"Close the Iris!"

Bhelliom

Member
"Close the Iris!"
Another design I've been struggling with. I once read somewhere that the Iris as shown in Stargate wouldn't work, that is, the pattern the points make on the closed side. Then I saw some models others were working on, and decided to try it myself.

It does work, but it needs more work to successfully operate in paper. The main problem is lack of rigidity. The main support ring needs to be much thicker/stronger to avoid bending. The petals probably should be thicker as well. When I installed the actuator ring, everything warped and bound up. I had to seperate the sections again to free things up, but that keeps the whole thing from closing together.

Back to the drawing board.

Scott K
 

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ennder

Well-Known Member
You might try layering the petals. Use normal printer paper and layer it like the following pict showes. The long peices on the outside so the edges don't bind. This will make it thick at the pivot point and thin and flexable at the point.

P.S. please forgive the crudeness of the drawing, I drew it fast to get the idea to you.

Wes
 

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Z

Zathros

"Close the Iris!"
Another design I've been struggling with. I once read somewhere that the Iris as shown in Stargate wouldn't work, that is, the pattern the points make on the closed side. Then I saw some models others were working on, and decided to try it myself.

It does work, but it needs more work to successfully operate in paper. The main problem is lack of rigidity. The main support ring needs to be much thicker/stronger to avoid bending. The petals probably should be thicker as well. When I installed the actuator ring, everything warped and bound up. I had to seperate the sections again to free things up, but that keeps the whole thing from closing together.

Back to the drawing board.

Scott K

If think your design looks great. If it is binding up because of the paper being too soft, I would honestly consider styrene, or paper stiffened with crazy glue (I hate sing that stuff) . Making the ring solid by laminating it, could solve the rigidity problem. It is really neat. A Stargate with an operating Iris would be incredibly cool!! :)
 

lehcyfer

Member
You could try and spray lacquer on the paper from both sides before cutting out the parts. Might just stiffen it enough...
 

Bhelliom

Member
I'd try Ennder's idea for the petals, but that will make more edges for the other petals to bind on. I also need to cover the petal pivots somehow, since that's another spot they catch on.

Laminating the parts was what I had in mind for the next try. I don't have the clear laquer on hand to try, but spray paint might work.

However I manage to make it work right, I do want to put it in a gate. I'm just not sure how to operate it, once it's in there. Probably tabs sticking out the back of the gate.

Scott K.
 

Bhelliom

Member
A few more pictures. Somewhat better lighting. Both sides, open and closed. You can see the points where I had to cut the actuating ring, as well as the one tab I put on that wasn't strong enough to operate the iris on it's own.

If I ever get to mounting one in a gate, the actuator will be half as thick on the one side, and extend out the same distance on the other. Maybe someday!


Scott K.
 

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sjsquirrel

Member
Impressive!

Pretty impressive Scott. I look forward to seeing where this goes. One of my nieces is a huge Stargate fan. She and and my sister went to the annual convention in London, England last year. A stargate model with a working iris would make a cool gift for her.

Steve
 

Bhelliom

Member
Thanks, Steve. I'll be taking another shot at this thing soon. If only it had fewer petals, and not so many holes to punch, and, and....:rolleyes:

Scott K.
 
Z

Zathros

I really hope this is not taken as being presumptuous. I believe that you will have better success if absolutely nothing is on the surface of the iris petals, as I tried to draw in the picture. Keep everything "flush". This will allow the petals to move with only their thickness affecting them, and there will not be any distortion or path obstructions. If you wished to post a picture of the petals, or any aspect of this, I could run in through Rhino3D. The petal shapes I used were kind of a guess as I could not see them completely. :)
 

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Bhelliom

Member
No, not presumptuous at all. I agree completely, I just haven't figured a way to do that yet. Well, I do have an idea, I'm just not sure how to do it "cleanly".

Can you open .dwg files? I can send you the original patterns to experiment with, if you'd like. I'm open to any improvements you can make.

Scott K.
 

kevo

New Member
good luck at figuring this out! because as some else has already said. a model stargate with a working iris. WHOW!
 
Z

Zathros

No, not presumptuous at all. I agree completely, I just haven't figured a way to do that yet. Well, I do have an idea, I'm just not sure how to do it "cleanly".

Can you open .dwg files? I can send you the original patterns to experiment with, if you'd like. I'm open to any improvements you can make.

Scott K.

Yes, send me a P.M. and we will deal with the exchange details there, and the way to approach this, (I mean logistically, it's your model). :)
 

SEBRET

Member
I like this a lot. I wish I could offer some input, but I will definitely enjoy watching this happen.
 
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