The CDF is a simple device - an arm is raised and lowered by a cam follower. In its intended use, the 2.5' arm extends through a black backdrop from your scene's backstage area, and is attached to an object to be floated. Like the FCG, it is a 'spirit' efect - but in this case, the ghost is invisible. Imagine, for example, a floating candelabra, or a goblet rising off a table in the hand of an invisible presence. If desired, it can be placed above the scene and the floating object can be dangled from the arm on an attached line.

The cam is adjustable to three positions, and can be mirror reversed (flipped over) for 6 optional float patterns. The optional cam mounting positions cause different 'dwells' due to an offset from the center axis, and the system has been designed around this. You can also 'grind your own cam' if you wish, and we'll send you a blank (round) cam if you ask, pre-drilled for the motor mount. (It's made from an electrical utility box cover, and a bench grinder is all you need to do the work.)

As it uses the same Dayton motor series as the FCG, it is easy to customize. Our friend Tom Gore suggested the following application, which would work well with a 2Z807 or faster motor: "My idea for the CDF is to hook the center body of the giant bat with the wings fixed at a certain height with twine. When the CDF arm floats up and down, the center body will follow and will make the wings flap opposite from the body... I think the cam system on your CDF will have the perfect floating effect for the realistic look." Other uses are limited only by your imagination, and include moving the hands or arms of otherwise static figures, and moving parts of prop machinery. (If required, the arm length may be extended, but the weight capacity of the CDF will decrease proportionately.)

An unmodified CDF will handle an object as heavy as 2.5 pounds, but we recommend 2 pounds or less for best performance. The unit must be screwed to a base to mount it, and any secure surface will do (the wooden base shown is for example only, and is not included with the kit.)

Of course, do-it-yourselfers can look at the pictures above and 'roll their own', but we think that the time and effort saved by the kit make this less appealing than a purchase. If you don't own a cut-off saw, a drill press and a bench grinder, this is especially true. :-)

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