Preview

There will be a V2 of my BIG Spiral Lamp (V1) soon :) It will also have WLED, less supports & a faster print, easier assembly and I will add a LID for each board you want. Await it during the next two days (from 31.01.24) - so stay tuned :)

IT'S HERE :) Also check out the BIG one :)

If you like what you see please leave a vote :)

Description

Hi guys,

as you might already know I loooove creating lamps and here is a special one for the new contest → the spiral lamp mini supporting WLED.

It is similar to it's big brother just in small and (I heard your voices) was made for supporting WLED.

Key-Features:

• it's easy to print
• it completely supports WLED
• it just looks amazing :)
• the build effort and print time is less compared to the big model. also soldering is easier as you only have to solder the stripe connectors. I was able to clean the print (remove supports & brim), cut and solder the wires, inserting the wires & assembling the lamp in roughly ~30 minutes.

What you need:

• 3 x WS2812b stripes with 16 LEDs per stripe (60 on a meter) → I used these: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0BTVBTHQ5?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
• 2x3 male, 3x3 female wires for soldering. I used these jumper wires: https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B01EV70C78/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
• 1 x ESP32-C3 for WLED → I used this one: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0CPY6LMSJ?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
• solder skills

If you want to use another board contact me and send me the size(s). I will try to also create a fitting lid for your board!

How to print:

First of all please READ the whole instructions!

As I wanted to make the assembly as easy as possible I decided to design a guided rail for the stripes. Everything matches perfectly to each other especially the diffusors. BUT - you really have to make sure to use CALIBRATED (or BAMBU-), DRYED FILAMENT! I will really be pissed when someone is giving a bad vote due to the fact he was unable to READ! ..and believe me - this happens a lot and is really frustrating.. The printer is doing it's job pretty well but this does not exclude any work / maintainment!

Here are some rules / hints to get a perfect result:

1. USE A CLEAN PRINT BED!
2. USE CALIBRATED OR BAMBU FILAMENT!
3. USE DRY FILAMENT!
4. USE NORMAL SPEED!
5. may avoid using silk filament (as I did) for the LED housing as it's a little bit stringing which makes it a bit more difficult to insert the diffusors and LEDs (but it works and has no impact to the optic! but be aware → silk filament tends to leave imprints when removing supports!)
6. REMOVE ALL SUPPORTS CAREFULLY
7. MAKE SURE TO REMOVE ALL SUPPORTS FROM THE DIFFUSORS ESPECIALLY THE BRIM

Everything should come out of the printer this way:

When you don't want to use my print profile pay attention to the following points:

• use NO infill for the diffusors
• use max. 2 walls for the diffusors as with more walls less light will come through
• you need stabilization for printing the diffusors & the two main lamp parts → NO supports WON'T work! (I already tried that with my big spiral lamp and always failed due to the height and small movements caused by the mass inertia). tree supports work best.
• the lid surfaces should be printed in a circular way. so ensure to choose a propper setting for the bottom & top layer!

The filament I used:

• transparent eSun filament for the diffusors. You can also use the Bambu PETG Basic profile and have no issues! https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07FXVGYKL?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
• Bambu gold silk for the lids and plates:
  • https://eu.store.bambulab.com/de/products/pla-silk?variant=46636020531548
• Bambu copper silk for the LED housing:
  • https://eu.store.bambulab.com/de/products/pla-silk?variant=46636020597084
  • as already mentionend you should rather use a normal PLA filament here as the bambu silk tends to string! I still had two copper spools left so I decided to use them instead of normal PLA (black) as in my other spiral lamp project.. You also see the touchpoints of the supports when using that filament type. With normal PLA you do not see anything.

How to assemble:

If you already know my glowing spiral lamp then this part is quite easy :) The mini version is easier to print but a bit harder to assemble as it's smaller and your hands have less space. But it's also no big deal and if you have followed my print instructions everything will fit perfectly!

Preparations:

• Cut the LEDs (3 stripes)
  • If you are using the 60LEDs per meter stripe then count 16 LEDs and then cut it. Insert the stripe and test whether the lenght matches (it should - you can also cut after checking ;))
  • If you are not using the 60LEDs per meter stripe measure the length → just insert the stripe into the lamp. The leds should end within the lamps body on both sides this way (you just see a small edge of the stripe):

• Cut the cables in the half, strip the insulation and solder everything:
  • always use the male plug for the output and the females for the input (see flow)

• Flash the ESP32C3 board like described here:
  • Download the flasher software
  • Download the binary (this is the one fore ESP32C3 - if you use a different board then you have to select another bin)
  • Flash how it is described
• May already configure WLED starting at 3. from here (if you have any issues just ask here and I will help you guiding through)

NOW CONNECT EVERYTHING AND CHECK WHETHER YOUR SOLDER POINTS ARE OK! The first 30 LEDs of the lamp should shine orange. That is the default setting in WLED to check whether everything works. If you have already configured WLED then all 48 LEDs should shine. The exact pin setting of the board is shown at the end of the description below.

Assembly:

Hint:

Check out the rails first. One is for the diffusor one is for the LEDs. If you also used the silk filament you might have stringing within the rails and need to be gentle when inserting something. DO NOT USE ANY FORCE DURING THE WHOLE ASSEMBLY!!! If something gets stuck try to move the inserting part back and forth a while. It will get better. If you have any problems inserting the diffusors turn it and try again.

Now lets start. Insert the stripes → the first one needs the female plugs at the lamps bottom. Then insert the second stripe the other way round. Then insert the third stripe (the same way as the first one). Inserting needs to be done step by step. Now you will recognize whether your filament was calibrated and dry ;) Shift the stripe step by step and use the bottom rail (the upper one is for the diffusors). It should not bend so move it LED for LED. Pay attention to the cables. You need to insert them through the holes of the bottom the part. Never pull the cables because you might loose your solderpoint!

Now insert the small diffusors and shift them down. DO NOT DO THIS WITH FORCE! YOU MIGHT BREAK THE HOUSING FROM THE PLATE. SO DO THIS GENTLY. Here you see how I did it (when your filament is calibrated it's sooo easy even when there are some copper strings from the silk filament):

Also do this for the big diffusors:

Now insert the stripes to the other part of the lamp. Do it the same way as described for the bottom part. When the stripes are in half the way insert the small diffusors and shift them to the end.

May have a look to the big spiral lamp project. The assembly is identical and there are some more step by step pictures for the “wedding” part. I'm sure I took those pictures also for this project during assembly but they are gone. I will print another one as soon as my new ESP boards arrive (ETA 10.02.24) and take some more pictures. In the meanwhile please use the reference if you don't know what to do.

Now also plug the big diffusors to the other end and shift the stripe and the big diffusor step by step the following way:

Always pay attention that the stripes are not bending and moving their position in the bottom part.

Now you are finished :) Insert the board to the bottom lid (it will match perfectly), connect the LEDs and finally assemble the lids. You need to connect the LEDs to the following pins:

• green is LED+ → it connects to 5V
• grey is LED- → it connects to ground
• white is DATA → it connects to GPIO2

You also have to bend the pins of the board when the cables are plugged in order to completely close the lid.

You are done & now own the spiral lamp mini supporting all WLED features :) Enjoy and may leave some pictures in the comment section :)

BR,

B@sti

As the BIG Spiral Lamp V2 [WLED] has similar architecture you can also assemble the mini that way. There is a video tutorial which will help you to guide through.

Additional → Extension Parts: