Tuesday, November 29, 2022

ARII Ghost box - mechanical bits

 

Here's what makes the Ghost Box work. The mechanism clips and screws together easily enough. The builder needs to pay attention to the orientation of the parts, but You can't put the things together wrongly really. 

Theres a lot of pressing gears and cams on to axles, and the kitmakers suggests a small hammer to force them home. I prefered to use a vice as a press. Even the little one on my bench opens wide enough to do this, and I feel that the gentle pressure is better for the plastic parts than shock forces. It's also easier to control things as you can stop th pressue when the vice jaws hit the end of the axle. 

There's some clever work here as obviously they don't want people soldering, so the wires are designed to be twisted around the metal parts that the cam operting the hand woks. I decided I could solder, and so I did. It should make for a more reliable mechanism. 

An AA cell fits in the base, and by touching the ends of the wires, you can test things work OK. Without the lid, that hand flaps about a bit, but as long as things are moving, all should be fine. I hope.

1 comment:

Luke Stevens said...

Have you researched the correct colour scheme for a zombie hand? :)

Luke