3D Printed Treetop Star

Solar botics
December 9, 2014

Initially inspired by the Moravian Star on Instructables and the fact that we now carry all kinds of 3D printing filament, we decided to make one of our own glowy holiday star. We have used this thing as source files to create a similar treetop decoration of our own.

After some trial and error (due to the Slicer not cooperating)...

...we printed a whole forest of perfect wintery spiky star-ends.

And, well, we just had to have someone live there for a bit. In this case, a snowman:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our  addressable 5mm LEDs were well suited to light this contraption. We drilled a hole in the bottom of each spike..

..to fit the LED's domed part:

   

And then wired everything up. It wasn't pretty but the WS2812 LED that we used made it much easier than a conventional RGB LED: rather than 3 separate channels, the WS2812 LED only has a data in and data out. Chain them all together and they work like a charm!

 

 

And here's the final product, ready to light up our office with wonderful glowing lights!

 

 

 

MORE POSTS

July 3, 2012
SB-FireFly Hacks: Round 1

Jeremie, our engineer and the brains behind the SB-FireFly, can't seem to put the thing down even though it's all done and released. He's been hard at work figuring out what it's capable of, and figures that the hardware and framework could be used for a Micro-TV-B-Gone broadcaster, IR code repeater, and even a tiny […]

April 3, 2002
WCRG Coming quickly!

The Western Canadian Robot Games is quickly approaching! May 10 & 11; SAIT Heart Building. Solarbotics will be there again, sponsoring (among other things) our own SolarSpeeder race. Aim your solarspeeder through a 4" gap in a wall 8 feet away, and win a ScoutWalker II kit! No registration required - just come on down […]

November 9, 2000
New Kit: Type-1 Solarengine Re-issue

It's been a while since we've had this kit online, but due to some diligence we've found materials to update and re-issue it! Using the licensed "MillerEngine" (which we find to be a substantial improvement over the old Solarengine), we've changed the kit with a new black circuit board and updated documentation. Check it out […]

May 27, 2019
Exciting New Product - Cyber:bot - Robot...

 The cyber:bot robot adds a tangible hardware dimension to Python-focused computer science, CTE and cybersecurity programs.  The cyber:bot robot puts the BBC micro:bit module on the Parallax small robot form factor that's a proven STEM success in classrooms from middle school into college, leveraging the add-ons available for this chassis. A user-transparent onboard Propeller Multicore […]

Solarbotics Ltd Logo
Solarbotics has been operating for more than 25 years, bringing electronics know-how and supplies to both the electronics professional and hobbyist. We'll be happy to help you too!

Solarbotics, Ltd. is not responsible for misprints or errors on product prices or information. For more information, please see our Terms and Conditions.

Warning: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.

cart