Thread: Another 3-axis skull

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Here is a photo of my final hardware assembly.

I used a 5/16 bearing. The nylon ball is 1 1/2". I used a 5/16 to 10/32 reducer female to male. I hand made the aluminum bracket. You can also see that I use a lock washer between the 5/16 nut and the reducer that holds the bracket in place tightly. The spring is on the nylon washer which moves freely and attaches to the inside of the forhead of the skull with an eye hook. The 2 link assemblies go to the tilt and nod servos and the turn servo linkage (not shown) attaches to the bracket hole. Thats it! Pretty simple really.

here are the parts I bought from McMaster-Carr

Part #
92499A118 18-8 STAINLESS STEEL MALE-FEMALE THRD ADAPTER, 10-32 MALE END, 5/16"-18 FEMALE END

EA 4.95
6384K53 STEEL BALL BEARING, PLAIN DOUBLE SHIELDED FOR 5/16" SHAFT DIA, 7/8" OD
EA 5.33

9614K39 WHITE DELRIN BALL, 1-1/2" DIAMETER (5 pak)
PK 13.25

I couldn't figure out how to edit my previous older posts so here are the Youtube videos restored that I had deleted.

YouTube - Davis Graveyard Animated Skull How-to

YouTube - Davis Graveyard Animated Skull 2008

I've been working on the 2nd generation of my 3-axis skull this month. I have thought of a couple in interesting ideas I wonder if anyone else has tried.

I attached 60lb fishing line to the jaw instead of using piano wire or a rod. It gives the jaw a more organic movement and reduces the torque the jaw servo experiences with a fixed rod. And you can barely see it.

I am going to try using rare earth neodymium magnets epoxied to the inside of the skul and the plexi plate to secure the plate without using screws or tie wraps like my previous skull. I'm pretty sure 4 magnets will hold it fine.

I improved my spring for the bucky head. I had a couple of small ridgid short springs that I linked together to make a tiny rigid long spring. It is the perfect size for balancing the head. The pair of springs were in a package I bought at Home depot so they are easy to find.

I've come up with a fancy wiring scheme for the skull. I have mounted 2 RJ-45 jacks in the base of the skull and wired female servo connectors to them. You then just plug in the servos. The wiring is done so that a regular network cable can be used in the jacks. I can do 4 servos on one jack. I am using the other jack for power to the servos, LED's for eyes, and eye servos.

Jeff,

It was a pleasure meeting you at HauntCon in Milwaukee Sunday afternoon. It was too bad that I missed your seminar on Saturday, but you did mention getting my hands on one of your "handouts" from the seminar. PM me when you see this and we can discuss it further.

Bart a.k.a.

The handouts for the seminar are now on our website.

www.davisgraveyard.com

Sorry I know this is old, but if anyone was looking for a 3 axis Bucky Skull like I was, I figured this needed a bump!
Andy