Published December 18, 2016 © GPL3+

Christmas Tree Star Topper and Ornament

A shiny, shaky and glowy ornament that can be scaled to go on top of your tree.

IntermediateFull instructions provided1 hour504

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Transparent Filament (any color)

Make sure that the filament is very clear. Some "transparent" filaments are actually translucent and will not give the desired effect.

"Mirrored" Spray Paint

NeoPixel strip

SparkFun Blynk Board - ESP8266

USB Power Bank

USB-A to Micro-USB Cable

Black Spray Paint (generic)

DC motor (generic)

Electrical Tape (generic)

AA Batteries

Software apps and online services

Blynk

Arduino IDE

Hand tools and fabrication machines

3D Printer (generic)

Hot glue gun (generic)

Story

Fabrication

The shape of this ornament means that you will need heavy external supports for most printers. If you have dual extrusion, water soluble PVA works very well for this. Otherwise, make sure to use a software that creates supports that are not too hard to remove. This adapter and weight pieces should print rather straightforwardly with the exception of the hook on the adapter which will also need supports to print.

When scaling the star to use as an ornament, make sure to scale all parts equally. This may seem obvious, but can ruin your print if forgotten. The best way to this is to import all the parts into your printer's software and scale from there if possable.

Assembly

Topper

No assembly is required for using this top top your tree unless creating one of the below variants.

Ornament

After inserting any electronics and painting the ornament, push the hook into the opening. It may be necessary to use adhesive if the fit is too loose or the electronics are too heavy.

The hook adapter for hanging the star.

Variants

Mirrored (Shiny)

Spray mirrored spray paint into the star from the bottom to make it shine. I advise spraying close to the opening to reduce mess. An even coat is not at all necessary, but will reduce drying time. The nature of the cavity inside means that it will be hard to get some areas. For these areas spray until there is enough paint that it drips. This is normally something you try to avoid, but with the diffusion from the acrylic, it will be impossible to tell that the spray paint was runny from the outside. When the paint begins to run, just tip it into the area that is lacking paint. If you want you can tape a large straw onto the can as a way to aim where the paint goes. Wait for the paint to dry. A cue tip will allow you to tell if the paint has dried. Once this coat is dry, lightly apply black spray paint to improve the effect and protect the finish. Wait for it to dry and hang it on your tree.

This tutorial gives some usefull tips on getting a good finish.

LED (Glowy)

Use the attached Arduino sketch from Monica Houston's project, "Blynk Board - everything LED!" to control the Neopixels from your phone. This project will also guide you through setting up the LEDs if you so choose. One idea is to brighten it everyday as Christmas approaches. If you scale the star down for use as an ornament, the electronics may not fit. To solve this problem you can use the Adafruit trinket and a smaller battery.

Motors (Shaky) Ornament Only

Wire an AA battery to a 1.5-3.3V DC hobby motor. The motor must be small enough to fit inside the opening in the star. Table the wires to the battery so that it doesn't lose connection and stop turning. Glue the "weight" piece to the back of the motor. Insert the battery into the ornament through the opening. Glue the adapter onto the shaft of the motor by drilling a hole into the adapter and insert the assembly into the ornament. Add adhesive if necessary.

Combined (Shiny and Glowy)

Use a very light coating of paint so that some spots are not covered in addition to LEDs for an ornament that is both shiny and glowy.

Combined (Shakey and Shiny)

Just paint the star before adding motors.

Combined (Other)

Other combinations may be possible depending on the size of your star, how many LEDs you use, and if you opt for the trinket. Combining any of these elements is straightforward. Paint first, then lights, and add shaking last.

Questions?

Comment any questions and I will answer them to the best of my ability. I know that the documentation has much to be desired. As I do not own a 3D printer, it was not possible for me to actually create this ornament yet and so there are very few visual aids. I know there are typos as spell check seems to be rather inconsistent. If you find any comment them so that I can try to fix them eventually.

Code

Blynk LED control.

/******************************************************************************

This file supports LED experiments

Development environment specifics:
Arduino IDE 1.6.7
SparkFun BlynkBoard - ESP8266
******************************************************************************/
#include <ESP8266WiFi.h>
#include <BlynkSimpleEsp8266.h>
#include <Ticker.h>
#include <Adafruit_NeoPixel.h>

//////////
// WiFi //
////////// // Enter your WiFi credentials here:
const char WiFiSSID[] = "WiFiNetworkName";
const char WiFiPSWD[] = "WiFiPassword";

///////////
// Blynk //
///////////             // Your Blynk auth token here
const char BlynkAuth[] = "0a1b2c3d4e5f";

////////////////////////////////////
// Blynk Virtual Variable Mapping //
//////////////////////////////////// //
#define RGB_VIRTUAL               V0 
#define BUTTON_VIRTUAL            V1 
#define RED_VIRTUAL               V2 
#define GREEN_VIRTUAL             V3 
#define BLUE_VIRTUAL              V4 

#define RGB_RAINBOW_VIRTUAL       V9 

#define RGB_MAX_BRIGHTNESS_VIRTUAL V15
#define RGB_STRIP_NUM_VIRTUAL     V29 

#define NUMPIXELS      18
#define DEFAULT_MAX_BRIGHTNESS 32
uint8_t blinkCount = 0; // Timer iteration counter
bool rgbSetByProject = false;

//////////////////////////
// Hardware Definitions //
//////////////////////////
const int LED_PIN = 5;
const int RGB_PIN = 4;
Adafruit_NeoPixel rgb = Adafruit_NeoPixel(18, RGB_PIN, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800);
void setLED(uint8_t red, uint8_t green, uint8_t blue);

//////////////////////////
// LIGHT VALUES
//////////////////////////
byte blynkRed = 0; // Keeps track of red value
byte blynkGreen = 0; // Keeps track of green value
byte blynkBlue = 0; // Keeps track of blue value
unsigned int rgbMaxBrightness = DEFAULT_MAX_BRIGHTNESS;

void setup()
{
  Serial.begin(9600);

  pinMode(LED_PIN, OUTPUT);
  digitalWrite(LED_PIN, LOW); // Turn off blue LED
  rgb.begin(); // Set up WS2812
  setLED(0, 0, 32); // LED blue

  // Initialize Blynk, and wait for a connection before doing anything else
  Serial.println("Connecting to WiFi and Blynk");
  Blynk.begin(BlynkAuth, WiFiSSID, WiFiPSWD);
  while (!Blynk.connected())
    Blynk.run();
  Serial.println("Blynk connected!");
  setLED(0, 32, 0); // LED green
}

void loop()
{
  updateBlynkRGB();
}

/* 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
 0 Experiment 0: zeRGBa                0
 0 Widget(s):                          0
 0  - zeRGBa: Merge, V0                0
 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 */


void updateBlynkRGB(void)
{
  
  // Show the new LED color:  
  for (int i=0; i<rgb.numPixels() ; i++)
    rgb.setPixelColor(i, rgb.Color(map(blynkRed, 0, 255, 0, rgbMaxBrightness), 
                                   map(blynkGreen, 0, 255, 0, rgbMaxBrightness),
                                   map(blynkBlue, 0, 255, 0, rgbMaxBrightness)));
  rgb.show();
}

bool firstRGBWrite = true; // On startup

BLYNK_WRITE(RGB_VIRTUAL)
{
  // RGB widget may send invalid buffer data. If we try to read those in
  // the ESP8266 crashes. At a minimum, for valid data, the buffer 
  // length should be >=5. ("0,0,0" ?)
  if (param.getLength() < 5)
    return;
  
  blynkRed = param[0].asInt();
  blynkGreen = param[1].asInt();
  blynkBlue = param[2].asInt();

  
  if (!firstRGBWrite)
  {
    // Set all attached pixels (usually it'll only be 1)
    updateBlynkRGB();
  }
  else
  {
    firstRGBWrite = false;
  }
}

void setLED(uint8_t red, uint8_t green, uint8_t blue)
{
  rgb.setPixelColor(0, rgb.Color(red, green, blue));
  rgb.show();
}

Christmas Tree Star Topper and Ornament

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

Fabrication

Assembly

Variants

Questions?

Custom parts and enclosures

Star Ornament

3D Printable Adapter

3D Printable Star

Weight

Code

Blynk LED control.

Credits

Comments

Embed the widget on your own site

Christmas Tree Star Topper and Ornament

Christmas Tree Star Topper and Ornament

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Software apps and online services

Hand tools and fabrication machines

Story

Fabrication

Assembly

Variants

Questions?

Custom parts and enclosures

Star Ornament

3D Printable Adapter

3D Printable Star

Weight

Code

Blynk LED control.

Credits

Comments

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