Steam Robot Hand Glove Type Thingy

[partotheplan]

Greetings,

I have browsed this forum fairly regularly since my interest in steampunk sprouted anew sometime last year.

It is in honor of that great achievement that I have decided to embark on a mission of sorts. 
I want to design a robotic hand for use in a costume.  Now this will be my first attempt at anything involving metal
as a medium and I seek suggestions as to how best to approach this endeavor. 

I plan on using a leather glove as a base and attaching the metal bits directly to that.  I've read a bit on the direct
attaching but am still unsure of which route to pursue.  Also I am having trouble with what kind of metal bits to use.
I considered tubing for the fingers and some sort of plate for the hand but I need to maintain at least some degree of movement.
I also seek advice on cheap yet effective tools.  I currently reside in a dorm room that restricts space so the smaller the better.

 Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

-Partotheplan

[SteampunkBuilder]

A wonderful project indeed!  May I suggest that you first create poster board mock-ups prior to cutting your metal?  This will allow you to create templates rather than cutting and re-cutting an original, and let you re-create your masterpiece for your adoring throngs.

Brass sheets, strips, and many shapes of tubes can be found at any decent hobby (model making) store.  Hobby Lobby carries them too, and Michaels may as well.  In your explorations you will see that many of the tubing sizes fit neatly inside each other, which can be wonderfully useful when making cylinders that actually work (or at least have a sliding action).

Your shop equipment can easily be small enough to fit in a drawer.  You will basically need a jeweler's saw (like a deep bowed hacksaw with short narrow blades), tin snips, and an assortment of small "jeweler's" files.  A small vise that clamps to the table is also highly recommended, but not an absolute requirement.

A drill and some bits are useful to make holes, but a metal punch is an excellent alternative if you can find one.  Should you choose to use real rivets to fasten parts, I highly recommend the 2-part rivets available at Tandy Leather Co.  They come in many sizes and metals.  Of course that will also add a small hammer and rivet setting tool (3"long 3/8" metal rod with a concavity at one end) to your tool drawer. 

If you really want to get technical, a propane torch and some solder would be the next addition to your kit, but you can certainly do plenty of props without this...and your dorm may not allow it anyway.

Please be sure to post your drawings and progress photos.  We shall all be looking forward to them in great anticipation.

God Save the Queen!

Laird Douglas, Independent Adventurer
http://www.myspace.com/steampunkbuilder
http://steampunkbuilde.livejournal.com/

[AlexTheGreat]

I would recommend doing what I did, except with a smaller scale. http://www.instructables.com/id/Giant-Metal-Animatronic-Cyborg-Hand-of-DOOM!/?ALLSTEPS

I also made a second one, it has an opposable thumb.

[partotheplan]

That hand is brilliant.  I might have to consider that option for later, for now the appearance is my main concern.  Creating a functional hand like yours would be a challenge though....

[Commissar Swoosh]

I saw a couple kids playing with a plastic hand a while back. There were little levers or something they would pull on and it would move the corresponding finger. I don't know how to describe it, does anybody know what I am talking about?

Well I finally flipped to the tab with the robot glove thing and that is almost exactly how it looked except i think it was a mass produced toy.

[Nicodemus Griswold]

That is a wonderful idea Good Sir!!! Might i also add for tools, a Dremel or other rotary type tool mine has come in handy on many occasions and you won't have to worry about space being an issue.

[Commander Obadiah]

I would go about it by first purchasing a brown leather glove, then attaching various small "pistons" that are actuated by each finger movement, to the back of the hand and fingers. It might get a little fiddly to do an individual piston for each joint, but one for each finger would be definitely achievable. Do let us know how you get on.

Commander C. Obadiah

[dantes_torment]

I would recommend doing what I did, except with a smaller scale. http://www.instructables.com/id/Giant-Metal-Animatronic-Cyborg-Hand-of-DOOM!/?ALLSTEPS

I also made a second one, it has an opposable thumb.

I'm making a nearly identical hand for a halloween costume. Only instead of metal, it's 1/2" CPVC. And instead of bicycle chains, I'm using clear, flexible tubing. It certainly is a good instructable.

[Dusza Beben]

As far as attaching stuff to other stuff goes, don't forget GOOP! It's truely an amazing adhesive and is great for applications that need flexibility.
I have one of those cyborg toy hands somewhere and they are neat but definitely child sized.

DB

[Commissar Swoosh]

Gorilla glue is by far the greatest stuff I have put through my rigorous 'Apply to index finger and thumb' test.

[Benjamin Black]

Vary cool I was thinking of making some sort of a steampunk fish tank but did not have any sort of glass or plastic anything. might make a big plastic bag one though.. it might turn out ok

again nice work! I'm off to eat and toss around some ideas.

[partotheplan]

Update 1

Expedition And Acquisition of Minor Base Parts

Today, accompanied by several esteemed colleagues, I ventured out unto the world and procurred several base parts of my next great endeavor.  The core of this gauntlet, as it has been titled, is to consist of a leather glove onto which copper tubing will be attached in order to form the digits for this contraption.  Several end caps were also acquired in order to provide a suitable ending for the digits.  Under the advice of my father, an avid machinist of sorts, I appropriated a remarkable tool unlike any I had considered.  It cuts pipes rather exquisitely.  The pipes are in need of adjustment in order to offer a greater range of movement.  I have enclosed several photographs with this letter in order to better illustrate my plans.  I have already found several conundrums that i may need your assistance on.  I wish  to devise a "steam" output that would be crafted onto the for arm that would release steam when a certain mechanism was triggered.  This would not be actual steam but a simulacrum.  Another difficulty I have stumbled upon is finding sheet copper that I can find at a cheap price.  The input I have received from your messages has been considered and several have been added to the design.  I hope to receive further comments as I venture farther into this marvel world.


The piping for the middle digit successfully cut and placed in a general mockup


The cuts I plan on making

-partotheplan

[dantes_torment]

I have found that making cuts that line up on tubes to be quite difficult. You may encounter a good deal of frustration in your endeavor.

[Techartisan]

bit beyond the needs of this project I suspect, but.....modeling in wax

and casting in metal

gives fine results

[Charleson Mambo]

bit beyond the needs of this project I suspect, but.....modeling in wax

and casting in metal

gives fine results

Oh My.

That gives me all sorts of ideas.

(What kind of wax? What metal was it cast in?)


Charleson Mambo

[SteampunkBuilder]

Update 1

Expedition And Acquisition of Minor Base Parts

(snippage happens...)  Another difficulty I have stumbled upon is finding sheet copper that I can find at a cheap price.  (...and it happens often)

-partotheplan

Have you considered materials other than copper?  Very useful quantities of nice new sheet brass (and bronze, aluminum, etc.) can be found for under $20 in your local big-box hardware place along with the doorknobs and hinges...just ask for the door kick plates.  Another great source of metal is recycling places...you NEVER know what you'll find there!  Then again, there's always the possibility of using various plastics and finishing them to look like metal.

I hope you enjoy working on your project as much as we are enjoying watching your progress.

God Save the Queen,

Laird Douglas

[partotheplan]

Procured the remaining fingers and received tips from several perplexed Home Depot employees on where to get sheet copper.

Yet another expedition to the unknown tomorrow...

Might Update after that....

[Techartisan]

Oh My.

That gives me all sorts of ideas.

(What kind of wax? What metal was it cast in?)


Charleson Mambo

That is titanium (Ti-6Al-4V) modeled in standard jewelers waxes and tailored to the exact fit and motility of the intended model. I wish I could claim responsibility for it....but its credit belongs to an artist Ive been crosstraining with over the past few years.

[Prof. A. Morphous]

M. Techartisan,

That is indeed impressive, is the jeweler set up to cast Ti themselves? If not, do you happen to know where they are getting their casting done? Thanks for sharing the pictures.

-Prof. A. Morphous 

[Dusza Beben]

Procured the remaining fingers and received tips from several perplexed Home Depot employees on where to get sheet copper.
Yet another expedition to the unknown tomorrow...
Might Update after that....

What a delightfully chunky aparatus! May i be so bold as to suggest purveyors  or installers of copper roofing for sheet copper? Their trimmings may provide all you need.

DB

[Techartisan]

M. Techartisan,

That is indeed impressive, is the jeweler set up to cast Ti themselves? If not, do you happen to know where they are getting their casting done? Thanks for sharing the pictures.

-Prof. A. Morphous 

Jewelers rarely do titanium...most ti jewelry available is actually machined rod stock.

For the record though...that piece is far from jewelry. Its was designed to accommodate a full range of natural movement while preventing any overextension. While many Jeweler techniques are using in its construction...there was also a number of motion studies and computer models performed before it reached that point. That prototype allowed a parametric model to be established that can be used to resize and reshape the design while preserving the integrity and alignment of the joint structures.

To cast Ti in house requires an expensive piece of equipment that only allows small 80-120g castings due to risk of explosion. Ive got an induction casting unit in the shop that with proper shielding could probably manage 40-60g castings....but Id pretty much have to rebuild the entire casting mechanism and recase it in a hard vacuum shield... Not this week LOL

 Industrial Titanium foundries actually surround their chamber with blast walls and a knockaway roof...so if there is a breech it is safely directed but they do runner and tree pours ranging from 10-80#  The expense of doing these commercial volumes is astronomical...I believe there are only 4 or 5 foundries in the US that pour Titanium....Makes it very difficult to use it for one offs and prototypes.

[Techartisan]

I have found that making cuts that line up on tubes to be quite difficult. You may encounter a good deal of frustration in your endeavor.

since these are copper tubes the easiest way to make them line up if that level of symmetry is desirable is to make a paper template of the cut and then transfer it onto the pieces so they are all marked precisely where and how you want them cut. If you have access to an abrasive disc cutoff saw you can make short work of bulk reduction and then  use a dremel...I prefer to use a foredom flexshaft...to shape away the excess and shore up your cut.  You can actually use the dremel for the whole thing but I am impatient.

[Nicodemus Griswold]

To make things quicker i usually use an Air Cutting wheel, then clean up the cuts with needle files to smooth them out. 

[Techartisan]

Aircutting wheel is pretty simular to the abrasive disc cutoff saw I recommended....mines electric yours is pneumatic