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

May 31, 2006
Solarbotics at MAKE Faire - Proof!

See, I was actually there! Well, at least there's proof that I was. Here's an interview with Bashiba Grossman, showing off her 3D printed artwork. About 1/4 the way in, you'll see a suspicious man show up in the background. Nice hat, eh? Thanks to Floyd on the BEAM-List for pointing this out!

August 8, 2017
LED Earrings

The idea of adorning oneself with glowing bits has been around forever, but instead of smearing ourselves with phosphorescent jellyfish or placing fireflies in ears like some uncivilized cavemen we went for simple LED earrings. We made a build that involves a simple slow-scroll RGB LED and a few reflective bits to bounce that pretty […]

October 11, 2014
Closed for Thanksgiving (Monday October ...

Being in Canada, October is practically the doorstep of winter. Some places get a full three months of autumn, but for us it's one big multicolored blur before everything gets covered in white. Sure, that means that winter takes up half the year. But do you know what it also means? Thanksgiving comes almost a […]

December 3, 2001
Solarbotics Toll-Free number

In case if you want to contact us regarding orders, technical information, or questions, please use our new toll-free number: 1-866-276-2687 (1-866-B-ROBOTS). Now, just because it's toll-free for YOU doesn't mean it doesn't cost us nothing, so don't call just to ask me what time it is, ok? Ok. Thanks!

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