The Hacksmith: Interfacing a Jet Thruster on Iron Man's Suit

2019-05-09 | By The Hacksmith

License: See Original Project Arduino

The “Make it Real” series has been running for a few years now, and many of those creations are on Maker.io! Over the years, the team has made lots of creations from comics, movies, and video games, and after a few years, viewers have finally asked the important question: “Why not pit these projects against each other?”

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James and Ian settling their differences over the Sokovia Accords...

That question inspired a new series called “Make it Break,” and it’s exactly what it sounds like. Our first contenders for “Make it Break” come on the heels of Avengers: Endgame (don’t worry -- the video doesn’t have any spoilers, but you might avoid the comment section on YouTube!), bringing back an iconic fight from Captain America: Civil War.

That’s right -- you get to see Captain America’s shield go up against Iron Man’s jet thruster. See how they stack up in the video below!

Making and Interfacing Iron Man’s Thruster

The jet engine used for Iron Man’s thruster was pulled from another project, the jet-powered motorcycle. The jet engine for this video was pulled from the motorcycle, but it needed some work before it could be mounted and properly controlled on an Iron Man suit. Like the motorcycle-mounted jet engine, the engine mounted on the Iron Man suit is controlled by an Arduino Pro Mini.

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The completed jet thruster

A lot of the circuitry from the original jet engine project could be reused, but it needed a few updates to incorporate control from a USB joystick. The joystick doesn’t move, but it provides something for the user to hang onto so they can lift the engine. When running, the jet engine produces over 70 pounds of thrust, so a strong handle was a must for this design. The joystick also houses the buttons to start the engine and increase or decrease the amount of fuel that goes through the engine, allowing the user to control the amount of thrust generated. And, of course, there’s a killswitch (safety first!).

You can check out the circuit diagram below.

Schematic and BOM

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More “Make it Real” Creations on Maker.io From the MCU

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