Santa Rebuild
Santa and the elves (animated characters going into their seventh year) are ready for new servo motors.
The servo motors, having logged in more than 700 operating hours, are not reliable. Elfis has swatted a train off the track. Elsie has broken Elfis' guitar. Elmer has demonstrated a violent twitch. Santa has given up pointing. Thirty two servo motors (eight per character) need to be replaced, but EXACT replacements are no longer available. Failures tend to occur in the feedback pot and the motor brushes--replacement parts are something I just can't find. New motors are a bit larger and more "standard" looking. I'll get several spares and hope that these are more universal for future repairs.
Supplies
This is the head/neck mechanism. The new bracket is 4mm longer than the old.
Sadly, the new bracket will not fit inside Santa's head.
Using a soldering iron (heated to 500 degrees F), I carved out a bit more space inside the head.
The new motor assembly is slightly larger and does not have the side grooves of the old motors.
I designed and printed a custom 3d bracket to support the neck motor.
The new neck/head assembly is placed in Santa's upper torso.
I used duct tape to secure the motor in place (the old motors slid into grooves within the torso).
The old arm assembly had to be removed.
The new motor, because of the shaft on the backside, does not fit inside Santa's shoulder.
A hole (1/4" diameter) had to be drilled in the shoulder socket.
A special bracket was designed and 3d printed to mate the hand/arm to the motor mechanism.
The arm assembly is placed inside the shoulder socket.
Custom printed spacers help to hold the assembly in place (in the grooves that the old motor used to slide into).
Servo wires on the arm motors are tied together so they will not get pinched.
Duct tape is used to secure the arm assembly to the shoulder.
Hopefully, Santa will have a few more years of trouble free operation!