Manual Odradek Build

Project Intro

2020 has been one hell of a year. Worldwide pandemic. People unable to leave their homes. Global transformation of our technologies and infrastructure, and Amazon delivery has never been busier!... Rings a bell if you're a fan of Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions 2019 'Death Stranding' for PlayStation 4. So, with the potential end of life as we know it looming in the near future, I had the idea of creating a basic, manually operated Odradek, which for those who dont know - the Odradek Terrain Scanner is a shoulder-mounted, articulated mechanical sensor that primarily serves as a multi-function scanner, able to analyze terrain as well as detect cargo tags and objects left by other players in the game. There are two types in this project - Sam's original 'Porter' scanner and Mama's BT scanner. I used Adafruit's Electroluminescent (EL) products as part of the build to add a cool lighting effect - check out this simple but effective project and keep on keeping up.

Designing In Fusion 360

I modelled all the parts in Fusion 360 using a GoPro 3-Way Tripod Mount as a start point to minimize the amount of 3D printing needed for something like this to function and the tripod mount is a much stronger material than can be produced by FDM printing. I also wanted both designs to be collapsible and to sit comfortably on the wearers shoulder when not in use, so I designed a small adapter that would allow for the Tripod Mount to attach to a padded GoPro Backpack Strap Mount - enabling each prop to fit onto any backpack. There are a few external wires that can easily be zip-tied up or placed inside some cable housing to lead the electronics and battery into the backpack.

3D printed parts

All the parts were 3D printed in Polymaker PolMax PLA (supplied by 3d Filaprint) on my Creality Ender-3. Although the PolMax PLA is great for prints that need to withstand mechanical stress, i'd recommend printing in ABS or PET-G. The prop has a few moving parts and there are some 10mm N52 Magnets (8 in-all) glued into the hinges of the four articulated arms to help keep them supported when open. A few M2 screws are needed here and there to construct the odradeks as the parts were printed with orientation in mind.

Components

Both Odradeks light-up using Adafruit Electroluminescent (EL) Panels and EL Tape Strip. Each of these products connect to a 12V pocket inverter and are powered by an 8xAA battery pack. The inverter is sound activated, it has a little microphone and lights the connected EL according to the surrounding audio volume. The main extendable body is essentially a knock-off GoPro 3-Way Tripod Mount attached to a GoPro Backpack Strap Mount using 3D printed parts I designed. Here is an overview of the parts used to assemble the odradeks:

2 x EL Panel - 100x100mm White

12V EL Panel/Wire Inverter

Battery Pack - 8xAA/12V

JST Cable Splitter Connector

Clear Plastic Sheet

GoPro 3-Way Mount Tripod

GoPro Shoulder Strap

4 X M2 20mm Button/Flat Head Hex screw

2 X M2 6mm Button/Flat Head Hex screw

Final outcome

See below for a build video demonstrating how I put this prop together.

It's a relatively straight forward project to demonstrate a bit of concept design & 3d printing around some cheap off-the-shelf products to create a couple of effective little props. The EL panels create a really nice defused glowing effect but I'm sure the EL could be replaced by some Neopixel LEDs and a trinket board to get some neat animations going or even just basic reflective tape for a simple cosplay prop! Be sure to subscribe to my Youtube Channel for future projects.