So as some of you know I'm building a giant freakin' robot for a local brewery. http://www.tinmanbrewing.com/ Anyway, there's a grate on the chest of the robot and random lights, circuitry, moving gears, etc. in the chest, visible through the grate. So I had this idea of putting a Tin Man can inside, with an LED behind is and wires coming out if it. I mocked up a little something last night just to see how it would look, and sent some pics to the two designers that pretty much created the brand, and one of them asked if I could do interchangeable cans of the four staple beers they will offer. My idea is to cut the cans in half and fill them with a clear epoxy/plastic of some sort, so they won't get destroyed in a matter of days and light will still shine from the wire holes. What type of product do you think would be best for that? Here's a pic of the mock up so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about.
Ordinary polyester casting resin will work fine. It's relatively cheap and is available at Walmart/Michaels/A.C. Moore.
Dunno what product would be best, but if you have room for a full-size can in there (maybe cut a gap in that board for the can) here's an idea that would be easier:
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Make a template of where the holes for the wires, ICs and light outputs will go (as a PDF document so that can make more). I realize the holes for the ICs will be hard, maybe settle for velcro for those instead?
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Make a lighting rig that can be inserted into the hole in the top of the can
And voila, easy futureproof can swappability, all you need is an empty can, maybe some velcro tape strips and a drill.
GameboyRMH wrote:
Dunno what product would be best, but if you have room for a full-size can in there (maybe cut a gap in that board for the can) here's an idea that would be easier:
1. Make a template of where the holes for the wires, ICs and light outputs will go (as a PDF document so that can make more). I realize the holes for the ICs will be hard, maybe settle for velcro for those instead?
2. Make a lighting rig that can be inserted into the hole in the top of the can
And voila, easy futureproof can swappability, all you need is an empty can, maybe some velcro tape strips and a drill.
I like parts of that idea, but I think drilling the holes without denting the crap out of the can is going to be a bit difficult. When it's cut in half, you can put it up against a block of wood and drill from the backside. Also, I don't think they'd last very long, since empty cans are damaged pretty easily.
The polyester casting resin is pretty much what I'm looking for, but it looks like it's about $35 for 16oz, so it will cost about $70 to do four half-cans. That's more than I personally want to spend, but maybe they'll spring for it since it wasn't in the original design.
Some acrylic sheet and a heat gun would be a lot cheaper and probably less problematic than casting resin...
Hmmm... that's something I hadn't thought of.
Is your concern just that people will touch and dent it?
You could always just use something like Great Stuff on the can, then cut it after? You could drill "extra large" wire holes through - or cut up one of those fiber-optic lamps for the bundles?
I would look for ways to work around clear, as I think that's your expensive part...
That's a really good idea. I guess I have some experimenting to do this weekend!
And it's not so much that people in general will touch it and dent it, but if there's four different cans that interchange, someone will HAVE to touch them quite frequently, so they'll need to be durable. I do like the great stuff idea though!
4cylndrfury wrote:
Some acrylic sheet and a heat gun would be a lot cheaper and probably less problematic than casting resin...
Or a hot glue gun + cardboard.
Instead of bending sheet acrylic, could you get PVC pipe the right size?
The great stuff sounds good, but you may want the minimally expanding, window and door version. The normal version might be strong enough to puff up the can.
