Doll Sweet's eye mechanism
#1
17. December 2017 - 15:04
Doll Sweet's eye mechanism
Hi,
new thread for collecting topics about Doll Sweet's eye mechanism.
Doll Sweet introduced movable eyes in 2013. They utilize some mechanics with a spring. The manual has some background information how the eye machanism works: eye mechanism (manual)
In March 2015, the supplier changed and the number of available eye colors was reduced to four. Since 2015, the eye mechanism looks slightly different:
Here are some instructive videos how to use the eye mechanism:
- Doll eye's structure and rotation
- Exchanging the eyes of a Doll Sweet doll
- Rotation of the eyes of a doll by Doll Sweet
- Positioning the eyes of a doll by Doll Sweet
Sandro
Re: Forum for silicone dolls by Doll Sweet now open
OK ,this is a question about eyes.
Looked on all three forums and found some info but the main question is from the DS video .
At one stage it shows a Q tip being dipped in fluid to ease adjustments of the eye.
So is the fluid water based lube or just plain water or something else, as she is a new doll I would not want to use something that is unsuitable.
At present having real difficulties adjusting the eye due to the way the spring inside moves on the concave internal surface of the eye.
Suggestions welcomed.
Re: Forum for silicone dolls by Doll Sweet now open
Adjusting the eye mechanism can take a bit a of practice, I have struggled with pushing down and releasing the eye ball at the right position at first, too.
At least in this video https://youtu.be/gW_EJnSifJA from May 2016, no fluid is used, and I'd be careful with water entering the eye mechanism as the spring might rust. As far as I can tell, the eye mechanism does not need lubrication or oil. Just don't push too hard onto the eyeball.
Sandro
Re: Forum for silicone dolls by Doll Sweet now open
thanks Sandro , perseverance ,I will get the hang of it eventuantely
Re: Forum for silicone dolls by Doll Sweet now open
Eye movement is a common complaint I've heard about DS. There was even a review video where the reviewer did a fast forwarded time lapse of him desperately trying to adjust the eyes for a very good while.
I have a silicone head from another manufacturer and the eyes don't really stay in one place that much. Could use maybe 1-2mm more diameter I guess.
They're easy enough to adjust back but it's still annoying that the doll eyes are that "loose". I'd like dolls to have some sort of way to lock the eyes in place and possibly have both eyes connected to each other so they'll always be "in sync" so to speak.
Re: Forum for silicone dolls by Doll Sweet now open
Do NOT put water into/onto the eyes !!!
And yeah its rust prevention, apart from not being helpful with the friction keeping the eye adjusted.
The eyeball is spring loaded from the back to rest against the triangular slit of its encapsulation in front and the basic principle is sound: you press the eyeball in slightly, rotate it to the desired position and then gently release it to have the spring hold it there.
In practice, however, this is often a lot more complicated to achieve, depending on surface roundness of the eyeball and evenness of the slit area somewhat but mostly on the inaccessible spring mechanism inside that has a tendency to jump, lock, hold the eye wrongly, wants to push it back into a prior position or some such nasty behavior.
I did make a comment on "just not good enough" elsewhere with respect to the eyes positioning inside the head, I'll make another one here that the basic concept is great, but the cylinder should have been a little longer, the spring mechanism done a bit better and the slit towards the front maybe covered with a very thin slightly soft material such as duct tape to allow the eye ball to rest easier or being shaped differently so the eyes actually rest against head silicone.
All that stated however, with respect to the pricing this is a very sophisticated mechanism and very well done!
And yeah, my loved ones dream about an "eye positioning" controller as well.
Re: Forum for silicone dolls by Doll Sweet now open
Thank you for your comments everyone.
Glad to see its not just me having probs with the eyes.
And whilst sitting here reading this a "light bulb" moment occurred.
Recently bought some tiny neodymium magnets for my Realdoll faces(another story!)
If a very very small one was glued inside where the pupil is using a small metal stylus it would be easy to reposition an eye.
Thoughts?
And just to expand on these thoughts... anyone have photos of the eye assembly out of the face ?
As the eyes are reasonably inexpensive its an option worth trying.
This is the strange thing with dolls and many other products ,everyone has a niggle of some kind ,we have yet to get one we consider perfect out the box.
These things come to light as we get to know our new companions.
Another thing mentioning that may get back to the factory.
Body shine, but much more important, especially from a photo point of view is when the make is applied it is with a high gloss silicone paint.
Other makers have been applying matting powder to their models for ages.
So far Im super happy with my new DS, the skeleton is amazing, these are the only two very very minor things that could improve on a very good doll .
And I would still like the option of a back bolt for hanging, have even thought out how to do it to the skeleton in an extremely simple way ...
Re: Forum for silicone dolls by Doll Sweet now open
I have taken eyes out and even taken apart so I could possibly make a picture or three sometime to show them better.
You have to not however that their design is NOT static but is subject to change by development and they do indeed modify their eyes occasionally, so far I am aware of at least three generations with the ones I have taken apart the middle one.
The very first one used an open spring mechanism where you could see and access things.
The 2nd one - that I may show pics of - used a closed cylinder and a very short large diameter spring at the back that forced the outside back of the eyeball forward.
The 3rd and to my knowledge current one still has the closed cylinder but uses a long mechanism where a tiny ball is on the back of the inside of the eyeball and its mounted on a wire that ends in a small diameter spring at the back.
As far as I can see this last mechanism suffers mostly from the fact that the inside wall of the eye it presses against is unfortunately NOT round/sphere shaped but has a flat spot in the middle( behind the iris) resulting in erratic behavior whenever the tiny pressure ball encounters the "ridge" where the flat spot meets the inner sphere.
As for the strong magnets - they may allow you to actually direct the rotation of the eye slightly better than by using an eraser tip head, but ... you would still have to press the eye inward slightly in order to protect the plastic surface from the triangular slit metal surface while rotating ... and ... I do not see a way to place the magnet with the current design as it would have to be where the current pressure mechanism is.
I may - or may not - design replacement eyes for DS some time( its been on my want-to-do list for a while) but again, even mentioning all the flaws and tiny things that could be done better - for the price these are great and to get better you better be prepared to pay for it.
I have spend a heap of time on eyes, mostly for DS and OI( Orient Industry) as I love their heads, so feel free to ask questions or come up with ideas, the more brains the better.
Re: Forum for silicone dolls by Doll Sweet now open
OK, I found a few pictures, these are the ones Sandro posted a long time ago.
Tools
Re: Forum for silicone dolls by Doll Sweet now open
And here's one I took a while back when doing my studies on them.
The grind marks are from me damaging them in order to be able to open them.
Tools
Re: Forum for silicone dolls by Doll Sweet now open
How easy is that system to take apart and reassemble?
I'm currently honing my 3D printed (+ hand finished) realistic eyes project and it would be nice to be able to replace DS eyes with those. They would have veins and custom irises and a more realistic gloss. Provided that I actually get skilled enough to polish them to the desired level.