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What can I use to turn the Halloween town Mayor's head 180 degrees, stop and then return back to the start position so that both faces are shown. I've used wiper motors in the past but only for complete rotation option.
Wiper Motor Help: Mayor of Halloween town prop
Mechanical:
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I use servos and a microcontroller for head turn. A wiper motor is typically overkill for this but if you wanna use one, you can control speed and direction with a Picovolt from FrightProps.
http://www.frightprops.com/controll...inear-actuator-controllers/picovolt-0975.html
http://www.frightprops.com/controll...inear-actuator-controllers/picovolt-0975.html
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Thanks J-Man. I agree wiper motor is a little overkill but have no knowledge of micro controllers and don’t want to get into any programming. If the picovolt can stop repeatedly at the same spot without drift I’d use it
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2,390 Posts
A deer motor might be better suited for that. Or maybe a microwave turntable motor AKA Synchronous motor. Both are smaller and less torque than a wiper so less overkill
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3,108 Posts
The reindeer motor will turn back and forth all on its own. Just put a couple of screws where you want it to stop and reverse.
Just make sure the motor you get specifically says it will do that. There are plenty, including the ones sold by FrightProps, that do not auto-reverse.
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Thanks everyone. Definitely going with the deer motor. Haven’t used them before but it sounds like what I’m looking for
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Thank you for letting me know. I found that at the bottom of the description but wouldn't have looked if you hadn't said that. I think FrightProps is doing haunters a bit of a disservice. Reindeer motors by default reverse themselves. If they're going to sell something else, they should call it something else.
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I'm sure there's a video floating around somewhere of someone using a reindeer motor to easily reverse a head but take a look at this ouija board to see how easily it can be done. Just imagine it with a shorter arm and a screw on either shoulder (instead of the drawer wall) to stop it.
The ones specifically made for reindeer Christmas props do auto-reverse because that's part of their motion. A lot of things people are calling deer motors aren't actually made for reindeer, they are just synchronous motors that are intended for other uses, but since everyone knows them as deer motors, they get called that regardless. You can save a lot of money just buying generic synchronous motors online, but you need to be concerned with their capabilities. If that's important, just order from Kindy's, it's cheaper than FrightProps anyhow.
Below is a mount I designed to get back and forth movement from the "deer motor" .....5rpm Synchronous motor.
You can cut the groove for as much movement you want and the screw is a easy way to adjust it. This motor fits in 2 inch PVC and you cutout a spot on both sides for the mount flaps to sit in. I used zip ties to hold it in place.
Back when I was selling the motor someone asked me to figure out a housing and a way to easily mount these to PVC and adjustable back and forth movement. I no longer sell them but it's easy to make. My moto in prop making is ....cheap, easy, simple works best
Here's another way. This is 5rpm Synchronous motor in a case
Here's a actual deer motor using screws to get the back and forth movement
You can cut the groove for as much movement you want and the screw is a easy way to adjust it. This motor fits in 2 inch PVC and you cutout a spot on both sides for the mount flaps to sit in. I used zip ties to hold it in place.
Back when I was selling the motor someone asked me to figure out a housing and a way to easily mount these to PVC and adjustable back and forth movement. I no longer sell them but it's easy to make. My moto in prop making is ....cheap, easy, simple works best
Here's another way. This is 5rpm Synchronous motor in a case
Here's a actual deer motor using screws to get the back and forth movement
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304 Posts
Creepy Creations just put out a video about how to control a wiper motor without a micro controller even though the wiper motor is overkill, it will still give you good ideas for other projects in the future.
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