Making a Magic Rabbit with the Kitronik Movement Module

300

2023-09-07 | By Kitronik Maker

License: See Original Project

Guide by Kitronik Maker

This adorable little plush rabbit is made from felt, coloured with markers and ‎stuffed with cotton batting, and is a nice easy project in and of itself! Add in a linear ‎actuator powered by our Movement Module, hide the battery box and linear ‎actuator inside a top-hat, and you have an easy magic trick!

‎Follow Emma's instructions below and make your own, as always, we included a ‎list of all of the items we used and the DXF design is provided for you to ‎use/modify. ‎

What is the Movement Module?‎

servo_1

One of the coolest little gadgets we’ve made for servos is the Movement Module. It ‎allows the use of a servo without the need to code, and with minimal soldering only ‎if you want to use it with an alternative power source like a battery box instead of a ‎micro-USB cable.‎

What have we used?‎

Mechanism
- ‎1 x Movement Module
- ‎1 x Mini 180 Degree Resin Gear Servo
- ‎1 x Linear Actuator
- ‎1 x Covered Battery Holder with Switch
- ‎3 x AA Batteries‎
Hat & Rabbit
- This DXF
- ‎1 x Polypropylene Sheet
- White & Red Felt
- Cotton Batting (Or other stuffing material)
- Thread
- Thick-gauge Wire
- Markers
Tools
- Laser cutter
- Hot Glue Gun
- Glue Sticks
- Sewing Needle
- Scissors

STEP 1 - CUT IT OUT:‎

cut_2

Cut out a rabbit shape in the size that you want, with little arms and a tail to sew on ‎later. Sew the two sides together, pushing in stuffing as you go. Leave a small gap ‎to insert the tail.‎

STEP 2 - COLOUR:‎

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Colour in the Rabbit’s face with Markers, and then sew on the arms and tail. Stuff ‎these too for a 3-dimensional effect!‎

STEP 3 - THE ACTUATOR:‎

actuator_4

Using a loop of a thick gauge wire, push it up into the bunny through the bottom to ‎give some structure, and loop the bottom of the wire through the top of your linear ‎actuator. Sew through the holes in the linear actuator many times to make sure the ‎rabbit stays on the top of the actuator. For a tighter hold, clamp the loop of wire in ‎place a little with some pliers.‎

STEP 4 - LASER CUT THE HAT:‎

laser_5

Using the dxf provided, laser cut your polypropylene for the hat. Use a Heat gun to ‎bend the various tabs into place, and also to round off the main body of the hat.‎

STEP 5 - ADDING THE RABBIT TO THE HAT:‎

adding_6

Attach the bunny to the middle platform of the hat by pushing the servo through the ‎hole in the flap cut in the centre and using an adhesive (I used hot glue) to secure ‎the servo to the flap and to the bottom of the platform itself.‎

STEP 6 - MAKING THE HAT:‎

making_7

Put together the hat! As you can see in the image, securing the polypropylene in ‎place with some tape makes it easier to glue the hat together. Hot glue works ‎wonderfully on polypropylene - and don’t worry about the glue joints being messy! ‎We will cover these later.‎

NOTE: The semicircular hole in the rectangular piece should be at the bottom of ‎the hat enclosure, as the image shows. As you attach the middle platform where ‎the bunny is, you should make sure you leave room underneath for the linear ‎actuator to move, and also have the bunny facing the semicircular hole. Feed the ‎servo lead through this hole.‎

STEP 7 - ADDING THE BRIM

brim_8

Glue on the brim! You can use hot glue as shown in the picture, or your choice of ‎adhesive. You may choose to add tabs to the brim if you want to use tape to make ‎securing it in place easier.‎

STEP 8 - THE SOFT MATERIALS:‎

soft_9

Cover the glue joints with strategically placed felt. A round piece of red felt glued ‎into place with hot glue and pleated as you go will make a plush inner hat lining, ‎and a folded strip of white felt makes a good hatband.‎

done_10

And you’re done! Turn on the battery box, press the button and watch the magic!‎

If you try this or any of the other makes in our resources section of the website, ‎why not send us a picture? We’d love to show off your work in our Gallery! Email ‎your makes to gallery@kitronik.co.uk

‎©Kitronik Ltd – You may print this page & link to it but must not copy the page or part thereof ‎without Kitronik's prior written consent.‎