Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Living
Outside
Play
Technology
Workshop
Table of Contents
Building a Daft Punk helmet with programmable LED display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Image Notes
1. Blueprint for Guy Manuel's current "TRON" style helmet, designed also in
Adobe Illustrator
Image Notes
1. Not me, but my friend Guy will probably kill me when he sees I used his pic!
Image Notes
1. A profile angle like this is perfect for creating blueprints
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Image Notes
1. Check local schools, you never know what old tech they'll throw away!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Image Notes
1. These dark lines are the MDF shape from step 2 coming through - you want
these here, as they indicate you're staying true to the original dimensions of
Image Notes
1. I tint my resin so I can see where the coat is being applied. Many resins are
clear before they harden, and this helps to see what you're doing
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
your blueprint.
Image Notes
1. Don't worry about major flat spots like this one here on the first pass. Take the
bondo stage slowly, its a lot easier to go in small layers than trying to sand
through a giant brick of the stuff to get the correct shape.
Image Notes
1. Contour gauge
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Image Notes
1. This rough patch will be covered by the visor and chin later; don't spend time
smoothing out areas you don't have to!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Image Notes
1. The styrene I used was .060", so I had to add sintra shapes (the black
sections) here to keep it from warping. I recommend using at least .10" styrene
for this reason.
Image Notes
1. Make your life easier and mark your center lines!
Image Notes
1. These three little hash marks are identifying markers used to make sure I've
got the top and bottom visor halves aligned properly.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Image Notes
1. This little styrene triangle shows the depth this piece will have built up in a later
step
Image Notes
1. Don't worry about cuts like this, they're easily filled in later.
2. Ear recess lines up with the MDF spine as its midpoint, that's how you know
everything is keeping alignment!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Image Notes
1. Cheap harbor freight lathe, and I've thoroughly beaten the snot out of it!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Image Notes
1. This divot from where the live center was placed will be filled in later with bondo.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Once the back half of the mold is complete, repeat the process for the front of the helmet. Remove the clay wall separating the two halves of the mold, and brush it with
mold release wax or a similar product. I use Meguiar's caranuba wax, but be careful, as this wax will dissolve the Krylon primer used on the master sculpt. Once the back
silicone has been waxed, move on to molding the front half of the helmet.
Materials needed:
Wet sandable spray primer (I prefer Krylon "Ruddy Brown")
Brushable moldmaking silicone (Used in this project: Smooth-On's Rebound 25)
Silicone thinner
Silicone thickener
Buffing wax
Release wax
Tools & supplies needed:
Mixing cups
Disposable paintbrushes (for applying release wax)
Buffing cloth (a t-shirt will do fine)
Trowels for mixing silicone
Non-sulfur oil-based modeling clay
Recommended:
Rubber gloves & smock
Image Notes
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
1. These little bumps are called "registration keys" - they'll be explained in the
next step.
2. These little bumps are called "registration keys" - they'll be explained in the
next step.
3. These little bumps are called "registration keys" - they'll be explained in the
next step.
4. These little bumps are called "registration keys" - they'll be explained in the
next step.
5. This seam line marks the split int he front and back halves of the silicone
mold
Image Notes
1. You may need to move the helmet to get an even coat. Make sure to protect
your master sculpt!
Image Notes
1. Since this wax that separates the mold halves can dissolve primer, make sure
to place a tape line down to avoid any damage.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Image Notes
1. Start of the front half of the mold.
For my mold, I chose to make separations using 1/4" MDF to split the mold jacket into three parts. With a complex shape like a helmet, a one-piece or even two-piece
mold jacket would be difficult to remove. Drill aligned holes in the MDF partitions, then join them together with wingnuts before applying the mold jacket. (pic 2)
Use Smooth-on's Plasti-Paste to make the mold jacket, applying it evenly in each section before moving on. You'll want to make sure all of the mold silicone is covered
by the mold jacket to avoid any registration issues.
Plasti-Paste can dry very jagged, in order to make the mold jacket easier to handle later on, use rubbing alcohol and a rag to smooth out the surface as the material
cures. Make sure to only do this on the top coat, as pressing in on the mold jacket while its curing may cause some registration issues with your mold later on.
After the jacket cures, remove the master from the mold materials and re-assemble everything into one empty hollow helmet mold. (pic 3)
Materials needed:
Smooth-On Plasti-Paste
Machine screws and wingnuts
1/4" MDF
Tools & supplies needed:
Drill & drill bits appropriate to the size screws used on the MDF
Bandsaw/scrollsaw/jigsaw
Mixing cups
Disposable trowels
Isopropyl alcohol
Recommended:
Rubber gloves & smock
Respirator & safety goggles for cutting MDF
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Image Notes
1. Fill any gaps between the MDF and the silicone with clay so the sides don't
get glued together with the plasti-paste
Image Notes
1. The small bumps from the previous step fit into these parts in the mold jacket,
making sure every part of the mold stays properly aligned.
Allow the silicone to cure, then remove the master from the mold. (pic 3)
To make a hollow casting, pour a small amount of resin into the mold first, and insert a plastic or cardboard tube and hold it in place while the resin cures. The resin will
cure around the cardboard tube, holding it in place for the next step. (pic 4)
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Afterwards, fill in the wall between the tube and the silicone mold with more resin. The tube will keep this in place between the mold wall and result in a hollow casting.
You can remove the tube later with a dremel tube if you wish, or leave it in place. Either way, a hollow ear piece will be much lighter than solid ones! (pic 5)
Materials needed:
4" PVC pipe fitting
Pourable moldmaking silicone (Mold Max 30 used in this tutorial)
Release wax
Casting resin (Smooth Cast 300 used in this tutorial)
Hollow 2.25" cardboard tube
Tools & supplies needed:
Disposable mixing trowels
Mixing cups
Recommended:
Rubber gloves & smock
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
For my helmets, I use Smooth-On's 300 or 320 urethane casting resins. Start by mixing 2 cups or resin (1 cup of part A mixed with 1 cup of part B) and pour it into the
mold cavity, rotating it slowly by hand as the resin cures.
Repeat this process, moving the mold around to cover all areas of the inside of the helmet, until a uniform thickness of 3/16" is achieved. If some spots are a little thicker,
that's fine; slushcasting is a tricky process that can take some getting used to. One helmet usually takes about 32oz of resin.
After the helmet is fully cured, remove it from the mold and trim out the areas for the visor, ears, mouth and nose vents using a dremel tool and hand files. (pics 3 & 4)
Materials needed:
Urethane casting resin (Smooth Cast 300 used in this tutorial)
Tools & supplies needed:
Disposable mixing trowels
Mixing cups
Sandpaper
Detail files
Dremel tool
Cutoff wheel for dremel tool
Sanding drum for dremel tool
Recommended:
Rubber gloves & smock
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Image Notes
1. This was a test piece, leave the protective film on yours until you're ready to dye
it!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Image Notes
1. The tint will be darker once installed in the helmet. Without light coming from
inside, its very opaque.
I also decided to add lighting to the ear areas and corners of the visor in my helmet. If you're comfortable plotting out an LED matrix, designing a simple I/O board like this
will be a snap! (pics 3-6)
Remember that Arduino boards are designed to run in 3.3 or 5V, so design your boards accordingly. I chose to use an Arduino Yellowjacket (pic 8) (now discontinued,
see the replacement RedBack here) as my controller, and a voltage regulator from Pololu to keep everything running the same voltage. (pic 7)
Materials needed:
Silver core fine-gauge solder (.015" diameter used in this tutorial)
Solder flux pen
Electrical components appropriate to your boards (resistors, capacitors, etc. See more details here)
LEDs
Circuitboards
Tools needed:
Soldering iron
Recommended:
Respirator for soldering
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Image Notes
1. Make your voltage traces larger than mine!
Image Notes
Image Notes
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
1. Didn't have time to make boards for these LEDs, hence the dead bug soldering.
Still works though!
1. Using pieces of white felt will diffuse the LED light in these panels
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Image Notes
1. The fuzziness and frosted surface here is the protective film on the PET plastic
Image Notes
1. Centermarks in the circles will help orientate your drill bit
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Image Notes
1. Lines scribed here with an awl over permanent marker
Image Notes
1. Countersunk holes for mounting aluminum tube uprights
Image Notes
1. These screws hold the MAX7219/7221 chips in place
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Image Notes
1. Mockup subvisor in styrene shown here
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Image Notes
1. Signal and power lines route from here into the onboard microcontroller and
power supply.
2. backs of LEDs painted black to reduce light leak into the helmet
Image Notes
1. These lines show what direction and how far the leads should be trimmed
(at the end of the "T" shape)
Image Notes
1. Make sure to leave this bottom LED lead straight to make wiring easier later otherwise it will run into the aluminum sub visor when you try to install this column
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Image Notes
1. make sure to keep track of all the wire colors and use the same pattern on all 5
matrices
Image Notes
1. this looks scarier than it really is.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Image Notes
1. dents filled in with bondo
Image Notes
1. guide coat of primer to fill in minor imperfections
Image Notes
1. Last coat of paint before wet sanding. This was Rustoleum gray, instead of my
preferred Krylon brown, but it worked just as well.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Image Notes
1. This 2 small sintra blocks here are what the sub visor mounts to
2. This 2 small sintra blocks here are what the sub visor mounts to
Image Notes
1. "Pick and Pluck" foam makes this easy to trim to shape.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
Related Instructables
Costume: LED
How To Make
Helmet With
Two Daft Punk
Animations
Outfits with
(Photos) by
Helmets by
eXtremeSomething derektroywest
LED Matrix
Coffee Table
(Photos) by
trialex
Lampduino - an
8x8 RGB Floor
Lamp by
lincomatic
Yet Another
Daft Punk
Coffee Table
(5x5 LED Matrix)
by lincomatic
Daft Punk
Halloween
Costume
(Photos) by
Clayton H.
Comments
10 comments Add Comment
angelabchua says:
crapflinger says:
volpin says:
crapflinger says:
frollard says:
volpin says:
Might have been me, I have had a few things published there in the past. Thanks for the compliments!
darknessfalls says:
OMFG!!!
I have been looking at your work on your blog for a while now, and there are no words to describe how happy/excited/amazed I am to see that you have
posted it here. AMAZING!!!
-DF
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/
ynze says:
ynze says:
Kiteman says:
>Jaw drops<
This is a seriously awesome project.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Building-a-Daft-Punk-helmet-with-programmable-LED-/