LED UFO - "The Flying Disc-O"

UFO desk lamp using WS2812B LEDs and an ESP32 controller running WLED

YOU'LL NEED:

• 1mt WS2812B LED strip
• ESP32 or other controller*
• Optional microphone (like MAX4466 or MAX9814) for audioreactive version
• 5v DC Power supply or USB cable**
• Electrical wires and soldering equipment

* As long as it fits in the UFO of course. I used an ESP32 with WLED so the instructions will be for that, but you could use for instance an Arduino Nano running FastLED…

** It's not advisable to power the LEDs directly from the board. If using a USB cable strip the end and connect it to the LED strip power “in” wires. Don't forget to set the Max Current in WLED Config/LED Preferences to 500mA if using a USB2.0 cable or 900mA if using USB3.0!

SUGGESTED PRINT SETTINGS:

SAUCER

• Variable Layer Height (Adaptive, Smooth)
• Wall loops: 3
• Sparse infill pattern: Octagram Spiral
• Sparse infill density: 8%
• Top surface pattern: Archimedean Spiral
• Add a Modifier Cylinder, centered, size 130x130x30mm with Top surface pattern: Concentric
• If a Modifier cannot be added, use Top surface pattern: Concentric for the whole model

TOP & BOTTOM

• Variable Layer Height (Adaptive, Smooth)
• Wall loops: 3
• Sparse infill pattern: Octagram Spiral
• Sparse infill density: 8%
• Top surface pattern: Archimedean Spiral

RINGS & DIFFUSERS

• Use Outer and Inner Brim
• Wall loops: 3
• Top surface pattern: Concentric

LEGS

• Wall loops: 3
• Ironing: Topmost surface
• Top surface pattern: Monotonic
• Top shell layers: 5
• Bottom shell layers: 5
• Sparse infill pattern: Honeycomb

POST-PROCESSING:

The rings and diffusers may need some deburring where the brim was, and the grooves for the ring locks in the top/bottom saucer and top/bottom will need some clean-up in (there will be some delamination due to bridging, removing the loose strands will ensure better rotation of the locks and will not have any structural and/or cosmetic impact).

PREPARE THE LED STRIP:

• Cut the LED strip into one 50cm and two 25cm segments (the 25cm strips should be the ones with “in” and “out” connectors, i.e.: in<-->25cm<-->50cm<-->25cm<-->out).
• Connect the segments together with 10-15cm wires in this order: 25cm strip with “in” connectors -> 50cm strip -> 25cm strip with “out” connectors (these can be cut off):

NOTE:
144 LEDs/meter will give the best effect but the connection pads are very small and hard to solder on, and have to be cut very precisely. 100 LEDs/meter will be a bit sparser but easier to work with.

• Connect the ESP32 to the LED strip (here's a wiring diagram--it's for a LED matrix but the connections are the same)
• Connect the ESP32 to your PC via USB to install and setup WLED (https://install.wled.me/--it won't work on Firefox use Chrome instead)
  (for more info on WLED: https://kno.wled.ge/)
• In WLED, create 3 segments, so you can apply different effects to the top, bottom and middle LEDs:
  for 144 LEDs/m strip:
  Segment 0: start LED 0 - stop LED 36 (bottom segment)
  Segment 1: start LED 36 - stop LED 108 (middle segment)
  Segment 2: start LED 108 - stop LED 144 (top segment)
  for 100 LEDs/m strip:
  Segment 0: start LED 0 - stop LED 25
  Segment 1: start LED 25 - stop LED 75
  Segment 2: start LED 75 - stop LED 100
• If you're using a microphone, set it up in WLED/Config/Usermods with these settings (for MAX4466 or MAX9814 mics).
• Now it's a good time to check that everything's working as it should :)

ASSEMBLY:

1. Assemble the top & bottom saucers with the middle ring finding the correct position to line up the grooves. Put in the top & bottom rings so that the holes in the rings for passing the wires line up:
   
2. Remove the top saucer for now.
3. Wrap the middle (50cm) segment around the middle ring:
   
4. Put the middle diffuser in and lock the top and bottom saucers around the middle ring:
   
5. Wrap the "end" 25cm strip around the top ring:
   
6. Put the top diffuser and screw the top in:
   
7. Wrap the “start” 25cm strip around the bottom ring:
   
8. Connect the ESP32 and the power cable or barreljack to the LEDs (pass the cable through the bottom hole or insert the barreljack in it):
   
9. Put the bottom diffuser in place, lock the bottom in, and insert the legs:
   

My other LED projects:

https://makerworld.com/en/u/3965042544/collections/101475