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Evolution of the War-Machine

Murdoch

Murdoch

Active Member
HI guys my name is George but I prefer just Murdoch.
I am a hobbies by way of being a prop builder. This is my first thread and I welcome all opinions and criticism.
In the beginning I had began with EVA foam and quickly discarded this medium as there was a lack of detail and the longevity was quite short.
Second time round I went with pepakura with cardstock paper coated in resin and rondo, reinforced with fiberglass. Again I was discouraged as the torso was cumbersome and uncomfortable.
Metal was the answer, but steel is just too heavy. So aluminum was the way to go. Now initially I was just going to make an armour, but as time passed I realized that failure would follow as that too would be uncomfortable and cumbersome. So I gone into the research and development phase. I concluded that if I made a exoskeletal frame I can attach plates to finish the armour and by doing this, it would allow me to focus on movement. So I studied kinetics movement, also robotics, animatonics, currently mechatronics. I've been working on metal forming and metal casting. Yes my plate is a full one. So the end result is.
I will build a War-Machine armour of my original design. It will boast a full range of motion with lights sound and servo motors. With a bonus finish. Reference pics are soon to follow. I will begin with the spine and upper torso. Thanks for taking interest...GMurdoch
 

This is a 3d print of a helmet that I had designed based on the original War-Machine. The aluminum helmet will be similar but more intense.
 

Now this is really cool because of the pixel camouflage, a Canadian original I must say. Anyhow, my armour will be anodized with this camouflage with a twist if my theory is right.
 

This image is exciting as I clearly see bicycle references in this torso, a plan I had thought about 2 years ago.
Now I am not a professional at anything really. But I was a cyclist and I was a jeweler in my youth so I will incorporate these experiences to my build. I have been colecting tools, hoping to get a small hobby lathe to really get me started. So now you have pics, you have the plan kinda. Please tell me what you think so far. Thanks again for taking interest...GMurdoch
 

If you don't know what this is. This is an Arduino programmable micro processor. I will be using several of these to run my armour...GMurdoch
 

This is a portable jewelers bench that I am making to help me along with the small parts of my build. I live in a small apartment so space is a huge handicap for me. This bench can be taken to shows and tucked away when not in use...GMurdoch
 

This image is the test mech boot of the Iron-man MkII. Very helpful as I can see what I need to do in respects to my own build...GMurdoch
 
Very cool stuff Murdoch (George). I've been an RC modeller for a long time so can somewhat identify with some of the work you are doing. I'm not particularly into the scale rendition modelling facet, but have done quite a bit of messing around with composites & molds etc. Your projects are a blend of very complex components/parts/mechanisms & also faux/shell parts. Just curious: are you in Calgary? Did you 3D print the helmet on your own machine or farm it out somewhere? What is your CAD weapon of choice? Do you have CNC milling experience or at your disposal?
 
PeterT said:
Very cool stuff Murdoch (George). I've been an RC modeller for a long time so can somewhat identify with some of the work you are doing. I'm not particularly into the scale rendition modelling facet, but have done quite a bit of messing around with composites & molds etc. Your projects are a blend of very complex components/parts/mechanisms & also faux/shell parts. Just curious: are you in Calgary? Did you 3D print the helmet on your own machine or farm it out somewhere? What is your CAD weapon of choice? Do you have CNC milling experience or at your disposal?
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HI Peter, I am in Toronto, Ontario. No I don't own a 3d printer nor do I have any education in respects to CAD or CNC nor do I have a mill or a lathe lol. Yes very scary, the helmet I sent a render of a hand drawn pic of several angles to a modeller in Germany, once he completed the model the file was sent to Baltimore where 3 helmets were made. One for the modeler, one for the printer and one for me. This is why I am changing the helmet, so that it's one of a kind. Pretty much everything I need to know I have been reading books and using YouTube...GMurdoch
 
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Cool. If I had any one piece of advice seeing the nature of your work & aspirations, I'd say check into Fusion 360 at some point. At a hobbyist single seat level its about as cheap a CAD package as you can get into. Supposedly free as non-commercial licence or $100 (I can never keep track & seems to vary). The equivalent commercial big-boy level of this capability is thousands of dollars. Some of the guys on this forum are starting to dabble. I suspect your contact who produced the 3D helmet design from your concept sketch must have used something similar.

Even at a design (only) level, you can create all those parts in 3D. The real power then comes together in assemblies (which means individual parts orientated & mated to one another in turns of how they link/rotate/slide/move to one another). The plus is now you have ability to provide a common file format that any 3rd party shop can receive & interpret towards 'making' meaning CNC milling or 3D plastic printing or 2D water/laser cutting etc. Unlike most other CAD packages, 360 has integrated CAM module if you go down this path yourself. Its really the only $ viable package around for hobbyists / semi commercial mortals from what I can tell. However, if all you do is machining on your own manual lathe & mill, CAD is still a great way to produce dimensioned shop drawings from your designs. I don't use 360 myself but am familiar with the concepts. There is probably a whack of 360 info on the web but maybe to give you a feel of the CAD/CAM interaction check out NYC CNC. He has a lot of mini projects you start to get a feel for the workflow.
 
PeterT said:
Cool. If I had any one piece of advice seeing the nature of your work & aspirations, I'd say check into Fusion 360 at some point. At a hobbyist single seat level its about as cheap a CAD package as you can get into. Supposedly free as non-commercial licence or $100 (I can never keep track & seems to vary). The equivalent commercial big-boy level of this capability is thousands of dollars. Some of the guys on this forum are starting to dabble. I suspect your contact who produced the 3D helmet design from your concept sketch must have used something similar.

Even at a design (only) level, you can create all those parts in 3D. The real power then comes together in assemblies (which means individual parts orientated & mated to one another in turns of how they link/rotate/slide/move to one another). The plus is now you have ability to provide a common file format that any 3rd party shop can receive & interpret towards 'making' meaning CNC milling or 3D plastic printing or 2D water/laser cutting etc. Unlike most other CAD packages, 360 has integrated CAM module if you go down this path yourself. Its really the only $ viable package around for hobbyists / semi commercial mortals from what I can tell. However, if all you do is machining on your own manual lathe & mill, CAD is still a great way to produce dimensioned shop drawings from your designs. I don't use 360 myself but am familiar with the concepts. There is probably a whack of 360 info on the web but maybe to give you a feel of the CAD/CAM interaction check out NYC CNC. He has a lot of mini projects you start to get a feel for the workflow.
Click to expand...
That's good to know Peter T I have Auto desk 123d and Blender. I have spent hours trying to figure it all out. Blender is a nightmare for me. Auto desk is more user friendly but I still need something even more user-friendly lol. The free version of 360 is a one month trial. $25-40. a month but as high as $300. Per month
 
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