Animatronic mini Eye module

thingiverse

Here is my design for a modular animatronic eye, created using commonly available parts. The eye module features up/down and left/right movement, as well as individually controllable top and bottom eyelids. I started with just an eye module but quickly expanded it into a full head. For now, I'm only sharing the eye module, as it's the most useful component. The rest of the design is pretty custom-made, and I plan to share those parts in the future. Here are the dimensions for the eye module: * Length: 100mm * Width: 45mm * Height: 30mm All the parts were printed using ABS and then treated with an acetone vapor bath to give them a smooth finish. After the vapor bath, I drilled holes in all the parts to ensure they fit together correctly. Please note that some parts require extra sanding to make everything fit perfectly. Here's a list of hardware used to create one eye module: * 4x MG90S mini servo motors * 1x 22mm Reborn eye * 6x MF63zz ball bearings * 34x M2 nuts * 4x M3 lock nuts * 28x M2x12 screws * 4x M2x5 screws * 2x M3x12 screws * 2x M3x12 screw sunk heads * 1x M3x10 screw sunk head * 1x M3x10 hex spacer * 1x Tamiya 5mm Ball Connector Long (19805825) * 2x Tamiya 5mm Stabilizer Balls (15385) * 2x Ball and roller link 3.9x2x16mm (230060x10) * 2x 57x2mm rods with threads (old bicycle spokes) * 2x 22x2mm rods (old bicycle spokes) * 8x cable shoes with 2mm holes To assemble the eye module, I heated up the three ball joints with a lighter and pressed them into the Eye coupler. While the plastic was still warm, I pressed the plastic down to prevent the balls from popping out of the coupler. After some wiggling around, the balls moved smoothly. I used cable shoes that I modified slightly for the connecting rods. You can use other methods like Pushrod Linkage Stoppers or Ball connectors, but I didn't have enough parts to make it work. When creating a pair of eyes, simply mirror all the parts and connect them together with two M2 spacers. All servo cables can exit through the back. To make a row of ten eyes or a dual row of eyes, just keep coupling them together. The sandwich plates are there because I needed to add some extra support to prevent flexing between modules. I made two plates out of 3mm acrylic to give it a solid feel. I created a short video to demonstrate the head in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92OUb4uLUhk All the servo motors are controlled by a 32ch servo controller running a script on my laptop and sending commands over USB. These controllers are widely available on Ebay and other sites. I'd love to see your applications and extensions for this design!