Eye mounting question.

edited June 2015 in Animatronics
Hey all!  I'm  in the process of making my eye mechanism and I have come to a bit of a roadblock.  How do you mount a solid half sphere acrylic  eye with the proper pivot  axis?   I have been planning on using an RC u-joint,  shortened and cut down.   But with a detailed eye cast,  I am not sure about the positioning.   Any input?   I could inset the end of the joint in the mold, but I would have to be very careful about the depth.   The metal end of the joint can be removed/cut off. I'll be using a 1-1/2" dia. eye, and the joint is about 5/8" from the pivot to the end. 

For scale, the square tubing is 1/4".



P.S. Don't mind the sloppy solder job. lol It's been cleaned up since this picture.
Post edited by Joel Goodpaster on

Comments

  • Hi Joel,

    For this type of eye mech you can't use a completely solid eye.  You'll need to core out the back of the eye to allow room for the eye to pivot around the center of your universal joint.

    The center of the eye needs to line up with the silver pins at the center of your universal joint.   Those pins are where each axis pivots.

    The eye needs to be cored out enough to allow for the range of motion you want, while preventing the back of the eye from hitting the base of the universal joint.





    Hope that helps!

    /Chris
  • It does help.  I'm just hoping I can get the depth and detail into the eye with having to hollow out the back.  I may have to increase the size of my eyes to help accommodate the thinner wall.    B)
  • The entire eye does not need to be hollow.  You can cast a solid eye and just core out the back with a forstner bit. 

    /Chris
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