Interactive Costumes
Wolverine's Claws
3D printed claws that mount to the wearers wrist and retract with
10-inch stroke pneumatic pistons
Summary
I built this costume my brother, starting a yearly tradition. Though I'd built several costumes for myself and for him in previous years, I wanted to make something more complex and unique for 2022. The result is a scratch-built backpack with an internal air compressor, LiFePo4 battery, pressure transducer, tank, regulator, and solenoid valve, that retract and extend 10-inch-long claws at the press of a switch.
Final power pack for claws, this goes inside a large backpack
The claws themselves were mostly 3D printed, and designed in Onshape. They mounted the pistons at one point and then had a grip strap pinned with some simple captive nuts. The switch ran seperately but was also fed through the sleeve of the wearer alongside the pneumatic tubes, hiding it away.
When combined with some other costume elements, the claws make for a fun effect. The battery powered compressor-tank backpack also proved to be useful for many future projects, including the Poseiden's trident prop I made the following year.