I'm proud to present my latest creation: The Hammer! The Hammer is a prototype test-your-strength game that's an insertable, muscle-controlled, light-up dildo. Update, 1/5/13: The Hammer has been listed as Cracked.com's #1 Geekiest Sex Toy! Welcome, everyone!
Like innovative sex/kink-positive projects? Maybe you have an idea of your own, but need to raise some money? Check out my new startup, Passionate Produce!
Update #1, 10/11/12: If you would like to hear me talk about how I made The Hammer, you can see some excerpts and my slides from my technical talk at Arse Elektronika 2012.
Update #2, 10/11/12: The Hammer + animated GIFs = Win!
Update #3, 1/5/13: See The Hammer in Person! (Ignite Craft Boston, Arisia)
The TLDR:
When the bulb of The Hammer is squeezed, the shaft lights up.
The Hammer has 12 individually-addressable RGB LED's.
Since I was young, I've wondered what it would be like to have a bio-cock. Unfortunately, this is an experience I am unlikely to have. It's at least some consolation that now I have the most beautiful, glowing, rainbow penis in the world.
I've been working on The Hammer for a couple of months. It contains two force sensors, a strip of individually addressible RGB LED's, and an accelerometer. It connects to a custom-built prototype Arduino shield, and I programmed it using the Arduino software development environment. The toy itself is made of platinum cure, body-safe silicone.
Why call it "The Hammer"?I originally named it after a Test-Your-Strength game in the Musee Mechanique in San Francisco. I then realized:
- When all you have is a light-up cock, everything looks like it needs to be nailed.
- The Hammer is my penis.
- Receive visual feedback for Kegel exercises or physical therapy
- Have a lightsaber duel
- Get a blowjob or handjob in the dark
- Watch the Hammer change color as you orgasm
- ...or anything else you can program!
Right now The Hammer has two modes: the test-your-strength game, where the more you squeeze, the more it lights up; and a demo mode which cycles through all of the colors of the LEDs. Soon I hope to connect the Arduino to my Android phone, and then I'll be able to do even more cool things!
I'll be following up on this with more technical details over the next few weeks. (Update, 10/11/12: If you would like to hear me talk about how I made The Hammer, you can see some excerpts and my slides from my technical talk at Arse Elektronika 2012.) My plan is for The Hammer to become an Open Hardware project. This is still very much a prototype, but I would be thrilled if anyone else wanted to build their own.
I'd like to thank Jimmie Rodgers, my friends at Artisan's Asylum, and the teasecraft-boston meetup group for all of their help, ideas, and encouragement! I'd also like to thank Monochrom for giving me the opportunity to present this project at Arse Elektronika 2012.
What's my latest and greatest endeavor? I'm launching Passionate Produce, a new sex/kink-positive crowdfunding startup. Is this relevant to your interests? Subscribe to my newsletter!
Last edited 4/19/13: Reposted the video. Now it should stream correctly, and I won't have to worry about any more takedowns!
Yay! The rainbow lights are indeed quite lovely!
Well done! I hope the Arse Electronica attendees were suitably impressed.
Since you’re gathering info indicating you’re considering selling copies of your invention, I suggest you emphasize that it’s made from medical-grade silicone.
The experiment of the Hammer is awesome but the design of the dildo one of Tantus’, The Feeldoe(R). The Feeldoe is a patented product for both design and use patents D376.650, D384.156, D384.158, and 5.690.603. While I applaud your making The Hammer an Open Hardware project, please respect the patent.
Thank you.
Metis Black
Tantus Inc. President and Founder
Thank you for your comment! The Feeldoe is a great product — I own a couple, which is one of the reasons why I used it as a basis for this prototype. Obviously a lot more engineering work would be required before this concept would be ready for consumer use, not the least of which would be a new design which respects existing patents.
Get over yourself. The patent isn’t that big of a deal. Ideas should be able to be expanded on.
Oh wow. I just saw this now, and … well, I own four Feeldoes. This sort of behavior makes me want to never buy another. :( I hope this has been well-resolved by now, and in a good way that is respectful of existing products and new innovations.
Thanks for taking the time to comment! I mean…I still think the Feeldoe is a great toy, and I’m still in favor of people purchasing them. It’s not exactly resolved yet, but that’s largely because most of my efforts are going to Passionate Produce. I still plan to produce my own toy some day, and by then, who knows — I’ll either find someone to help me sculpt a new design, or else by then all of the existing Feeldoe patents will have expired.
There certainly *is* theft that happens in this business, and I can understand why people want to be hyper-vigilant. It’s just a little frustrating when folks get upset over things that are actually legal.
Since when are improvements on patented designs not patentable? That’s, um, NEW.
You’re hilarious if you think that your patent holds any claim to this. She’s engineered something different using entirely different methods from your own. Just because she’s used one of your products in the building process doesn’t matter. It’s a non-issue. You can’t touch her any more than the company that made the wires coming out of the back.
Imagine that you make birdhouses for a living, instead of dongs. It’s like a company that makes nails threatening you because you used their nails to make the birdhouses you’re selling.
Hello Ms. Black,
I have a lot of respect for your company and I enjoy quite a few of your products. I certainly understand your need to protect your intellectual property.
I strongly suggest you reach out to Kristen in a different way. Instead of commenting here with a warning about your patents, why don’t you send her a direct message and see if it may be beneficial for the two of you to work together on bringing this product to market? The Feeldoe is a fantastic basis for this idea. Why would you not want to incorporate a new idea and bring another amazing product to market?
Your other option is to get defensive and make veiled threats about your patents. The result of which would be a similar product with a slightly different design, competing directly with your products (with the edge of novel technology). However this might end up for you, it is clearly the less attractive option. I urge you to consider otherwise.
Respectfully,
Andrew B.
Hello M. Black, Kirsten and Andrew B.,
I have been conceptualizing a prosthetic device for a few years now. However, I came across your design of Feeldoe, which somewhat achieved what I had in mind, yet it was much simpler! The design still amazes me and I am still eager to buy one! But Kirsten has taken a step forward by adding the force sensors and actuators (in this case LEDs). I would agree with Andrew B’s comment. A collaboration between two parties would result in an amazing product (and the toy of my dreams): Why not put the force sensors (and light sensors) on the shaft, and put the actuators (this time a simple series of vibrators) in the bulb, and code the actuators to be driven by the light/force info from the shaft. There. That’s close enough for a penis. I had this idea for some years now, and despite the fact that I work in a field not too far from the topic, there’s never enough time and I am not getting any closer to realizing my idea, please make it happen, i will buy one! :D
Once again, amazing job Kirsten!
Regards,
“Osman”
Hi, and thanks for writing! That is a cool idea, and you’re definitely not alone in your interest — I have another friend who’s been playing around with the prosthetic idea, too. I really feel like there are a lot of potential toys to be made combining sensing and actuation in different ways. You might also want to keep an eye on my friend Dr. X. Treme’s work; he’s got a new toy coming out that uses sucking a dildo as actuation for a vibrator: https://web.archive.org/web/20131118031659/http://www.doctorxtreme.com/blogs/news/tagged/suctus
Update, 12/14/18: Aaaand the original link doesn’t work since he went out of business a few years ago. Replaced with a link to the Internet Archive.
Oh… I should just toss my PhD away and start working for them!! :)
I think this would make a great device for performance art, especially if you added a bluetooth component. Such as…
http://dx.com/p/jy-mcu-arduino-bluetooth-wireless-serial-port-module-104299
How responsive is the pressure sensitivity to actual muscle contraction vs pressure noise generated from thrusting?
Good show on the toy making! Rock on.
As it happens, I designed the custom Arduino shield with space for a bluetooth radio — so yes, someday it will have wireless control.
The toy is too fragile right now to consider using it as an insertable, so I don’t have a good answer for that. In general the current sensor really isn’t sensitive enough to pick up the muscle contractions that I want; I have to engage my entire core to light it up right now.
Thanks for the comment!
as a lady, i’m not sure if you have thought of this, but it might be better in its current form for gay men. anal muscles are stronger than vaginal ones, and can exert the required pressure much more easily, but using it to penetrate another man would be fairly essential for us so it would need to be made of tough materials. as for the vibration mentioned in the survey, you should make sure both parts vibrate. and if you make the shaft vibrate, make sure the whole thing vibrates. i know base vibration is great for ladies, but we use our prostates and nothing makes us sadder than a toy the vibrates at the base while the head just sits there. it looks like the shaft has room alongside those leds, so may i suggest a row of vibrating mechanisms to ensure full length transduction?
Thanks for the comment! My gender is actually kind of complicated (so I’m not sure “lady” is quite the right term). A lot of folks have suggested adding more vibration — the problem is impedance matching. You’ve got to have a *lot* of power to move both the entire shaft of the toy as well as whatever fleshy bits you want to actually feel the vibration — and it’s tricky to fit that much power in a reasonable form factor. (More info on this in my interview with Doctor X. Treme: http://www.toymakerproject.com/doctor_xtreme/ ).
What about using an air/fluid pressure sensor in the shaft and having the bulb a sealed chamber with air or a fluid in it so that any subtle squeeze on the bulb can be accurately measured.
Yep! I think that’s the direction I’m leaning. I haven’t done much work with casting objects with voids…but that will be a new skill to learn.
Think 3D printing….and use the fluid up 3D printers…so much faster and better.
Yep! 3D printing is definitely a good option for toymaking if you have access to one (Kenton of Funkit Toys makes all his toys by 3D printing his molds). Good stuff, thanks for writing! – Kit
Wouldn´t the USB Power Delivery standard be a usefull connection for electrify this kind of lighted and maybe vibrating toys!
The USB Power Delivery standard will make it much easier and safer to not be forced to use batteries in this kind of sex toys.
Apologies for the delayed reply! Yes, I think that’s an excellent idea. :) I’m very interested either in using USB or in inductive charging.
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This looks awesome and I would be very interested in it when it’s complete. I know it’s asking for a lot but a vibrate function would be quite nice.
Also, very happy to hear it’s 100% silicon; please make that very clear when you advertise, I hate having to search for important information like that.
Thanks for the suggestions! Vibration is tough (see above comment), but I will be sure to mention the fact that it’s body-safe silicone more prominently, especially going forwards.
I just wanted to say that since posting this I’ve looked up the survey and the talk you gave at Arse Elektronika 2012; I couldn’t be more impressed. I understand vibrate functions would be rather tricky and applaud you for trying, I hope you find a way to make it work! Though if not then a brilliant rainbow cock is magnificent in its own right.
Needless to say I’ll be keeping a good eye on this project and can’t wait to see how it goes. The idea of Lightsaber sounds for it made me grin I have to admit and even if they don’t end up added I know what I’ll be imagining.
Hello, Cracked reader here. Just had to click the link when I saw that pic of you making the Hammer light up… without using your hands. It can’t be easy to make a dildo that makes a straight guy say “That kicks ass.” This is a wonderfully kinky innovation, and I adore you.
Thank you! :) Yeah, it’s been a pretty interesting project to work on in a lot of ways. Initially it was all technical challenges. Now that it’s been built and I have opportunities to tell people about it, there are more social challenges. This is a toy that pretty much anyone could use (or have used on them), regardless of your gender or orientation — but I don’t think a lot of other people see it that way.
We’ll see what happens! At the very least I hope it inspires other folks to start playing with more electronics and silicone…and maybe it will encourage some folks to step out of their usual comfort zones.
*Note to everyone regarding patent comments:* I appreciate the show of support, but I won’t be posting any more negative patent comments. Regardless of what anyone thinks about how the patent system operates, I’ve got to play by the rules. I do have lawyers who I consult with on these issues (both my sex-positive-business lawyer and a friend who’s a patent attorney).
In any case, most of those Feeldoe patents are already expired.
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We demand to see it in action for testing purposes. see how much thrust and friction can handle. any volunteers in the name of science?
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Needs an option to ring a big bell when the light reaches all the way to the tip. :)
:D Excellent suggestion!
I need one of these….. when do you expect to be able to sell them?
Most of my effort right now is in launching my crowdfunding startup so that I’ll have a way to raise the money to actually get these produced — join the email list at passionateproduce.com to keep up with that. :) So that’s going to be most of my effort for the next half-year, probably. After that, we’ll see.
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When you get these bad boys done (and hoping there’s a resolution w/ Tantus) I MUST HAVE ONE FOR REVIEW!!! Those lights, the colors, the whole damn thing – it’s GENIUS! Bravo!!
^_^ Thank you! I’ll see what I can do. ;)
Me, too, pretty please? I had seen this on Tumblr and was mesmerized by it. It’s absolutely brilliant!
Dude. This needs to be a kickstarter.
Ahhh, yes. So Kickstarter and IndieGoGo have terms of service which forbid sex-related projects…which is why I’m starting my own sex/kink-positive crowdfunding site, Passionate Produce. The Hammer is on hold until I’ve created the right platform to fund it.
less lights, more servomotors, pleeeease?
(restore all video links!!!)
Hey, saw one of the earlier posts showing two buttplugs, one that lit up and another that would be squeezed.
What about this for a project? Two squeezable bulbs, and a bar of LEDs on a board.
Make it into some kind of game to squeeze harder, or in a certain way. Dunno how the mechanics would work to make it fun for two people to use, but there could be the sensor in each one and a little motor.
Fun! Yeah, those bulbs were my proof-of-concept for the Hammer. :) You could definitely hook multiple sensing toys together and then share the output (either work together to do something, or compete to do something)!
This is a game I would win. Gynaecologists, doctors and my pelvic physiotherapists agree that I have an unbelievably strong vagina. It has made some men cringe in pain. I am more than a match for your device. I can’t wait to try it, YAY! Now my girl bits can make LIGHT SHOWS!
You mister doctor ma’am are both a scholar and (dare I say) genius. I have one suggestion, perhaps an acceleromator to enable a light up mode based on vigor (instead of only muscle contractions)…
Two fun games in one!
Sorry, I meant a tilt sensor – wired in with the accelerametor.
Thank you!
Vigor detection is an awesome idea! I suspect you could probably get the accelerometer to give you usable data — it should be able to report back-and-forth motion along any of the axes. Lighting up according to that would be hilarious. :)
Unfortunately, this runs into the general problem I have of the device not being robust enough for vigorous use! Flexion in the shaft tends to cause the components on the LED strip to become disconnected. I have some ideas about how to work around this, probably by encasing the electronics in the shaft in a firmer silicone core.
I have been looking for light up dildos for ages most places have stoped making them. If this thing could come in just the shape of a dildo and a button where u can turn the beautiful lights on that be amazing I know so many strippers/entertainers that would love a new light up cordless dildo for there strip shows. Do u think u bring sumthing like that out and how long do you think it be till they are out ???
Thanks for the feedback! I definitely want to do a non-insertable version that just lights up. :) I don’t have much experience working with dancers/strippers/entertainers — What kind of control would be the easiest to use? Something small that’s handheld? Or would it make sense to have someone offstage with something like a smartphone who could control it? With a toy mainly used as a prop for a show, should it be made of silicone, or would plastic work?
So, yes, I definitely want to do this. Timing is the hard part! First I have to launch my startup (passionateproduce.com) and get that rolling, then I’ll be able to use that to do fundraising for new toy development. It may well be six months or a year before I can do the fundraising, then another six to nine months for actual production.
blokes would be interested too…
have you thought about butt plugs?
Could go the route of tails for the anthropomorphic slave and furry crowd.. (puppy slaves, ponyboys, alien bondage and probe scenes) a novelty and niche market but likely to generate serious interest in the fetish and comicon communities.
or combine buttplug with a cockring / dildo harness… maybe with upgrades (plugins) to a half or full harness.
silicone for the plug and ring (control), but you might be able to get away with plastic for the harness.
But whether for personal or public scenes, events, the dungeons, club or baths, that might be a bit too rough to wear for extended scenes unless it was fitted with another material for comfort… if it can’t hold up for extended wear, the market narrows or the cheaper ‘raver’ alternatives will be used.
‘course a few would like even higher quality materials — that might make it an art piece onto itself — which would require getting tech minded crafters involved… with a little steampunk or rivethead flare. There are so few innovators of higher quality goods. (highest value; less about bling than creative technology and fashion… there’s options to be had with blown glass, being used as little else than a conduit or a reflector, giving the appearance of a violet wand without the sting. The crowd interested in those sorts of toys are likely to spend several hundreds more for quality options.)
and of other toys, accessories…
consider an option for a breathing apparatus for costume play, or for the bdsm scene.. gags — to which you could market it as a silent safeword. — a practical option to introduce people to your other wares.
—-
for interactive and contact entertainers: it’s just that, making it interactive…
— something that caters to the pavlovian, respondent, conditioning… that heightens the anticipation of the audience….
an aspect which can also be tossed over to the bdsm scenes as well… like a paddle’s whack.
but there’s so many variables to performance..
fire and electric dancers may be too abstract for thought…
so maybe one might look at the performances of belly dancers instead… so many options for the control and design
(… oh, I bloody forgot what it’s called, there’s a ball dance (not the fakir ball dance, though that could be entertaining as well) one in which a ball or piece of fruit is exchanged between two partners, without the use of their hands… it’s meant to be more of a sensual, sexual dance than comedy of errors it might play out in the west. The point in mentioning it is it’s a good exercise for exploring human anatomy and sensual movement… which should help with your design.)
(and for strippers, I’d suggest checking out “the stock bar” +montreal
to which plugs and cockrings that respond to flexing would be shown as ideal.
on the other side, for chicas, the belly dancers or female rockers, the heavy metal crowd… alternatives are needed for several venues to the use of saws, grinders, electro or fire.)
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as per the tail comment above, once you get the general arduino platform down and move it over to a micro-uino style board or w/e, i think i product you may do well with would be a simple force sensor + plug/fiberoptic thread tail. like those kids toy wands with a 3-7 color led in the base and 1-3 feet of clear fiber whip. the stuff has to be cheap by now, they make xmas trees outta it.. but yea, anthropomorphic rave butt.. i see some kind of kink niche there.. every spank/clench causes the colors to cycle etc..
love the ideas/work you have shown =]
how much ? can we get one, bet it will realy build the mucule stroger
Nothing’s for sale here, this is just a prototype. I’m hoping in a year or so I’ll have enough time to devote to building a new toy that’s ready for mass production!
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I wanted to let you know this is is the most inventive idea I have heard in a long time. Keep up the brilliant work!
♥♥♥
Thank you! :) I’ll do my best!
I love this, and have an idea for a variation. Instead of the outside being shaped like a penis, shape it so it presses against the clit.
Also, instead of lights, have the squeezing control the speed of a vibrator built into the part pressing against the clit.
So the harder you squeeze the faster the speed of the vibe, and the longer you squeeze the more you enjoy the sensation of the vibe. It’s positive feedback – a reward system.
That’s an interesting idea! It would be interesting to do some testing to figure out whether, muscle control-wise, that makes sense. I remember there was a presenter at Arse Elektronika a couple of years ago who had hooked up a vibe to a toy “mind control” controller where you had to concentrate to turn the vibe on. The problem was that the more turned on you got, the harder it was to concentrate, so it just ended up being a tease. ;)
That would be the reason to buy for a small percentage of your potential customers.
With the new raft of “Mind control” headsets for computer gaming bringing the components down in price and your wanting to move to a USB style power bus anyway you might just make the most frustrating teasing toy on the market.
Ah, yes! I’ve seen such a toy connected to a dildo a few years ago at the Arse Elektronika sex tech conference. I don’t know it’s the direction I’ll be moving myself, but anything I eventually make will be open source, so people will be able to add their own functionality. Thanks for the comment!
I have always wantad to see a dildo that gets W I D E R as it gets warmer (hotter). This would drive anyone who uses it absolutely nuts. Think of it, a thickening dick as it gets faster and drives harder. Damn, its getting me hot just writing this.
If you have some the DIY skills to build the projects on this site you can make a manual version of this by bringing together the pneumatic components from a good quality penis pump (inc safety valve)and a well made Vinyl dildo or vibe. If you based it on a vibe you could hide a thermocouple or such in the battery compartment/core to detect temp. hooking that sensor up to a mini compressor (or canned air)using a rheostat for automatic control will be harder but is dooable.
There are also thermo-expansive plastics or more expensively poly-mimetic alloys
Cool idea! Thanks for sharing. :)
You, madam, are a genius. I just wanted to say that. :3
Aw, thanks! ^_^
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I saw in a note up higher that you were including a bluetooth connection. Might I humbly suggest you consider using a wifi G connection instead? There are a few reasons.. The most important of which, in terms of a business idea, being that you can get to market faster and only have to write the code to get at it once. In the device itself in the form of web pages that it can serve up. If you use bluetooth, you then need to work the application side, and when you do that, you will only get the device for which you write the application side for, android, ios, what have you. however.. EVERYTHING has a web browser so if you target a wifi G access point instead, you will get *ALL* the devices out there able to connect to it, and you can even go so far as to send data up to the cloud without having to use any kind of gateway to do so.
Just , you know, a random thought.
Pony.
Thanks for the feedback! That’s a really cool idea — I can definitely see the downside of Bluetooth there. Once I have more time for toy development, I’ll definitely look into this more. Thanks again!
Sure thing, I’d like to see you succeed with this as a product. Oh, another thing about using a built in web server is that you not only get all of those devices that have a web browser as a control system, you can also , afterwards, write a custom app that looks good and is not bound by the ‘look’ of a web browser that makes calls directly to the URI’s embedded into the device, things like, set parameter calls for setting the led colors or getting back a reading of the strength of the squeeze, etc. SO using a web server does not preclude you from eventually having those custom apps as well.
Best of luck! I’ll be watching to see how this works out!
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Do you mind sharing exactly which force sensors The Hammer uses? I really like this project. I’ve made/engineered a few sexual devices in the past and I really like the idea of insertables that provide feedback.
I’m happy to tell you, but I want to warn you that the sensor I used turned out to be total crap (not nearly sensitive enough, only captured one axis, and ended up tearing inside of the silicone very quickly). The video I posted turned out to be about the last time that sensor worked. ^^; I should have covered the sensor in packing tape before casting the silicone around it — I think the heat of the curing process weakened the sensor significantly.
So the force sensors I used were these, from Pololu: http://www.pololu.com/catalog/product/1695
For more pictures of the sensor as it was installed in the first prototype:
http://www.toymakerproject.com/hammer-arse-2012/ (see the slides at the bottom)
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This is rather ingenius! I’m trying to get into making molds for toys myself & so far I’m not doing so great. Not only is you mold really good but your ability to add electronics & program them is awesome! Totally envious! If there is a way for me to get one of these I very much would do so! Idk if you’ve worked this out or not but it looks like the circuit board just dangles there. Perhaps a belt or strapon harness with a pocket or something to house the circuit board would be needed. Or ultimately somehow be able to miniaturize it so everything could fit inside the dildo, leaving waterproof controls on the underside or something.
Thanks so much for your commment! Yes, since this is a bare-bones prototype, it’s all wires — right now I basically just carry the microcontroller in my pocket for demos. ;) Definitely not an ideal situation for real-world use! It’s really just a proof-of-concept. :) But it’s been exciting to see folks’ reaction and to think I might help inspire people to make more toys.
Yeah, casting can be tricky business! I’ve posted a few tips on this blog. Even if you don’t want to buy their products, Smooth-On has lots of educational resources, from how-to articles to videos — maybe some of those would be helpful?
Thank you for the links. It seemed like on you Dr. Who Tardis dildo, the silicone had a lot of air bubbles in it. Is this a reoccurring. Problem? Can anything be done to prevent this when pouring tue silicone?
Ah, yes! This is a common problem in casting and moldmaking. When you mix your components together, you introduce air bubbles. (Plus, I think Smooth-On’s materials themselves generate gasses when they combine.) This was my very first project, and part of a casting and moldmaking class, and we didn’t have access to equipment to remove the bubbles. What you need is a way to vacuum degas the silicone before you pour it into the mold. Usually this is done with some kind of vacuum rig (consisting of a vacuum pump connected to a vacuum chamber). Smooth-on sells vacuum chambers but not vacuum pumps; you could also check Instructables to see if there’s one you could build yourself.
so like a box with a window & built in gloves that I can set my project in, suck out all the air, then use the gloves to pour the mold? Man this project is getting complicated & expensive!
Do you just let the silicone completely cure inside the vacuum chamber then? I plan on using latex molds & fill them with silicone, any tips or precautions I should know beforehand? My research online has let me to believe that the silicone won’t stick to the latex, and the latex should stretch & peel off the silicone after its cured, and you can resuse the same latex mold numerous times. Is this true?
It may be somewhat complicated, but not that complicated. This video from Smooth-On shows the process: First you measure and mix the silicone, then you put it in the degassing chamber, then you turn on the vacuum pump. Once the degassing is complete, you remove the silicone and then pour it into your mold. If you’re careful with the pour, you will re-introduce very little air.
So, no, you don’t cure the mold inside the vacuum chamber. You might be thinking of pressure casting. I’ve gotten great results just using degassing, so I have never tried to set up a pressure casting rig.
I’m afraid I don’t have any experience working with latex molds. You might need to contact your latex manufacturer to see what they would recommend for working with their latex and silicone.
Hopefully now you have a number of links to follow and some useful terms to Google. Good luck with your project!
Your invention is amazing! 5 stars! What material are your molds made from? I ordered smooth-on’s “dragonskin 10 medium” and just found out that you can’t wear latex gloves because they will contaminate the silicone & not allow it to cure properly. It’s a shame I’ve already made 3 molds out of latex. I’m sure if I use them with dragonskin I’m just going to end up with a huge, expensive mess. I need to find a compatible mold material, preferably one that can stretch & pull off my models as one piece because using a 2 piece mold will leave unwanted seams, and a one piece mold material that isn’t stretchy will lock the model inside of the mold, making both useless. Any suggestions would be a lifesaver! Thank you.
Thank you! So, because I had copious amounts of it, my molds are also made of Dragon Skin. Because of the shape of the toy, I’ve been using two-part molds (so, yep, gotta deal with that seam.)
Ah, yes. Latex is a no-go because it contains sulphur, which inhibits curing. I found a couple of pages that have more detailed information on what inhibits curing of platinum cure silicones: this page from Renew Materials and this page from TAP Plastics.
I have a couple of ideas, but since I mainly work with two-part molds, you’ll want to take these with a grain of salt and do some small-scale experiments before you commit to any of these as possible solutions!
1. You could try using a super-soft silicone as your mold material, something like Smooth-On’s Ecoflex.
2. I have heard that you can make a one-piece mold and then cut your own parting line using something called a “zipper cut” to get the object out. Apparently, that leaves you with a two-part mold that has a much smaller seams. Unfortunately, I haven’t found any really good instructions on how to do this: this video has some good techniques for making your own parting line but doesn’t use the zipper cut specifically; this handout shows a diagram but doesn’t describe the zipper cut itself very well. You might be able to use these as a starting point for further searching.
The folks at Smooth-On are actually pretty sex-positive and very helpful, so you could actually call them, explain your problem, and see if they have any suggestions.
I hope this is helpful. :) Best of luck with your project — keep me posted if you’re able to find some good techniques!
Hey thanks for all your help! It’s been a couple months but I finally have made a few toys out of silicone, I ended up going with 2 part molds made from “Plaster of Paris” and am just dealing with the seam. I’ve included links to my work (including the failed attempt to incorporate a vibrator inside one of them).
https://www.etsy.com/listing/210624874/55-prostate-massager-a-bomb-orgasm?
https://www.etsy.com/listing/220185732/silicone-novelty-dildo-thunderdome-7?
https://www.etsy.com/listing/220190866/vibrating-silicone-novelty-dildo?
I appreciate your responses to my questions and all the helpful links you’ve shared. Thanks again.
Travis
You’re welcome! It looks like you got remarkably good results with your plaster of paris, too — better results than I’ve had. Did you use any mold release or petroleum jelly on the plaster before you poured your silicone?
I had a couple of other thoughts in looking at your listings:
Congrats on your toymaking successes (and learning experiences)! :)
I described my methods with pictures in the following word document that can be found here.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/c0a4ae5b5dmd9f8/Mold%20Making.docx?dl=0
I have looked into pigments and would like to try them eventualy. You’re right I shouldn’t make the claims I was making in my links. I’ve already adjusted my etsy ads accordingly.
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Sorry for the long post This is a super cool idea and your test rig looks great
ADA’s sugestion
What about using an air/fluid pressure sensor in the shaft and having the bulb a sealed chamber with air or a fluid in it so that any subtle squeeze on the bulb can be accurately measured
Yep! I think that’s the direction I’m leaning. I haven’t done much work with casting objects with voids…but that will be a new skill to learn.
Casting voids (at least in jewelery making) is one of the hardest things but if you do go for a cored design (either in plastic or by using a dual density pour of silicone)you avoid some of the problems in exchange for having to design a mold that holds your core in the correct position(you could also use an off the shelf pressure bulb inside the insert-able in the same way).
Unfortunately, this runs into the general problem I have of the device not being robust enough for vigorous use! Flexion in the shaft tends to cause the components on the LED strip to become disconnected. I have some ideas about how to work around this, probably by encasing the electronics in the shaft in a firmer silicone core.
Thanks for the feedback! I definitely want to do a non-insertable version that just lights up. :) I don’t have much experience working with dancers/strippers/entertainers — What kind of control would be the easiest to use? Something small that’s handheld? Or would it make sense to have someone offstage with something like a smartphone who could control it? With a toy mainly used as a prop for a show, should it be made of silicone, or would plastic work?
When I first got into toys one of my favorite toys was a dildo made was a soft transparent silicon like material sleeve that was pushed onto a chemical light-stick it was really cool the light-stick was more bendable than flexible but overall fell was very plush but still up to vigorous thrusting I used it for years until I ran out of the special shaped light-sticks.
Perhaps for your standard (non-insertable) dildo version this format would work either producing both parts or just cores that fit any suitable sleeve.
LUKARA Needless to say I’ll be keeping a good eye on this project and can’t wait to see how it goes. The idea of Lightsaber sounds for it made me grin I have to admit and even if they don’t end up added I know what I’ll be imagining.
Yep Accelerometer controlled light-saber duels would rock.
Good luck getting the hammer out there
May the Swartz be with you!
Thanks very much! Yeah, Dr. X. has done some great work on sensing pressure change in dildos. The sleeve idea is also a good one. Thanks again for taking the time to write! I hope to do a new version of the Hammer someday. :)
Forgive this un solicited missive. I was reading your blog earlier and specifically your entry on the hammer. I can’t tell you how very entertaining I found it, I’ve linked it to several of my more open minded friends.
With that in mind I couldn’t help but notice some potential improvements that I think could be made to your design and since I’ve neither the time nor equipment to implement them my self I thought I might leave a few thoughts with you in case you were ever tempted to try them out. The first is the over all shape of the device. The human penis rather like the clitoris has a root beneath the surface. It’s not fixed to the rest of the body at one point only which is why when erect it tends not to move about too much and points pretty solidly in one direction. As your earlier experiments with the feeldoe demonstrated fixing a dildo at the vagina only can lead to a lot of shifting around and slippage under vigorous motion. I suggest anchoring the hammer both in the vagina and anus. As every geometer knows a line through two points can only aline one way. This does bring disadvantages. The distance between the anus and vagina is quite variable so different sizes are needed and of course not all female bodied people are fond of anal penetration. However the additional space would be handy for mounting extra batteries. The vaginal bulb could be made more secure by allowing it to inflate. A simple valve might enable air pockets in the silicon bulb to be pumped up by the user. Inflatable dildos are well established and while the extra snugness might be uncomfortable for some others might relish the extra sensation of fullness. An additional benefit is that force on the bulb can be measured with an air pressure sensor which I expect would be more resistant to wear and tare. It also allows the sensor to be mounted outside of the bulb (so long as it’s pneumatically connected to it) isolating it from the effects of a vibrator if you ever mount one there.
Of course you must be aware of the recent interest in pneumatic 3d printed robotics where soft rubbery plastics are printed with pneumatic air cavities that induce shape change when inflated. By connecting pneumatic cavities in the vaginal and anal bulbs to cavities in the shaft small motions of the shaft could be induced by vaginal and anal clenching.
Lastly it has not escaped my attention that these modifications make the device unusable for those with out vaginas. Since most people with out vaginas have penises might I suggest a sleeve or supernumerary shaft configuration where the light up shaft is mounted as a sleeve over the penis or as a separate shaft mounted over or below the penis by a ‘cock ring’ like attachment. Both these configurations could employ an anal bulb for added stability and biofeedback from the wearer.
In any respect I hope these observations are of use to you and I will continue to follow your work with interest.
Addendum: originally sent as an email dr stubs has suggested I repost this here for those who might make use of the ideas.
Thank you again for your thoughtful comments! My toymaking time these days is pretty limited, but perhaps one of our other intrepid readers will be inspired by these ideas.
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Hi
My band have wrote a song called “Sex Wizard” and we have been looking all over the net for a wand for him to use, obviously this would be a light up dildo. This is the best one we’ve seen, where can we get one and for how much?
Hi! Unfortunately, the Hammer is just a prototype for demonstration purposes and it’s not for sale. Sorry about that! Thanks for writing, and best of luck with your video.
Hi
This has saddened me deeply.
Are you aware of any other light up dildo manufacturers?
Thank you.
Hmmmm. So a quick Google search for “light up dildo” yielded this one, for starters. You could also potentially make one yourself by taking a glass dildo or a translucent dildo and attaching a small flashlight to the bottom — I recently met someone who did that for a Halloween costume.
Hi
Thanks for that, I may need to lightly beat people with it unfortunately so it might not be the best. I’ll continue my search, thank you kindly.
Kind regards
The working man (hardest man in Blackburn)
You’re welcome! Thanks again for taking the time to write. Please come back and post a link to the video when it’s done, I’m sure folks here would get a kick out of it!
Will do, it’s a way off yet, plus it’s more for live use to start with. Cheers and all the best!
The glass dildo there uses a colour changing led and mini battery exactly the same as in a led T-light. The same T-light module could easily be used with a clone a willy kit or the instructions further up the page in the same way as the Tardis dildo.
Or you could pull the fiber optic bundle and led assembly from a mini tabletop xmass tree and have sparkles all up the shaft.
Kristen, any updates on this project? would love it to become available!
The name’s Kit now. :) But thanks for asking! Not much in the way of progress, for a few reasons: 1) the company I had been talking with about producing these just went out of business (RIP, Orgasmatronics); 2) I’d like to be able to control the LEDs from a smart phone app, but there’s a patent troll that has been suing folks over controlling sex toys from smart phones. I might just want to wait until the patent expires in 2017. 3) The vast majority of my energy for the past few years is going into my new non-profit, the Effing Foundation for Sex-Positivity.
I’m still hoping to get The Hammer made (at least an LED-only version), but it may be a while before it happens. Thanks for your interest!
– Kit
Is it possible to acquire a wiring diagram for this thing?
Apologies for the delayed reply! I searched all over for the wiring diagram, and I have no idea what happened to it. I basically just followed Arduino tutorials for how to hook up the NeoPixels, sensors, etc.
Kit,
I was kind of hoping you could tell me what you think of this sex machine I’ve built, and if possible, share it on your blog.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HzhuoOnXub8
The machine is fantastic! One of the best sex/tech DIY projects I’ve seen in a long time. Thanks for sending me the link, I’ll definitely reshare. Best, Kit
Did these ever make it to market?
Hi Catherine, my apologies for the delayed reply! Not yet — most of my time has been spent getting the Effing Foundation up and running. I would still like to try and get these manufactured as a fundraiser, but it’ll still be a while yet. –Kit
Hey! I love your project. I’m just coming by to give you a suggestion! Have a look @ the ESP12. It’s a tiny arduino with WiFi, that means Phone controlled vibration, including beating to a music as WeVibe vibrators and IoT remote controlled by a partner vibrations ;)
Hi Pedro, apologies for the delayed reply! Thanks for the pointer! Looks like Adafruit has a breakout board that looks very user-friendly (https://www.adafruit.com/product/2471). I’d be curious to hear if anyone has any luck building a toy with this! –Kit
Curious if this project was ever picked back up? This was quite an amazing feat considering how many years ago it was.
Thanks for writing! No, I haven’t gotten to spend a lot more time on it, unfortunately; all of my energy has been going to launching my not-for-profit. I do hope to get back to it someday! — Kit
It’s so beauuutiful! The most colorful thing i’ve ever seen:’)
Aww, thank you! :D Thanks for taking the time to write! – Kit
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