In this episode, RS Product Portfolio Manager Danee Lackey talks about the animatronic craft projects she makes with electronic, pneumatic, and automation components and proves that you don’t have to be an engineer to enjoy and engage in STEM.
Danee Lackey, Product Portfolio Manager, RS
In this episode of the RS Expert Advice podcast, RS Product Portfolio Manager Danee Lackey talks about the animatronic craft projects she makes with electronic, pneumatic, and automation components and proves that you don’t have to be an engineer to enjoy and engage in STEM.
Five years ago, Danee leveraged on-the-job trainings and online resources to learn how to level up her lifelong love of crafting and bring her creations to life. Here, she shows off five of her animatronic creations, talks about the components that enable them, shares the “Rule of Five” that she lives by when learning how to do something new, and encourages others to try their hand at making moving art.
Pressed for time? Use the timestamps below to jump directly to specific sections in the podcast.
(0:32) Q1. Please introduce yourself and tell us about your role at RS.
(2:36) Q2. How long have you been making animatronic craft projects with electronic, pneumatic, and automation components?
(3:19) Q3. Can you please show us a couple of your creations in action?
(6:19) Q4. What inspired you to make your first creation, and what was it?
(7:46) Q5. You earned a degree in psychology. So, how did you learn how to leverage the technologies required to create animatronics?
(9:19) Q6. What are some of your go-to components for these projects, and what is their primary purpose?
(11:59) Q7. Do you like the arts or the science side of your projects more, or do you thoroughly enjoy the whole STEAM experience?
(12:55) Q8. Do you have any resources you recommend for people interested in trying their hand at creating their own animatronic projects?
(14:54) Q9. Do you have any other creations you can share with us?
(16:46) Q10. Do you plan to continue challenging yourself with more complex creations? And if so, do you have any in mind that you’re working your way up to?
(20:14) Q11. Do you have any advice for people who are interested in using technology but aren’t familiar with it?
Unleash Your Creativity With RS
RS provides industrial customers with tailored product and service solutions that are essential for the successful operation of their businesses and will help them save time and money. But it doesn’t stop there. We also support customers throughout the product life cycle, whether via innovation and technical support at the design phase, improving time to market and productivity at the build phase, or reducing purchasing costs and optimizing inventory in the maintenance phase.
In addition, our dedication to serving the needs of industrial customers makes us an excellent source for the types of components and devices needed to develop advanced STEM and STEAM projects like Danee’s animatronics.
In the Americas region, RS stocks more than 250,000 industrial and electronic products from more than 700 trusted suppliers. These solutions cover categories extending from automation and control equipment to interconnect, passive, active, and electromechanical components and include more than 80,000 high-quality, competitively priced RS PRO products.
RS products that could be used to create animatronics like Danee’s include cylinders (e.g., pneumatic cylinders, round body cylinders, guided cylinders, and air cylinders), valves (e.g., hand lever control valves, solenoid valves, air piloted valves, pushbutton valves, mechanical roller level valves, and media valves), actuators (e.g., rotary actuators and electronic actuators), pneumatic tubing and fittings, Arduino UNO boards and starter kits, motion sensors, flow controls, on/off toggle switches, LEDs, and steel pipe hardware.
For assistance selecting, purchasing, and implementing these and other RS products, please contact your local RS representative at 1.866.433.5722, or reach out to our technical support team.
