Hard Hat Fedora with Light
Files
Schematic
Board
Mill PNG
Sticker for Soldering
Arduino Code
Frame SVG
Mount STL
Plan
First, make molds using my existing fedora that I will be able to use to sculpt my composite hat. First an inner mold to make shape and then an outer mold I can use to apply pressure on top of the inner mold. Then I will fabricate a LED headlamp with a switch as bright as I can get it from a reasonable power source and figure out how to mount it.
It comes out of retirement to be a mold for a hardhat fedora. I'm happy to find a use for it once more. I'm fairly certain the casting process will ruin the hat, and it gives me a meloncholy feeling.
Making the Mold Pt 1
I need to be able to press against the hat with force to make a composite cast. The first step was to cover the hat, first in painters tape, then with a layer of plastic wrap held in place with duct tape. Hopefully this would protect the hat from the resin I would pour into it. A paper ring was taped into place around the brim, to keep the resin in the center.
Problems
The heat from ~3 quarts of super sap ate through the plastic wrap. Heres to hoping the painters tape holds. Also, the paper ring was not successful at keeping the super sap in. Much of it drained into the bottom of my container. I think it may be fine, as long as I keep my teardrop shape, or can drill it out reasonably.
Update: I have ruined my hat and wasted a hundred dollars of super sap in the process. I need to slow down and proceed with more caution in the future.
Documentation
what does it do?
It is a hardhat in the shape of a fedora. It might protect your head if something heavy falls on it. It also has a light, and a light sensor which, if in light sensor mode, lights up according to how bright the sensor is reading and also swivels the motor it is mounted on.
who's done what beforehand?
According to Wikipedia, Fedoras and Hard Hats have been around for over a hundred years. To my knowledge, no one has made a hardhat fedora, though a hard cowboy hat has been made.
Hard Hats used to be composite (fiberglass) or steel. Since ~1950 they are generally made out of rigid plastic.
what did you design?
I designed the circuit board and its mountings and fixtures. I made the hardhat, but did not design the hat shape.
what materials and components are used?
where did they come from?
how much did they cost?
~1 cup super sap, https://entropyresins.com/product/super-sap-100-1000/ $5.31, USA based company
1 old fedora, $6, Made in China, Purchased at Dallas and Company
Another fedora because the first one was ruined.
1 9v battery, ~$1.00-$1.25, China
Solder
1 5v regulator, LM3480IM3-5.0/NOPBCT-ND IC 5.0 100MA LDO VREG SOT23-, $0.77, Malaysia
6 0 resistors, 311-49.9KFRCT-ND, Yageo, 6x$0.03=$0.18
4 100 resistor, 311-49.9KFRCT-ND, Yageo, 4x$0.03=$0.12
1 10k resistor, 311-49.9KFRCT-ND, Yageo, $0.03
1 49.9k resistor, 311-49.9KFRCT-ND, Yageo, $0.03
1 .1uF capacitor, 399-4674-1-ND CAP CERAMIC .1UF 250V X7R 1206-, $0.14, Mexico
1 ATTiny44, ATTINY44A-SSU-ND IC MCU AVR 4K FLASH 20MHZ 14SOIC-, $1.37, South Korea
1 6 pin header, 1 4 pin header, S1143E-36-ND CONN HEADER 36POS .100 R-A SMD, $0.45, USA
1 phototransistor, 365-1481-1-ND PHOTODARLINGTON NPN CLR PLCC-2, $0.38, Taiwan
4 RGB LEDs, CLV1A-FKB-CJ1M1F1BB7R4S3CT-ND LED RED/GREEN/BLUE PLCC4 SMD, 4x$0.52=$2.08, China
1 button, Omron Electronics, B3SN-3112, $0.66
1 2"x3" circuit board blank, Inventables, $0.36
1 2"x3" vinyl square, scrap bin
~10g white PLA filament, $0.30, China
6"x12" chunk of 1/8" plywood, 3 ply, CU Woodshop, $0.36, USA
1 stick Hot Glue, Wal-Mart, ~$0.10
Total Cost ~$19.89
what parts and systems were made?
HeadLight
Attachment mechanism
Frame
what processes were used?
2d Design
3d Design
Composites abandoned, resin was used to harden fabric, however
Electronics:Output
Electronics:Input
Mechanical
what questions were answered?
Is using 3 quarts of super sap to much for this project? Yes, and failure is close at hand.
Can I put the two together? Yes!
how was it evaluated?
Is the hat hard? Yes
Are the lights bright and pretty? Yes.
what are the implications?
Cowboy hard hat was tested by ANSI 10 times at $8000/test before it was approved for OSHA. It nearly bankrupted the inventor. I don't think I'll be following that path. Cowboy hardhats sound more construction crew than fedora hard hats. Maybe hipster spelunkers would buy a hard hat fedora, but that is a tiny market.
I like fedoras though, and it is my final project, so that is what I made.
Hard Hat Fedora with Light is licenced under the Free Art Licence 1.3
Schedule?
May 8th- Make Hat Form
May 10th- Make Composite Hat
May 10th-19th- Design Board
May 23rd- Make Board
May 24th-26th- Finish Project, Errata
Note: This schedule would prove to be wildly optimistic.
What tasks have been completed, and what tasks remain?
I did manage to create a hard hat fedora with a light. Significant goals were abandoned over the course of the project, mainly due to time constraints caused by being overcommitted in May and June. The most disappointing project scale back was abandoning making the fedora a composite. The other abandoned goal was making a new superbright charlieplexer.
What has worked? What hasn't?
What worked well was designing and 3d printing the band and mount for the battery. It just took a few 15 minute iterations and was workable. Lasering the frame for the light was also great.
My Charlieplexing board was from a previous module, and worked great
Making a composite form using an old hat was a massive failure. However, hardening an existing hat was a great success. The lab also ran out of buttons simple surface mount buttons at an inopportune times. I simulated a button with a 4 pin header, and that proved to be a headache.
What questions need to be resolved?
Making a fedora properly looks something more like this:
Soulland // Making the Adler Fedora from Soulland on Vimeo
I don't think this is beyond the capacity of something that could happen in the fab lab, and the forms in this video would be fun to machined. I was certainly scared off when my first old hat was ruined. That was partially due to the psychological blow of losing an old beloved hat, but also due to time constraints.
What have you learned?
I can be confident in undertaking projects of significantly larger scope. Also, I want to make an old fashioned fedora rather than a hardhat fedora.
I learned how to be curious about electronics. This video just came out.
See that electrical box full of wires? I bet if I tore it apart, I would have an idea about what alot of it is. I'd still be clueless about alot, but when I watch the video I am curious about what is inside. I never would have noticed the electronics at all before.
