Robowaifu Animatronic Head (1:1 Human Sized)
Robowaifu Animatronic Head (1:1 Human Sized)
3D
Published 2021-04-19T17:09:34+00:00
These head parts can be assembled using strong glue and both M3 & M2 machine-screws.
This head is intended for use with the 'Nilheim Mechatronics advanced compact animatronic eyes' open-sourced by Will Cogley:
http://www.nilheim.co.uk/latest-projects-and-blog/compact-and-robust-3d-printed-animatronic-eye-mechanism
Once constructed, the animatronic eyes can be fastened into 'Cranium Base' using four M2 hex-head machine screws of 12mm length. (the 2mm drillbit extender is provided to make post-processing the screwholes easier - I have tested it and can confirm it works as long as you are reasonably gentle!)
The entire head uses seven MG90S metal-geared micro-servo motors.
One motor attached to an Arduino MEGA 2560 R3 (or similar microcontroller) and an Arduino microphone sound sensor operates the jaw.
The eye mechanism uses four MG90S servos to pitch, yaw and roll the eyes.
Each eyebrow is also attached to a separate MG90S servo mounted inside the forehead.
The forehead is attached to 'cranium base' using two 'temporal plates' on either side of the cranium. These plates each have holes for four M3 machine screws of 25mm length. It's best to use Philips head M3 machine screws here so that they may be easily fastened using an electric drill or screwdriver with a Philips screwdriver drill bit.
I used white PLA to print all of these head components.
I chose triangular infill at 30% density in Cura slicer.
None of the parts require a raft to 3D print, although I do recommend using supports. Dome-shaped parts such as the forehead and 'parietal' plates should be arranged with the outside of the dome flat to the print-bed to minimise support material required.
The completed head is the size of a human head. The largest piece - 'cranium base' takes 33.5 hours to print, so overall you can expect the head and eye mechanism to take about 7 days of 3D printing to produce.
3D printing both the head and the Nilheim Mechatronics eye mechanism, you can expect to get through at least one 1kg reel of PLA.
The head parts alone will take about 77 hours to 3D print. I recommend reducing the flow rate of PLA through the nozzle to just 40-50% speed when printing very small parts such as eye links and eyebrows stalks. This gives each layer of PLA time to cool and set before the next layer is deposited, preventing warping of small parts.
You'll need plastic sprue-cutters, a set of modelling files and sandpaper to tidy up the printed parts. A pair of long-nosed pliers can also be very helpful for picking out support material from inside the nose and ears.
| Date published | 19/04/2021 |
| Time to do | 4620 - minutes |