Projects/Debras Projects/MiniOrb
Mini Orb
Parts List
- Translucent/Transparent PETG/PLA
Instructions
To make a an LED orb based on 4x4 matrices print each of the STL files in this directory in the quantities listed in the name. Ignore the 3mf files unless your slicer uses them. I've set them up fairly optimally to print the parts on a Prusa Mini+.
Everything should be held together with 5mm M2 flathead screws and nuts. In the magnet holders, 6mm M2 flathead screws will work a bit better, but 5mm should work ok.
The magnet holders will latch the body of the cube to the lid, using cylindrical magnets with 1/4" diameter and 1/8" height. I designed the magnet holders to work with these countersunk magnet pairs from K&J magnetics (https://www.kjmagnetics.com/proddetail.asp?prod=R422CS-P-N52&cat=15f), with two pair of magnets per cube. The K&J magnets can be held in place with 5mm or 6mm (better) M2 screws and nuts. However, you can also probably buy standard 1/4" diameter, 1/8" height disk magnets and simply glue them into the holders with superglue. I haven't tried it, but I see no reason it shouldn't work.
Everything except the Tiles STL should print well at 0.2mm layer height. The tiles have a bit of overhang near the top where it mushrooms out. I printed those at variable layer height with the shortest layers possible at the overhang, which helped a lot. Since there are 16 individual, small tiles in the Tiles STL file, printing it can be tricky. Make SURE your first layer goes down ok. If any one of the tiles comes up, it will ruin the whole print.
I used PETG for all the printing, because the parts are thin and small. Haven't tried it with PLA. Use opaque filament for the Tile Grid and transparent filament for the Tiles. The brackets/holders can be printed in any color.
Once printed, glue each of the tiles into the appropriate locations in the Shell. Gorilla Glue Super Glue Gel strongly recommended for this purpose. As the tiles look nearly identical, I strongly recommend leaving them on the print plate until just before gluing each one (I loosened them row by row). Make sure to keep the orientation of each tile straight when you glue them, because it matters and it's easy to have them get turned around when you lift them off the plate.
Before attaching the shell pieces to the matrix, connect the matrices into the body of the cube and the lid with the connetors as shown in the images in this directory. There are gaps between the matrices by design, as this leaves more room to put a battery inside the cube. You will probably want to solder wires between the matrices as you connect each one to assembly because there is not a lot of room to work inside the body of the fully assembled cube.
Once you have fully assembled the body and lid of the cube, you can attach the shell pieces to each matrix (after the glue for the tiles has fully dried). I placed rows and columns of 2mm wide double-sided tape (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019OQ4Z10/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) along the bottom of each shell piece, then pressed each one onto a matrix. This works very well, and allows the shells to be removed if necessary. If you are certain that you won't want to remove the shells, then glue should work for this purpose as well.
A 250 mAh LiPo battery and QTPy-sized controller should fit into the interior of the cube to power everything. Be very careful to cover the exposed pads (tape works for this) so no shorts will occur if a nut or screw becomes loose inside the cube.
Good luck! Have fun!
