# up and down arm movement



## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

Looking for info on how to make a pvc prop have up/down arm movement, Type of motor/linkage/etc..
Prop will be 1 inch pvc standing figure and I'd like to have the arm raise and lower, not too much range of motion, just enough to be noticebale. Thanks for any ideas.


----------



## Vlad (Aug 2, 2005)

Hi JD, Whenever I'm thinking motion, I'm thinking flying pigs (the original name of the website I'm linking you too). This is always a great place to refresh in your mind the range of available mechanisms to produce motion. Hope you can find one that fits your frame and desired movement. http://www.robives.com/mechs
As for the motor, that all depends on the space available inside the frame and the weight to be lifted, even small motors can work if you counterbalance.


----------



## halstaff (Nov 18, 2009)

One design I've used is Propmaster's poor mans 3 axis at http://halloweenpropmaster.com/prop_head_movement.htm
This gives the turn and nod of the head and to get the arm movement, I just extend the horizontal pipe at the shoulders through another pvc cross on one shoulder and now that arm will move as well.


----------



## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

Good info! Thanks for the links.


----------



## danolan (Nov 30, 2011)

Have you considered pneumatics.? Here's a Grim Reaper (sort of) prop we did for this year with a pneumatic arm, writs and waste. Except for the cylinders, we got everything else from the local hardware store.


----------



## Doc Doom (Aug 28, 2008)

Here are a couple of pics and short video of a simple arm animation. I filed out two opposite ends of a 1" PVC cross so that a 1" PVC pipe could slip through with almost no friction. Hooked up a air vent motor and that was that. Once I set the range of motion for the arm, I drilled through the elbow connecting the arm to the pivot and installed a pin.



















Here's a short clip.


----------



## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Just looking at this thread again and wondering if a version of my tombstone flapper's wing movement could work. The flapping motion was driven by one of those 4RPM vent motors.


----------



## Doc Doom (Aug 28, 2008)

RoxyBlue said:


> Just looking at this thread again and wondering if a version of my tombstone flapper's wing movement could work. The flapping motion was driven by one of those 4RPM vent motors.


Sure it would. The basic arm-lever linkage to turn rotational movement to lateral movement is essentially the same concept.


----------



## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

Doc Doom said:


> Here are a couple of pics and short video of a simple arm animation. I filed out two opposite ends of a 1" PVC cross so that a 1" PVC pipe could slip through with almost no friction. Hooked up a air vent motor and that was that. Once I set the range of motion for the arm, I drilled through the elbow connecting the arm to the pivot and installed a pin.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


This is what I'm looking for. The butcher arm motion is exactly what I' m after. From the looks of the pics, each arm has different pvc fittings, so only the one will move, is that correct? I'd just need to frame it differently for the added pvc fittings.


----------



## Doc Doom (Aug 28, 2008)

jdubbya said:


> From the looks of the pics, each arm has different pvc fittings, so only the one will move, is that correct?


That's right, so far I've only made one arm move on each of my figures.

I used a similar linkage for the legs on my hanging man, using one motor for each lag. Here's a pic of the movement


----------



## gooffy87 (Oct 18, 2011)

(ideas swirling) lol. this is so going in my haunt, just keep in mind the vent motors while providing inexpensive low rpm movement, they cant take a whole lot of weight, there are all kinds of threads on here that will tell you all about them, just keep that in mind, anything really over 2 or 3 pounds (also take into account the added force from the awkwardness of the linkage) will most likely make the motor run even slower, make a really loud noise, and then eventually stop turning. thats been my experience.


----------



## gooffy87 (Oct 18, 2011)

i learned after buying 3 vent motors that if you really want the sky to be the limit(relatively) with your animation without having to constantly troubleshoot to get weight down, wiper motors are the way to go, ive seen them on ebay lately for about $20 at the cheapest, you really gotta look tho.


----------

