# Need wings to flap.



## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

What type of motor can I use to get a pair of wings to flap, and what type of set-up does it require? I've never really done any animatronic work, so I have zero experience in this field. Any help would be appreciated!!


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## Otaku (Dec 3, 2004)

Wolfstone has some info on that subject:

http://wolfstone.halloweenhost.com/HalloweenTech/garwin_GargoyleWings.html


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## The Watcher (Sep 13, 2008)

How fast do you want them to go? Can it be on all the time, or did you want it to start right in front of the tot's? I know the Christmas Angels use a a 3pcs y. That could be made from flat stock. Then they had a wire from the motor, that pulled the bottom of the y in to open and pushed it out to close. But a cam would do the same thing.


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Hey Watcher, speed isn't all that important to me, but I did want it to be timed or at least intermittent. Unfortunately alot of what you said made little sense to me! I am a total novice when it comes to this stuff. What's the easiest way to do this without getting too technical? 

Thanks for the info Otaku, I think I need to do some more research on all these items and figure out what does what.


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## hpropman (Jul 27, 2008)

You can also use a flying crank Ghost rig to flap wings if the prop is horizontal. You can make one for under $20.


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## Allen H (Feb 13, 2010)

Buy a wowee dragonfly ornithopter. I used three of them in my haunt last year, they have a really clever lever set up that flaps the wings.
I assume you want a slow flap for your demon prop? If so then any low RPM motor with decent torque will be fine.


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## hpropman (Jul 27, 2008)

This motor will work for what you want to do. You can thread a 1/4 bolt right into the hub. I lot of torque. forget the connector and solder the power wires directly to the motor tabs. It just unsnaps to seperate the case half's.

https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2348031122270736&item=5-1587&catname=electric


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## Phil (Sep 2, 2007)

This guy's articulating wings are not motorized, but mechanically sound. Adding a motor appears pretty straightforward.


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## The Watcher (Sep 13, 2008)

Allen how large of a wing can the wowee work? Also dose it have a sensor mode to trigger it, or you have to use the remote? I have been really impressed with the wowee chip. 

Hpropman If the demon is in a up right position. Would you need to add some springs to replace the weight of the ghost? 

Howling Mad Jack I think any of these methods will work. Just a matter of the size and weight of your wings. If the wowee has a sensor that might be the cheapest way to go. The Otaku's link is a very nice set up. But it looked like to me they were using a motor something like the Dayton, 50.00 plus not counting the rest of it. I think with a sensor and all it would run over a 100.00. Now that would last a long time and can be changed from a demon one year to a dragon another. The Wowee would be under 35.00 and it might have a sensor. The Y rig and the fcg would be under 20.00. not counting the sensor. If the doctor doesn't hurt me to bad today, I will try and make some sort of model and get you a picture on. I think any of these can be tripped from a mat or motion sensor. The reason I asked about speed. If you use fast large wings. Then you would be better to build them with air cylinders. Motors would would cost to much.


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## The Watcher (Sep 13, 2008)

OK this is model I threw to gather. It is a little over a 6ft span. Depending on weight it should work with the car window motors Hpropman had a link for. If they are heavy, I would use a wiper motor.I didn't add the motor and cam, because my wife said if I pull out that stuff right now, she will corpse me. But a standard arm on the motor or even just a pulley with a bolt and bearing sleeve. Will turn it just like fcg. Hope this helps Howling mad jack.

001-1.flv video by brushe2008 - [email protected]@[email protected]@http://vid511.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid511.photobucket.com/albums/s360/brushe2008/[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@s360/brushe2008/001-1


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Hey Watcher, yeah that's pretty much what I'm looking for, how hard was that to put together, and what type of motor did you use? It looks awesome, and has exactly the speed that would work well. Did you say you can rig it on a sensor? By the way thanks to everyone for all the input! I'm going to do some more research and see what other items I can use on the rest of the prop.


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## The Watcher (Sep 13, 2008)

Howlin Mad Jack, This was just a model I threw together to help you get a picture of what I was trying to say. Writing and spelling are not my strong points. Of course I don't really know if I have any of those any way! I just stuck some scrap pieces of would on a scrape sheet of plywood, with some drywall screws. I did use a bolt with washers and a lock nut in the center. I just used my hand to move it in the video. Wings wouldn't go in to my theme this year. I was just trying to show you a simple way to do them. You could use heavy wire, flat stock, pvc, or wood to build this type of rig. I would run it with a wiper motor and a 2 to 3 inch arm for a large set of wings. But some thing small or really light The motor in the link Hpropman give you would run it.


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## hpropman (Jul 27, 2008)

The motor in my link is not as fast as in the demo video by Watcher above - my motor is only 4RPM at 12 volts and about 6 at 15 volts. I think if you want that speed you will need to use a wiper motor. If you need to see the speed of the motor in my link look at this video it is running at 6 RPM.

Halloween Props 3 :: S6000720.flv video by jmalt31 - [email protected]@[email protected]@http://vidmg.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vidmg.photobucket.com/albums/v147/jmalt31/Halloween%20Props%203/[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@[email protected]@v147/jmalt31/Halloween%20Props%203/S6000720


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Thanks H.P. I think the speed is fine, I'm just looking to get some motion. Can you set this up on a timer so it isn't running constantly? I was looking to get my feet wet on something fairly simple to make, and improve my demon so it isn't just a static prop. I can see the basic design on it and it doesn't seem to be to difficult to build. Can you give me basic designs on how to put it together? The other thing is the wings I'm making are fairly heavy, do you think the motor you have is strong enough to push it?


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## kprimm (Mar 14, 2009)

Howlin mad for a quick fairly cheap time control for your prop you can use an RCT from hauntmaster products. I have a few of them and they work great.It has 2 dials on it thats it, one controls the on time and the other is a delay before it can turn on again. It's just like a light switch, it turns on and runs for how long you tell it to then delays for how long you set it before it can turn on again.

http://hauntmasterproducts.com/10.html


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

Very cool Kprim, I'll have to work on the motor aspect first then I'll set up the timer. Thanks for the info!!


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## randyaz (May 26, 2006)

Here is link to a wing designer/simulator that will give you segment lengths and linkage locations for the 4bar action. There isnt any documentation so you just have to play around with it to get the movements you want. 
http://www.boopack.com/software.html

Here is another link for a bat wing ratio calculator.
http://www.zombietronix.com/calculator.php


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## hpropman (Jul 27, 2008)

howlin mad jack said:


> Thanks H.P. I think the speed is fine, I'm just looking to get some motion. Can you set this up on a timer so it isn't running constantly? I was looking to get my feet wet on something fairly simple to make, and improve my demon so it isn't just a static prop. I can see the basic design on it and it doesn't seem to be to difficult to build. Can you give me basic designs on how to put it together? The other thing is the wings I'm making are fairly heavy, do you think the motor you have is strong enough to push it?


Here are the details of the build. If you need more info please let me know.

http://hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=18903&highlight=peeper


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

randyaz said:


> Here is link to a wing designer/simulator that will give you segment lengths and linkage locations for the 4bar action. There isnt any documentation so you just have to play around with it to get the movements you want.
> http://www.boopack.com/software.html
> 
> Here is another link for a bat wing ratio calculator.
> http://www.zombietronix.com/calculator.php


Thanks for the info Randyaz, I hope to use it with the wings.


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

hpropman said:


> Here are the details of the build. If you need more info please let me know.
> 
> http://hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=18903&highlight=peeper


Thanks Hpropman, I'll be using this set-up once I finish the wings.( Not too much longer now!) I'll probably be contacting you with some questions, then some more questions, then possibly some more questions. Hopefully not though, thanks for all the info I appreciate it!


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## Doc Doom (Aug 28, 2008)

Some ingenious setups here. I'm also just a beginner and have built four props with those little air vent motors powered by wall warts. They're great as long as you don't have too much weight. I had to add a tension spring to get it to make a Blucky sit up in a coffin. 
Here's a link to a real simple arm animation I did using one of the little motors. Like you, I was looking to get my feet wet on something fairly simple to improve my static props. I had to add a counter weight to help the motor lift the PVC arm due to the final weight of the finished hand and knife it was holding. 
http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=18654


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