Simple Animatronic/Cable Controlled Hand Tutorial

Buck-Beaver

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2002
Messages
4,174
Reaction score
162
Hi everyone,

There's a new tutorial up on PuppetBuilding.com that explains how to build a simple animatronic or cable controlled hand using everyday items. The tutorial was originally written by Bard Lund Johansen and includes a lot of photos and a couple videos. If anybody has ever wanted to make puppets with movable hands this is a simple way to do it. It's also a good introduction to animatronics/cable control before tackling more advanced projects using bike brakes, servos, etc.
 

mrhogg

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Messages
517
Reaction score
0
Thanks for the link, Andrew. I can't wait to take a look at it!
 

mrhogg

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2006
Messages
517
Reaction score
0
I just looked at the tutorial. GREAT stuff. I have one question, though: how do you get the hand to pop back out into an open state? In my limited tests with controllable hands, I've run into the problem that the hand stays closed.
 

Buck-Beaver

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2002
Messages
4,174
Reaction score
162
I haven't used this particular method (the tutorial was written by Bard Johansen), but would assume that the key is the "springiness" (is that a word?) of the plastic tubing. This is pretty basic and low-tech; the best way to do movable hands is to use springs and proper cables but that involves a little more engineering.

I have worked with the type of tubing he uses in the tutorial and I think it would work just like it does in the video. It would probably be best to experiment with different kinds of tubes to find out what works best.
 

Jinx

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2003
Messages
406
Reaction score
14
Wow! That's fantastic! Oh, how I wish I had this tutorial 4 years ago when I was building my "Ghost of Christmas Future" puppet for A Christmas Carol!
 

SesameKermie

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2004
Messages
271
Reaction score
2
Is it possible to build a rig like this into a regular 'rod arm' puppet?
 

Buck-Beaver

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2002
Messages
4,174
Reaction score
162
Yes, Grant Harding came up with a very nice, similar design for moving hands on a rod puppet a couple years ago. There is a video here and I think there are even a few old threads devoted to it in the archives somewhere here in the forum.
 

Jinx

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 27, 2003
Messages
406
Reaction score
14
OK, it's been almost three years(!) since this thread's been active. I remember mentioning that I wish I'd had the tutorial when I was building the Ghost of Christmas Future. Well, it's time to rebuild him, and the link to puppetbuilding.com no longer works... does anyone know if this info has been archived somewhere else? I actually remember the fundamentals, but I would love to see the video again...
 
Top