MLP Engineering [some assembly required]

[RazzyJam 1,519]

NOTE TO THE MODS:

I had NO IDEA where to put this thread. Because I may need help with some things later, its going here for now. 

 

 

So here it is! The tread of all of my engineering projects Im working on and the ones to come. I have lots of things and ideas that Im eager to work on, but I am only able to do so much, as I am limited in knowledge of certain subjects, funds, and patience. Let me show you a few things first, and then I actually need some help from YOU with some of my projects. I need artsy people!

 

---

 

PROJECT 1: 

Ultrasound

 

 

The idea: A DJ P0N3 style mechsuit. If Tony Stark was a DJ, he would build this.

Current status: Beginning phases. 

 

 

 

 

These are some parts I have made so far. This was mostly as a test to see if I could even make the papercraft parts. The helmet is one from the duo "Daft Punk", and the glove is from the Iron Man armor. 

Some reasoning behind these choices:

1. Practice
2. Looks awesome
3. Speakers that I already have fit in perfectly to the ear pucks on the helmet and the glove (as seen above)

I forgot to mention the important part. This thing is going to work. I was going to put this as cosplay, but I figured it isnt technically cosplay, and I have other things to talk about. I would much like to have a custom body for this suit, but Im not very good at coming up with concepts for it. Im more of a gear-head than a Picasso.  

 

Some other things I have constructed but not in pictures:

• an old mini-frige that I busted open for the cooler unit. 
• LED Matrix to be put in the helmet once it is treated with fiberglass.
• Audio adapters for the gloves (but only one glove x3)
• A couple of ghetto servo motors for the exoskeleton that will hold all the heavy stuff for me (windshield wiper motors XD)
• Arduino microcontroler to run it all. 
• Ipod Touch 2nd gen to run the music through. 
• 3D printed wrist mount for the iPod. May or may not be used in final product. 

 

Help needed:

 

 

So, here is where people could lend a hand in getting this done. I need drawings made of just the exterior. If the drawings are done properly, I should even be able to make the real world parts exactly like the drawings are. 

Some things I would like to include on the suit:

• Woofers and subwoofers. If I can shoulder mount some woofers, and then conceal the subwoofer under a few plates on the chest, I think that would be cool. Imagine the thing opening up and releasing wubs after wubs out of these speakers.
• Smoke machines. I think I may put these in the boots or on the back by the refrigeration unit (some small frige my neighbor was throwing out. will use the pump and lines to keep myself cool  ). 
• Lasers. Just somewhere, this thing needs to have strobe lights and lasers. 
• Various areas for acoustic control. I had a few ideas in mind: some controls on the forearms, master audio board on one of the outer thigh panels, perhaps something that folds out from the torso.
• Launchers for goodies. T-shirts, glowsticks, Rainbow Dash soda, etc. I thought about putting a canister launcher on one of the shoulders, and a Bazooka Bass tube on the other, but I couldn't decide what would look best. Id launch T-shirts and sodas out of the large launcher, and then I would have a wrist mounted thing to launch glowsticks or something. 

Here is how you can lend a hand, and later I will talk about what may be in it for you!

First things first, let me know if I should even do this. This sounds cool to me, but for all I know everyone else may think its stupid. I want this to be worth doing, and I would love to show this off to people. Second, if you are good with drawing, you could give a go at drawing up some armor. However, if you would like me to consider using it to actually make the real thing, It needs to be set up a certain way so that I may turn your drawing into a 3D model on the computer. I will then use this model to laser cut the parts and assemble them, kind of like you saw with the Iron man glove. 

If you are going to draw for modeling, make sure it looks similar to this:

 

 

 

 

If you dont feel like drawing something that large or boring, you can still help in other ways. For example, you could give me another idea of something I could add to the suit, OR you could submit a drawing of how one of the parts should look. A drawing of a component should look something like this:

 

 

 

 

Funny, that panel right there is actually where I would like to hace one of the audio boards x3

 

 

Whats in it for you if you help? 

I will be unveiling this thing at Bronycon 2014 (assuming it gets done, which it should ). Id like to put this thing up for a test. Maybe get stage time (with someone else in it, I have no idea how to DJ x3)

I may also be purchasing my own 3D printer to assist in the construction of some parts and components If that happens, Id be more than willing to send people 3D printed ponies.

If you can think of other reasonable perks, Im open to ideas.

 

I may start an indiegogo for this or something, I dont know.

Help appriciated. Let me know what you think of what I have got so far!

 

 

 

PROJECT 2:

MLD

 

 

This project is currently under development.

 

 

 

PROJECT 3:

To be Announced

 

 

This project is currently under development.

 

 

 

PROJECT 4:

To be Announced

 

 

This project is not yet under development. 

 

 

 

 

PROJECT 5:

To be Announced

 

 

This project is nowhere near development. 

 

 

Edited June 22, 2013 by WingedRatchet

[repsol rave 2,963]

Woofers and subwoofers. If I can shoulder mount some woofers, and then conceal the subwoofer under a few plates on the chest, I think that would be cool. Imagine the thing opening up and releasing wubs after wubs out of these speakers. Smoke machines. I think I may put these in the boots or on the back by the refrigeration unit (some small frige my neighbor was throwing out. will use the pump and lines to keep myself cool  ).  Lasers. Just somewhere, this thing needs to have strobe lights and lasers.  Various areas for acoustic control. I had a few ideas in mind: some controls on the forearms, master audio board on one of the outer thigh panels, perhaps something that folds out from the torso. Launchers for goodies. T-shirts, glowsticks, Rainbow Dash soda, etc. I thought about putting a canister launcher on one of the shoulders, and a Bazooka Bass tube on the other, but I couldn't decide what would look best. Id launch T-shirts and sodas out of the large launcher, and then I would have a wrist mounted thing to launch glowsticks or something. 

 

that, my dear fellow engineer. is a awful lot to put in a single mech suit.

i will try to get this all in a blueprint but i'm not promising anything here. and it may take a while since the design is nowhere near finished.

however, what you've got going with the helmet and gloves already looks promising. so i'll be happy to lend a hand here:) 

also, any ideas on the exact materials you want to use for this? and some dimensions would be nice, (what kind of person does it need to fit?) also, i assume you want it to become somewhat simmilar to iron man's suit. are there restrictions on the design aspects?

Edited June 22, 2013 by repsol rave

[RazzyJam 1,519]

also, any ideas on the exact materials you want to use for this? and some dimensions would be nice, (what kind of person does it need to fit?) also, i assume you want it to become somewhat similar to iron man's suit. are there restrictions on the design aspects?

I plan on making this an aluminium frame, and the outer shell is going to be a combination of Fiberglass and PLA plastic. There are other materials that will be used, such as PVCs and perhaps even some ABS on printed parts that need more structural support, but the majority is going to be Aluminum and fiberglass.

 

Id like it to be similar to the iron man armor, but not exactly like it. There are enough people out there who have made papercraft Mark 4s, I dont want to be one of them x3. As far as design restraints, there aren't a lot. The only major concern I have is mobility. Id like to be able to move my limbs with a bit of freedom. Weight shouldnt be an issue, as Im DIYing an Exoskeleton for this. I guess the only other restraint I can think of is that it should refrain from being too angular. It shouldnt have too many steep edges, as that would be hard to apply fiberglass too, but it also shouldnt be perfectly smooth, as that is harder to do with papercraft. 

[repsol rave 2,963]

 As far as design restraints, there aren't a lot. The only major concern I have is mobility. Id like to be able to move my limbs with a bit of freedom. Weight shouldnt be an issue, as Im DIYing an Exoskeleton for this. I guess the only other restraint I can think of is that it should refrain from being too angular. It shouldnt have too many steep edges, as that would be hard to apply fiberglass too, but it also shouldnt be perfectly smooth, as that is harder to do with papercraft. 

i got a few designs in my head right now, ill work them all out in a few prints and you can tell me wat you think. the only thing i seem to have issues with is how to fit a subwoofer in the chest piece. it's definately going to be a tight fit. also, as you are making a exoskeleton, i assume there has to be room for batterypacks somewhere?

[RazzyJam 1,519]

i got a few designs in my head right now, ill work them all out in a few prints and you can tell me wat you think. the only thing i seem to have issues with is how to fit a subwoofer in the chest piece. it's definately going to be a tight fit. also, as you are making a exoskeleton, i assume there has to be room for batterypacks somewhere?

For the subwoofer, I just plan on putting a smaller 8" driver in the front, and to store the amp in the backpack. The backpack is also where I will be keeping the energy cells. I have my eye on some lightweight Lithium Ion rechargeable batteries (I think it is a single cell for a tesla roadster). Its about 50 bucks, ans weights about 10 pounds. All said and done, the exoskeleton should be able to carry about 150 pounds or so, and I should have enough juice to run it for 8-10 hours. 

 

The batteries are from VARTA if you need something for size. I have to check that again

Edited June 22, 2013 by WingedRatchet

[Curry Pinch 34]

Goodness, I know it's totally offtopic, but have exoskeletons really gone so far in their development?

 I have a bit of personal interest in that, from a totally different point of wiev.

I have a progressive and uncurable arthrosis of my knee joints. Classical surgery can't fix it, and even though I'm still pretty functional at the moment, doctors have no idea how long would it last. maybe 15 years, maybe five, maybe  less. After that they offer me knee joint replacements, but the trick is that they don't last that well, after 10-15 years the connection with bone wears out and they are no longer neither functional nor replacable.

A friend of mine suggested exoskeleton as a good alternative, but that was on a level of joke, and as I checked some exoskeletons on youtube, most looked fake in one way or another (you know, hardcore shiny metal ass, but in the point where most stress would be there is a plastic belt buckle, or attached to body with straps that deffinately seem to cut circulation if worn for more than 5 minutes, such things.

 

But if you are talking about building a functional foll body support system, there might be ways that would allow to build a leg support system (of course, it would be a bit more complex)

 

If you could tell me a tad more about the current limitations of this tech, I would be so happy. It really means heaps to me if there is a way I could awoid wheelchair

[RazzyJam 1,519]

Goodness, I know it's totally offtopic, but have exoskeletons really gone so far in their development?

 I have a bit of personal interest in that, from a totally different point of wiev.

I have a progressive and uncurable arthrosis of my knee joints. Classical surgery can't fix it, and even though I'm still pretty functional at the moment, doctors have no idea how long would it last. maybe 15 years, maybe five, maybe  less. After that they offer me knee joint replacements, but the trick is that they don't last that well, after 10-15 years the connection with bone wears out and they are no longer neither functional nor replacable.

A friend of mine suggested exoskeleton as a good alternative, but that was on a level of joke, and as I checked some exoskeletons on youtube, most looked fake in one way or another (you know, hardcore shiny metal ass, but in the point where most stress would be there is a plastic belt buckle, or attached to body with straps that deffinately seem to cut circulation if worn for more than 5 minutes, such things.

 

But if you are talking about building a functional foll body support system, there might be ways that would allow to build a leg support system (of course, it would be a bit more complex)

 

If you could tell me a tad more about the current limitations of this tech, I would be so happy. It really means heaps to me if there is a way I could awoid wheelchair

Well, Im not extremely versed in the details of the field, but I can tell you that exoskeleton tech has evolved greatly in just the last 5 years. There are companies out there in both Japan and the US that are heavily specialized in the construction of exoskeletons, and I know for a fact that there is a Japanese company that makes exosuits SPECIFICALLy for people who have difficulty walking, and even suits for people who experience partial or even complete paralysis. Were you to look for one of these 5 years ago, they would have been rather bulky and expensive, but the size and cost has been driven down to more manageable levels. That being said, they still dont come cheap. Im not familiar with the prices off the top of my head, but I do know that they are rather expensive.

I cant remember the name of that company that makes them commercially, but Im sure a quick google search would turn up the name. 

 

As for the Exoskeleton I am making, It is a rather simple, lightweight, aluminium frame that is only going to support all of the heavy equipment I want to carry. Its main purpose is to transfer that weight off of my back and shoulders and into the ground so that I dont have to. Overall, I may have upwards of 80 pounds on my back. This isnt a problem for me, as I have gone backpacking before  and I have had 70-80 pounds on my back before (even for as long as a week-and-a-half) However, I expect the inside of this suit to get very hot, and that may make it more difficult to carry the weight. 

[RazzyJam 1,519]

Also, I found those links for you if you are still interested:

 

American company:

http://rewalk.us/

 

Japanese company that does full body exoskeleton systems

http://www.cyberdyne.jp/english/index.html

[RazzyJam 1,519]

Bump

@repsol rave

Just wanted to check in and see how you were doing on those prints. Although, it just now comes to mind that you did have a bit of a crisis recently, so if you havent done anything with it, thats fine as well

Edited July 1, 2013 by WingedRatchet

[PickMeup 16]

Will the suit be under a creative commons 3.0 attribution license aka CC-BY? Which Software are you using to make the 3D models for printing? I would suggest using blender since its free and open source. Can the models be uploaded on blendswap.Also will it possible to put the stl files on thingverse under CC-BY license like this http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:98669

Edited July 1, 2013 by PickMeup

[RazzyJam 1,519]

Will the suit be under a creative commons 3.0 attribution license aka CC-BY? Which Software are you using to make the 3D models for printing? I would suggest using blender since its free and open source. Can the models be uploaded on blendswap.Also will it possible to put the stl files on thingverse under CC-BY license like this http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:98669

Holy crap! Words!

 

I have full ownership of my models and the suit. Im using Solidworks 2013 to design parts that must be 3D printed, and that tool gives me full ownership of my parts. Id use blender, but its a bit of a finicky tool, and not accurate enough for engineering standards. Plus, solidworks allows me to assemble and test my designs before even creating the real parts, and gives me lots of simulation options. I could put my STLs on Thingiverse, however, not all of the suit is going to be printed. A lot more of it is going to be fabricated. 

 

Side note- I need money for the Electronics that are going into this, anyone here think its a good idea to make a kickstarter?

Edited July 1, 2013 by WingedRatchet

[PickMeup 16]

Kickstarter is a great idea also once you complete your models will you export them to blender www.sycode.com/products/obj_export_sw and put them on blendeswap.com?

Edited July 1, 2013 by PickMeup

[RazzyJam 1,519]

Kickstarter is a great idea also once you complete your models will you export them to blender www.sycode.com/products/obj_export_sw and put them on blendeswap.com?

I think I will make a kickstarter then, and if there is enough of a demand, I can put all of my parts up for grabs, even the geometry for the armor.

However, for a number of reasons, Im going to have to keep electronic and mechanical details private

[PickMeup 16]

So will the assets be under CC-BY? If yes will you use the open source hash tag on kickstarter http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/01/25/kickstarter-adds-hashtags-making-it-even-easier-to-discover-projects-on-the-site/

                   By the way before you do a kickstarter I would recommend this youtube webinar on crowd sourcing http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuQQyT4z_TRL1Wek5OL6trdpSfEXpCVOY

                                                                                                                                     Also which 3D Printer are you using I would recommend this https://www.lulzbot.com/?q=products/taz-3d-printer

Edited July 1, 2013 by PickMeup

[RazzyJam 1,519]

So will the assets be under CC-BY? If yes will you use the open source hash tag on kickstarter http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/01/25/kickstarter-adds-hashtags-making-it-even-easier-to-discover-projects-on-the-site/

                   By the way before you do a kickstarter I would recommend this youtube webinar on crowd sourcing http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuQQyT4z_TRL1Wek5OL6trdpSfEXpCVOY

                                                                                                                                     Also which 3D Printer are you using I would recommend this https://www.lulzbot.com/?q=products/taz-3d-printer

I did some reading into the whole CC-BY thing, and to be honest with you, I have no idea why I would even need to touch it. Plus, it mentions that it would mean that my work could be transmitted and distributed, which I dont want to do just yet. Id like to keep my work as close to my name as possible.

 

That being said, I will still share some of the parts and things on thingiverse for use. Thingiverse is probably what I am going to be using most to share STL's , as it is contingent of Makerbot, which happens to be the printer I am using. The printer is a Makerbot Replicator 2. I may or may not also use a Stratasys uPrint SE that I have avalible, just for the higher quality printing. I expect the parts that I am printing to take a lot of wear and strain, so I need high quality.

 

Also, a lot of the 3D printing is only going to be for the internal mechanics, which, again, Im not sure I will be releasing. I think the most Im willing to release is the surfacing, which will be done in fiberglass.

[PickMeup 16]

I did some reading into the whole CC-BY thing, and to be honest with you, I have no idea why I would even need to touch it. Plus, it mentions that it would mean that my work could be transmitted and distributed, which I dont want to do just yet. Id like to keep my work as close to my name as possible.

 

That being said, I will still share some of the parts and things on thingiverse for use. Thingiverse is probably what I am going to be using most to share STL's , as it is contingent of Makerbot, which happens to be the printer I am using. The printer is a Makerbot Replicator 2. I may or may not also use a Stratasys uPrint SE that I have avalible, just for the higher quality printing. I expect the parts that I am printing to take a lot of wear and strain, so I need high quality.

 

Also, a lot of the 3D printing is only going to be for the internal mechanics, which, again, Im not sure I will be releasing. I think the most Im willing to release is the surfacing, which will be done in fiberglass.

They would still have to attribute you to use your work.  All parts of the suit in theory can be 3D Printed as long as you release the STL files.

[websterhamster 203]

I have experience with Arduinos and I can tell you that you'll probably need more than one. A couple Arduino Mega's should do it, although the larger elements will require external power. Remember that an Arduino supplies 5 volts.

[RazzyJam 1,519]

They would still have to attribute you to use your work.  All parts of the suit in theory can be 3D Printed as long as you release the STL files.

Not the aluminum Exoskeleton and motors and electronics and things

 

I have experience with Arduinos and I can tell you that you'll probably need more than one. A couple Arduino Mega's should do it, although the larger elements will require external power. Remember that an Arduino supplies 5 volts.

You are probably right, and I may need two or three boards. I dont plan on having a lot of robotics to operate, but that may end up simplifying the whole design. 

 

As for power, Im going to need a lot of voltage to run everything I want to. This is either going to need an industrial battery or a way to plug into the wall. Id prefer the battery though.

 

---

 

 

Posting some sketches Ive completed of what I had in mind. Lots of sketches on here, most of them depicting functionality. But the two big drawings really show off what I think this is going to look like. 

And another sketch. This time of some mechanics that Im piecing out before I try and do some Solidworks rendering. 

Still havent made that indiegogo account... wondering if I should or not and what I should write to get people interested.

Edited July 2, 2013 by WingedRatchet

[websterhamster 203]

Still havent made that indiegogo account... wondering if I should or not and what I should write to get people interested.

 

Well one thing that would help would be documentation of the whole thing, with the promise of instructions or something to help others make the same or similar thing. People will be interested in helping you out if they will get something out of your innovation.

[RazzyJam 1,519]

Well one thing that would help would be documentation of the whole thing, with the promise of instructions or something to help others make the same or similar thing. People will be interested in helping you out if they will get something out of your innovation.

I may hand out part files, I may even give away 3D printed things (not sure what yet). Its a lot of money to be raised, and so naturally people would be relying on me to actually do something, and Im not sure how I feel about that.

 

I just dont want to start the project and turn up empty handed is all

 

 

 

Bump

Edited July 26, 2013 by WingedRatchet

[PickMeup 16]

I may hand out part files, I may even give away 3D printed things (not sure what yet). Its a lot of money to be raised, and so naturally people would be relying on me to actually do something, and Im not sure how I feel about that.

 

I just dont want to start the project and turn up empty handed is all

You did watch that webinar on crowdsourcing I told you right. That webinar this one www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuQQyT4z_TRL1Wek5OL6trdpSfEXpCVOY should help you with crowdsourcing your project.