The Fairy Queen is a two-function figure that was created as part of Bama TPED's submission to the qualifier for the 2025 Toronto Ride Competion. The Figure features a shoulder pivot with a 60-degree range of motion and an elbow bend with 35-degrees of motion. The figure mechanism weighs 24lbs and is four feet tall, though its fully costumed height comes out to 6’ 3” to the tip of the wand.
The mechanical structure is composed of three simple machined (three-axis) parts, in addition to three flat-cut pieces fastened together by bolts. The mechanism is supported by a riveted base frame made of six pieces of square tubing and six flat-cut pieces. The mechanical structure and base frame are composed of anodized 6061 aluminum, with zinc-plated steel used for the fasteners.
Motion analysis was performed in SolidWorks over the one-second cycle it takes for each function to complete its full range of motion, finding a required torque of 2.5-pound-force-inch (40-oz-in) for the shoulder and 0.078-pound-force-inch (1.25 oz-in) for the elbow. Utilizing a 200% safety factor to account for costuming, shells, and safety, we chose the NEMA 23 5704M-10 with a holding torque of 140 oz-in for the shoulder and the NEMA 23 5704X-02 with a holding torque of 75 oz-in for the elbow. Additional safety factors were given to the elbow due to uncertainty over the final required torque for that function as the mech., and thus the calculation features a minimal piece of aluminum as an attachment point, leaving much of what will require greater torque to shells and costuming.
figure ANimatic
