# beating heart help?



## Draik41895 (Oct 25, 2008)

Hey, i will be making a beating heart prop that will be in a jar,I want to make my own heart but i want to know how to make it beat without wires.i need to know what kind of motor to use and how to make it work,and i already know how to make the outside.any ideas?


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## The_Caretaker (Mar 6, 2007)

pneumatics, the arteries and viens would be the air line


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## Draik41895 (Oct 25, 2008)

but how?


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## joker (Sep 25, 2007)

maybe this backyard fx video from indymogul.com will help. It requires someone to pump the heart but there maybe some other way (pneumatically) to create the same effect.


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## Draik41895 (Oct 25, 2008)

ive seen that already ,in fact im a member there, but thats not what im looking for.unless you could tell me how to do that pneumatically


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## joker (Sep 25, 2007)

I'm not up on controllers but I'd think you could use a prop controller to open/close an air valve rapidly for a similar effect. 

Maybe someone with more knowledge in prop controllers will chime in.


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## Draik41895 (Oct 25, 2008)

cool idea


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## bradbaum (Jul 26, 2008)

You could definitly do his with a 5 port 4 way valve:

http://www.frightprops.com/FrightProps/Props/CategoryW.asp?ID=A-0013-0084

then just fire it with an interval timer:

http://www.electronics123.com/s.nl?it=A&id=2110


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## Draik41895 (Oct 25, 2008)

cool, how would i do that.


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## bradbaum (Jul 26, 2008)

The two ballons in the heart would go into the ports where the cylinder usally goes. wire th interval timer to power the valve on an off and set the time limits on the interval timer so the heart beats in a realistic manner. you will need a air regulator in front of the valve to limit how much air is blown into the heart chambers.

the way the 5 port valve works ir that it normally routes air out one port wile the other port is routed out it's exaust port. when activated it flips to route air out the other port and the first port gets routed to it's exhaust port.

now that I'm thinking through it, you will need to make sure the interval timer is set correctly prior to turning on the air, or you could over inflate the ballons.


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## Draik41895 (Oct 25, 2008)

ill think about that, any easier ways?


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

You can get a battery powered one from Nightmare Factory. That's the easiset way I can come up with

http://www.nightmarefactory.com/bodies.html

BEATING HEART
Latex pulsating prop!
Heart is approximately 1 inch thick
Requires 2 "C" batteries (not included) 
JA44 $13.75


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## Revenant (Mar 17, 2007)

To make a hollow rubber heart beat via a motor all you need is a cam. Mount a motor inside the heart. On the drive shaft of the motor just mount a wheel off-center. As the shaft turns, with every full rotation the wheel will push up on the inner wall of the heart in a way that makes the bulge push up to one side, travel across, and sink down to the other side, similar to the way a real heartbeat looks. That's how the electronic beating heart props I've seen work, and they look pretty good. And if I were 13, I'd definitely be trying something along that route before I tried diving into something like pneumatics and prop controllers. Come to think of it, that's probably how I'd do it if I were 42 and cheap, which I am  .


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## Mr_Chicken (Nov 26, 2008)

I'm with Revenant on this one. Simple and cheap.
To make the heart "skin," I'd sculpt it out of oil-based (non-drying) clay and either make a plaster mold of that in which to pour latex, or just layer the latex on the sculpture (depending on how important detail is to you). You'll want the latex to be a little on the thick side, so it'll hold it's shape until the cam pushes it out. Probably about the thickness of a typical rubber mask.


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## Draik41895 (Oct 25, 2008)

thats a good idea,how much does the right size motor cost?


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