We were in the middle of recording when we had to stop because the servo arm on the Iron Man build snapped. The servo bracket was one of the first parts we ever printed, before we even printed the helmet pieces. We used PLA at the time because that's where we were in the learning curve. Under load it didn't hold and one of the arms broke, so we reprinted in PETG. The heat set inserts had a similar problem from the same early print run. They were dropping right through the holes instead of gripping, which likely was a printer settings issue from that early stage. After reprinting both parts in PETG they seem fit the way they're supposed to and we got back to the actual build. This kind of thing happens when you're building a long project over time. Parts from your early print days don't always survive contact with the rest of the build. PETG is a great option for structural parts that need to hold up to real stress is just the right call. Have you ever had to go back and reprint older parts on a project because your material or settings knowledge caught up to what the part actually needed? https://www.youtube.com/shorts/M9eI2fhGEw8

We're working through the electronics for the Iron Man helmet and chest piece, and the Arduino Nano is the brain for most of it. The CrashWorks board pre-wires every pin on the Nano out to a labeled jack along the edge of the board. Instead of soldering a wire to each pin, we plug a connector into the jack we want, and that pin is live. Each jack has its own dedicated purpose, which makes troubleshooting later way easier too. That single design choice took the wiring step from "dad solders for an hour" to "Evan and I plug things in together," which is the whole point of doing this build the way we do. The big takeaway for us is that a little bit of research and the right hardware choice is what lets my son actually do the build with me instead of watching, and that's worth more than saving the few bucks on a bare Nano. Have you done any wiring like this on a project? How did it go? https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4KFU9g3maKo

Wires. Servos. Screws. Batteries. Trial and error. And a lot more patience than we expected. We’re deep in the edit right now, breaking down exactly how we took a fully 3D printed helmet and turned it into something that actually opens and closes. Not gonna lie… this was the part I was most unsure about going into the whole project. Full video drops soon. If you’ve ever thought about doing something like this with your kid, you’re gonna want to see it. 👇 Question for you: Would you try to build something like this… or does this already look like a headache?

Hey everyone, I wanted to give you a quick heads-up about a couple of changes this week. Unfortunately, there’s going to be a slight delay in releasing our latest video where we motorize the Iron Man helmet. Over the weekend, I had to make an unexpected trip to the hospital and underwent a minor surgery. I’m currently in recovery, and while everything is okay, it’s limiting my ability to sit in front of the computer for extended periods of time. Because of this, I’ll also need to cancel tonight’s Coffee Hour. I was really looking forward to catching up with everyone, but I want to make sure I take the proper time to heal so we can get back to creating and connecting as soon as possible. The good news is that content is still moving forward, and the Iron Man helmet video is well underway. We’ll share it with you as soon as it’s ready. Thank you all for your understanding and continued support. This community means a lot to us, and we appreciate your patience while we get back up to full speed. Looking forward to reconnecting with everyone soon!

“The moment of truth.” 🤖 ✨ After hours of wiring servos and motor controls, Evan finally tried on the Iron Man helmet for the first time… and it worked! Seeing his reaction when the faceplate opened and closed made every late-night build session worth it. This is what The Bonding Blueprint is all about: building, learning, and creating unforgettable moments together. 👉 Full build journey coming soon on YouTube!