To construct functional hands for a real T-60 power armor suit, we turned to Solidworks to design them.

Since the power armor suit is primarily pneumatic actuated, it made sense to make the hands pneumatically powered.

The hand is based around 5 air cylinders and a valve assembly to control four fingers and a thumb. Each finger is actuated by three ropes: one for extension, one for retraction, and the third for maintaining the angle between the two joints on the finger.

After assembling the fingers, the entire hand unit is mounted to the power armor suit using a crossed roller bearing, enabling smooth rotation. Additionally, a locking pin system allows for secure hand positioning at 7.5-degree increments.

Control of the hand is achieved through a combination of force-sensitive resistors (FSRs) for individual finger movement and a switch panel for managing other suit functions.

The final stages of the design process involve incorporating protective guards for the hand mechanism and visual cover panels. Once these elements are integrated, the design will be ready for manufacturing!

Make sure to watch for the next episode of our Power Armor series to follow the progress on the suit, and see the hands come to life!

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbncXbXlaNQeVAUQUvgLDnDCtIYOuHb5E&si=kTVOndMnKAcgvFps