Background and design:

As a huge fan of Marvel Universe, I’ve long been thinking of creating a Thor’s Hammer by myself. The idea of crafting the hammer was not going to be hard, the real difficulty lies on redoing its functions. As a result, we came up with a few properties of the Thor’s hammer and decided on the most important two aspects: the lightning power on it and the fact that it was broken in the third movie of Thor.

Initially, the design was to have a hammer that is 30 degrees smashed into a base with lightning going around it and itself dissassembling continuously. As shown in the following picture, this was the original design and dimensions.

We were planning to use mechanical movement 114, which is shown as below to perform the translational motion of the hammer (we need the half of hammer to go back and forth).

However, the friction of that system was so large that the hammer was barely moving, the idea was changed to another one, based on the original mechanical movement 93, we designed our enhanced version to enable a horizontal motion.

Low fidelity prototyping

In order to test our mechanism, the first material we used was cardboard. We initially designed to move the hammer using a part like this.

This was the assembled low-fidelity prototype, which has a pretty accomplished appearance with some level of functions. (The gears worked and were able to be turned.)

Except for the hammer part, all the other parts of the prototype were cut by the laser cutter. Because of the large friction and high precision need for the original translational motion 114, we decided to abandon it and move on with a more efficient motion, movement 93.

Medium fidelity prototype

By now, almost every parts of the prototype were designed on the Adobe Illustrator. As shown in the following picture, all the parts were ready to be cut in the laser cutter. (AI files shown)

In order to produce the motion horizontally with the center rod extending from the very bottom to the top, the original movement 93 needed to be changed to a cross-shaped design to avoid the center supporting rod. A extending handle was attached so that the motion can be held stable.

For the medium fidelity, as we are already familiar with all the laser cutter operations with woods and all the parts we need, we decided to use wood to test out the mechanism. As seen below, we used freshly cut woods, sticks and bearings, and put everything together using hot glue.

Medium fidelity show is a video of the demonstration of the motion. Everything looks fine except for the fact that we needed to hold the cross-shaped parts to restrain the motion.

Final prototype

In the final stage, we cut all the parts needed for the high-fidelity prototype.

First, I went to the plasma cutter to cut the metal piece. We decided it to be the crank handle. The metal part was angle ground and sanded to be used. A coat of gray spray paint was applied afterwardsto fit the theme of Thor’s hammer. (More parts were cut in case of emergecy)

Then, based on the Adobe file, all the addtional parts (based on medium-fidelity) were cut and clear coated with Danish oil. The following parts are the most important parts of the project:

The master gear is the most important major gear with all the lightning and translational motion performed using it.

The crank gear is the gear used to turn the master gear.

These are the frames of the prototype. The base is made with 3 layers of wood.

The supporting disc is for the hammer, the pieces of hammer lie on the disc. A small notch is attached on the bottom to support the motion

The small supporting disc supports the cross-shaped part.

The cross-shaped part is the most important to perform the translational motion based on movement 93. The design was modified to accomodate the rest of the structure.

The assembly of the final prototype was very challenging. Almost everything was assembled using superglue. A washer was placed under each parts to support and stablize the parts. A bigger wooden X-shaped supporter was placed under the supporting disc to ensure levelness. Video while assembling

Finally, some lightning shaped vinyl stickers (cut by vinyl cutter) were sticked to the top to create an effect of strength.

The final prototype looked like this:

The demostration of the project is showned in the two links below:

Working prototype

Inner structure

The powerpoint for the project is presented below:

Midterm project

Successes and limitations

Successes

The final prototype turned out to be really aesthetically pleasing.

The functions could be accomplished with both clockwise and counter-clockwise motion of the crank.

All pieces of wood inclusing the rods were all clear coated to protect them.

The post-processing of the product was fully accomplished with all the coloring and sanding.

All the motions are lubricated with wax so that the smoothness is ensured. There is barely any friction turning it.

The prototype was fairly delicate while also durable.

Some lightning symbols can rotate and some are fixed to add randomness to the project.

Failure:

Because of the weight of the moving half of the hammer, the cross-shaped part is tilted when it is moved to the side. We tried to stablize it by attaching an extending supporting bar for the cross while it is still a little shaky during the motion.

There could be more colors for the frame of the prototype to make it more aesthetically pleasing.

Learnings from the project

One major take away of the project would be the adaptive mind. There is always a lot ways of accomplishing things and we needed to think outside the box. For example, superglue might not be the most efficient way to stick to things together. Adding some small debris of the wood in the fixing hole may help stabilizing the connection more.

Another thing would be the patience and calm. It was definitely frustrating when the mechanism is not working. At this panicking moment, the patience needed to calm myself down would really helpful. With a calm and clear mind, a solution can pop out and the issue would be solved.

Finally, my skills of using different machines became very proficient. I am now very familiar with all kinds of cutters and sanders and have enhanced confidence in crafting things.

Cost estimation:

Labor: 90hrs * $10/hr = $900 ($10/hr because minus cost of machine rental)

Material cost: 

Wood piece(5sheets): 5 * $8 = $40

Metal(6in*3in): 18 * $0.15/sq in = $2.7

Dowels(5 rods): 5 * $1.18/(24in) = $5.9

Danish oil(half can): 0.5 * $13 = $6.5

Spray paint(half can) 0.5 * $6.5 = $3.25

(Ignored cost of vinyl and rubber band on the hammer handle)

Total cost:

900+40+2.7+5.9+6.5+3.25=$958.35