Monte seu reator ark

introMake an Iron Man Arc Reactor
I didn't have a lot of time to make a great Halloween costume this year so I figured I'd do something relatively simple that was still eye catching and cool. I wanted my Arc Reactor to look pretty realistic, but not necessarily 100% movie accurate, so it's kind of a cross between a MkI and MkII version. There are some things I'd change on the next version (and I'll point them out) but overall I'm pretty pleased with it.

The reactor is attached to an old heart rate monitor strap and it's powered by a 3 volt battery pack that just slips in my jeans pocket. It's light weight and is comfortable to wear for several hours at a time. In the photos below you can see how bright it is- it easily shines through my t-shirt under normal office lighting conditions and is very bright at night.

Follow along and see how it's made.....

Update: see page six for the new style reactor!

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step 1Tools and materials
There are a few necessary tools: soldering iron dremel tool drill bits metal snips/shears jeweler's saw (or some kind of saw to cut metal and plastic) needle nose pliers wire cutters files/sandpaper glue gun

And for materials: thin brass sheet plastic sheet ( I used Delrin- you can buy Delrin and acrylic sheet from Colorado Plastics) clear acrylic sheet copper wire- 22ga and 24ga thickness solid wire sheet metal- 22ga thickness (.025in or about .5mm thickness)
PCB (printed circuit board)- at least 4" square (Radio Shack sells some that measures around 4.5" x 6") several small bolts - I used 10ea 2.5mm bolts and 3ea 3mm bolts w/nuts
3 volt battery
11 ea NTE30027 surface mount LED's - I bought them from a local supplier but you can order them here: http://www.cablesandconnectors.com/30000-30.HTM battery hook up wire

As an option for LEDs and making a circuit board you could use these instead- http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8735 I'll make specific