller Board for Arduino's IDE Compatible | eBay

Also, (stoopid question) - the servos that you use, they look small. Are they strong enough to lift the face plate and close it back? My helmet is going to be fiberglass and I was wondering if anyone else had an issue with the servo's ability to move the plate in a realistic manner.

Also I searched this thread over and I saw the sound bits for various IM movements. I couldnt find however if anyone had developed a way to incorporate one or more of the sounds into the movement of the plate without having to add a ton of other electronics. Is there a way to build off of the existing hardware outlined at the beginning of this thread??
 
Great thread!:) Really helped me a lot! I have a suggestion, maybe use infrared to minimize the usage of lengthy wires? and do I need the arduino mini/nano to connect all the programmed electronics(servos, led) to the iron man?:) Thanks!
 
1.) IR was mentioned only a few threads previous to yours...?! and a link only 1 thread above.

2.) I suggest getting an Arduino UNO as a 'base' for developing anything/evertying you want to do for electronics.. but if you think your going to stick an UNO in your helmet.. well you may disappointed by the size.

Which is why you see many people getting the nano or pro-minis for the their "END" results/projects..

(keep this in mind)

3.) There are several ways to get 'Audio' out from an Arduino, however none have been addressed here.. using this 'holy grail' is NOT outlined for audio output.

You can get audio from:

A.) PWM audio output.. requires little extra components.. (SD card),, results are not that great.. more 'toy' sounding.. with some extra components, and even an AMP this can be improved.

B.) Using a some extra modules/break-out boards... one for the SD/Audio Playback and another for an AMP..

C.) Using an Adafruit Waveshield for .wav file playback

D.) Custom Arduino design/pcb designed.
 
Should be the 'same' more or less....

except the Arduino UNO will have pin headers that you can just stick wires/jumpers in.. and the nano's/mini's have only through holes.. so you can directly solder to...etc..

I am not sure if pinout is the same....but they should be labeled anyways. :)
 
Ohh i see, I'm doing War Machine though, and I'm short in cash so I tried fitting the uno to the top part of the helmet, and it fits perfectly!:)So as for now, I don't have any major problems:)
 
well if space isnt a concern (nor price).. then your off to a good start! :)

I also would like to know if those micro servos have enough power (torque) to lift a resin based face plate? (I'm thinking 'no'...however it would only be a hardware replacement for the servo once the code is working as desired, the metal geared/locking servo that TheRealStark uses is probably optimal)
 
Hey duuuudes. Just to clarify on my choice of servo. My setup is plastc coated foam. These servos probably wont stand a chance in h*ll of lifting a fibre glassed faceplate. They're puny.
 
Hi guys, I'm fairly new here and just wanted to say I am loving this thread. I have just started to play around with Arduino as well and this was a great first step to an actual application.

I also wanted to share an Arduino tutorial series I found on YouTube that has also helped me immensly in starting out. This is an ongoing series that starts with the basics of Arduino and Elecronics and moves into some more advanced features that some of you may find useful in the future, such as XBEE, serial communication, etc. Here is the link to the playlist

EDU - Tutorial Series for Arduino

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing this thread grow.
 
I was thinking about this system today, and I have a question. Shouldn't we put a servo controller, or a PWM circuit between the Arduino and the servo?
 
I was thinking about this system today, and I have a question. Shouldn't we put a servo controller, or a PWM circuit between the Arduino and the servo?


you can run a 'servo' directly from an Arduino.. (1 max usually.. and it probably wont lift/move anything)


a motor.. not so much. :)
 
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Hi guys, I'm fairly new here and just wanted to say I am loving this thread. I have just started to play around with Arduino as well and this was a great first step to an actual application.

I also wanted to share an Arduino tutorial series I found on YouTube that has also helped me immensly in starting out. This is an ongoing series that starts with the basics of Arduino and Elecronics and moves into some more advanced features that some of you may find useful in the future, such as XBEE, serial communication, etc. Here is the link to the playlist

EDU - Tutorial Series for Arduino

I'm definitely looking forward to seeing this thread grow.


LOVE the Jeremy Blum Arduino tut series!

I believe he also doing/starting an EAGLE CAD series as well now.. :)
 
HI Guys,

i have a question:
Can you tell me what exactly do i need for faceplate open/close?

My english is realy bad, so i do not understand all of what you all talking about :wacko

i founf this:

1. 3er Set Tower Pro SG90 Micro Servo 9g gramm für Parkflyer: Amazon.de: Spielzeug

this:
2. http://www.amazon.de/Arduino-UNO-R3/dp/B008GRTSV6/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1358520979&sr=8-6

or

Arduino Nano 328: Amazon.de: Elektronik

3. and i have LED eys, but i will turn them on just with a battery when the faceplate is closed! so they dont need to plug in and programmed... or what ever
 
But what if I use Texas Instrument's MSP 430? At home I have 2 of it, I really like them. Should I buy an Arduino mini?


Sorry I'm not familiar with that particular chip..or its purpose.. :(


Im not sure 'WHY' you would use them I guess? You can run a servo directly from an Arduino (mini, nano..whatever)..

I believe as long as it is a +5v Arduino (as I believe thats what the servos are too)... that any given Arduino pin will provide enough current to drive the servo.

There are TONS of servo tutorials on line... and even servo libraries available that make communication/use even EASIER..

good luck!.. :)
 
LOVE the Jeremy Blum Arduino tut series!

I believe he also doing/starting an EAGLE CAD series as well now.. :)

Yep, he has two up so far for Eagle. I would also recommend them for anyone who wants to design their own custom PCBs. I'm hoping he will build upon this series with more complicated designs like with the Arduino tuts.

But what if I use Texas Instrument's MSP 430? At home I have 2 of it, I really like them. Should I buy an Arduino mini?

I'm not too familiar with the MSP 430 either. From what I can tell the MSP 430 is a barebones platform that you would use instead of an Arduino to control everything. The MSP 430 is a very low power system though and I'm not sure it has enough juice to power the servos directly. Servos can use a lot of current so you would probably want separate power supply for them anyway. You would then just use the MSP 430 to control the position/speed.

While you could certainly put a servo controller between the MSP 430 and the servos it may be overkill for this type of application. XRobots did something similar for his faceplate system (using a PICAXE MC and a servo controller) you may want to check out his MK VI thread and youtube videos.
 
Yep, he has two up so far for Eagle. I would also recommend them for anyone who wants to design their own custom PCBs. I'm hoping he will build upon this series with more complicated designs like with the Arduino tuts.



I'm not too familiar with the MSP 430 either. From what I can tell the MSP 430 is a barebones platform that you would use instead of an Arduino to control everything. The MSP 430 is a very low power system though and I'm not sure it has enough juice to power the servos directly. Servos can use a lot of current so you would probably want separate power supply for them anyway. You would then just use the MSP 430 to control the position/speed.

While you could certainly put a servo controller between the MSP 430 and the servos it may be overkill for this type of application. XRobots did something similar for his faceplate system (using a PICAXE MC and a servo controller) you may want to check out his MK VI thread and youtube videos.

Yes, I know his system. I use MSP430 because it's very cheap in Hungary (Arduinos are way more expensive) and easy to apply to my system. I'd like to control my whole suit with one or two msp430s. I'll use an external power supply, (a big LiPo battery, 14,8V, 8000 mAh - the suit will work hours with it)
 
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