Post #810380 by MadDogMike on Wed, Aug 16, 2023 8:06 AM

One last photo of my table lamps. The dimensional cooled lava came out OK but not as raised as I had hoped.

On to the next project Hamo LOL.
In the Disneyland queue for the Jungle Cruise is a cage with a huge spider that moves occasionally to startle and amuse the guests. I wanted something similar but decided on a scorpion 🦂 and I want him to jump at you, not just wiggle a bit. I ordered a huge 8 inch scorpion on Amazon but they fudged the measurements a bit. He's actually only 3.5 inches, he would be 8 if he was stretched and and laying flat. I'll work with this for now and swap him out later if I want.

Here is my plan. A solenoid pushes the control rod which swings the scorpion forward againt the bars of the cage.

The stroke on the solenoid is 1.5 inches, the pivot point on the control rod is 1/4 of the way down. That should translate to 6 inches of movement at the bottom of the rod/scorpion.

For now I'll control it with a SmartSwich and my phone. Eventually I'd like to add a tap sensor and a relay so he jumps it you tap on the cage. Parts are arriving daily, I'll keep you posted

[ Edited by MadDogMike on 2023-08-16 08:08:00 ]