3D Printed Neopixel and Trinket Necklace

I got an UP! Mini 3D printer for Christmas this year.  Wowza.  I'm SO excited.. I haven't stopped playing with it since just about the minute I unwrapped it and I'm having tons of fun.

I printed a mermaid seashell, then I printed Elsa's crown from Frozen which I found on Thingverse.  I'm such a girl.

I've been making necklaces lately (this LED Turtle necklace that I made as a Christmas gift is my favorite so far).  It's a challenge to fit all the electronics and the battery and microcontroller into a small enough package that sits comfortably around my neck, but I'm slowly getting the hang of it.

I decided I wanted to design and print a pendant that is just the right size for a neopixel ring and Trinket microcontroller, with enough space for a small rechargeable LiPo battery and a nice flat back that closes up and looks pretty.  The ABS plastic filament my printer uses diffuses light really nicely so I decided to try using multiple thicknesses to add interest and texture.

This is harder than you'd think.. I've never done 3D design before and it makes me think in ways I haven't had use since high school geometry.   But it's also much easier than you'd think because there are some awesome free tools out there that had me up and running in minutes.

I have been using Tinkercad and I like it so far.. I've got a lot to learn but after 5-10 different attempts I ended up with a pretty delightful 3-D Printable necklace enclosure.


It's got a hole for the USB port for charging.  It has another hole for the wires to come out at the top.  It has a front side which is rounded to hide the electronics and a back side which is flat and smooth against my neck when I wear it.  (next step will be to learn how to make them snap neatly together, but hey, give me a minute, it's only my first day).  It also has a pretty cutout pattern of lines and circles to diffuse the light in an interesting way.

I printed it out, then painted it gently with gold leaf paint to give it some sparkle and more definition.  The paint is opaque so it really brings out the design.

For the electronics, I'm using a Trinket 3v and a LiPo charger, both of which I removed the battery connectors from and soldered directly to the pads instead.  (Those little connectors are SO BIG when you stack them up!  The components stack quite neatly without them)

I'm using a 12 Neopixel Ring and a single LED from a Neopixel strip in the middle.  The code is my new favorite "Holiday Twinkle Lights" sketch using FastLED.  I made this one gold and white fairy lights since it looks so nice with the gold leaf paint.

I'm also using a magnetic clasp as an on/off switch, which seems to be my new favorite switch method for necklaces.  It's super elegant and clean.

I'm pretty proud of this!  My first 3D Printed Design Thing and it feels so professional and slick.  :) :)

Read More

LED Isis Wings - Arduino Controlled Magic

My latest project is officially finished!  I made my first set of LED Isis Wings and they are, of course, my new favorite thing ever.

Here they are in action:

The iridescent Wings of Isis are gorgeous on their own, but with the lights they're really stunning.

The wings have 120 neopixels controlled by a Teensy 3.1 running Arduino.  They've got bluetooth control (controllable by my Glimmer the Mermaid android app!) and also a clicky thumb switch for changing modes on the fly.  It's on the left, because I am left handed and I like things to be custom like that.  

These were pretty labor intensive.  I needed them to be really lightweight and also not mind being whacked into things (and people.. you'd think with 120 lights people wouldn't walk into you, but never underestimate the lack of awareness in people who are busy texting).  

I started with individual neopixels from Adafruit and soldered them together into 12 strands of 10 pixels each using 30AWG silicone coated wire.  Then I cast each pixel in quick setting Amazing Resin, to keep the pixels from shorting if they touched each other and to provide a lot of strain relief and whack-relief.  The resin is white, and I used all white wire, so the light strands really disappear against the white iridescent fabric in the daylight.

Then I laid them all out on the wings in a starfish pattern and used E600 fabric glue to secure each light to the wings.  Finally, I used my sewing machine and ran a zig-zag stitch over the wires in between each light to securely fasten each strand to the wings.

That was the easy part.  Fabrication always comes easier to me than wiring and coding, but the geeky techie stuff is getting a little easier with each project.  

This was my first time using the Teensy micro controller and I must say that I am a convert.  This tiny little chip has acres and acres of memory and is really easy to set up and use.  It just works!  I like that very much.

The HC-05 bluetooth module I'm using is not quite as delightful.  It works, no problems there, but I have been unable to get it into AT command mode despite all my (albeit possibly feeble) best efforts.  I am having no problems getting it to control the wings for me, but I can't change its name, which means that as I make more sets of these wings I will have multiple devices all named HC-05 -- which makes choosing the correct one from my android tablet rather problematic.  I also can't access some of the other higher functions like using it in master mode instead of slave mode, which sort of bums me out since I had some ideas for that.  Oh well. 

For power, I'm using a Tenergy Li-Poly 11.1V / 2200mAh battery that connects through a 5V step-down converter.  It runs the wings for several hours as long as I'm not screaming at full brightness most of the time.  I'm pretty happy with the performance.  

I used clicky connectors for everything that attaches the wings to the project box, so the project box can be taken off entirely if I need to wash the wings or if I want to mix and match controllers with multiple sets of wings -- since LED strands tend to break no matter how robust you make them, I think this will save my butt at some future date when I turn the wings on right before a gig and realize one of the strands is out.. I can just swap it out with a different set of wings.   

Each LED strand is connected to its own pin on the Teensy, so I can run matrix-style animations that march from one side of the wings to the other.   

The code I'm using relies heavily on the wonderful FastLED library.   I've got about 10 modes so far, and am planning to add a lot more.  The "fire" mode is currently my favorite, but in five minutes it'll probably be "rainbow with glitter" again.  I also added a mode I call "Gandalf" -- glowing bluish white tips -- which just makes the nerdy little girl in me wiggle with delight. 

I think my favorite mode is whichever one is currently running, actually.  

The coding is the hardest part for me, and probably the least interesting aspect of the wings to anyone who's not a coder.  My hubby just rolls his eyes whenever I spend 3 hours trying to get an animation juuuuust right -- it looks the same to him as it did before I started.  But, it makes me happy, and I'm learning a lot, so I'm going to keep tweaking on it.   And I'm continually amazed and impressed with the FastLED Google+ Community for all the coding help and sharing that goes on.  These guys are doing Internet the right way.

And, if and when I can get the lights to dance seamlessly with the music, I will have Made Good Art.  :)

Isis wings traditionally strap around the performer's neck for support, but with this giant battery and all these lights they are WAY too heavy for that.  I felt like I was being strangled with all that weight pressing right on my throat.  So I made a little backpack with clear straps to house all the electronics and the battery, and lined it with duvetyne fire retardant cloth just in case my battery decides to get antsy and explode or anything.  

All together I am pleased as punch with how gorgeous these are.  I've got lots of fun modes working and have choreographed my first full-song-length animation sequence.  I have a show on New Year's Eve booked where we'll be dancing with two sets of wings together and I can't wait to get to choreographing that piece.. I suspect it's going to be spectacular.

(Book us for events too at firepixie.com)

Read More

LED Light-up Underwater Mermaid Seashells

My current plan for world-domination through illuminated fashion: a programmable LED swimmable mermaid tail.

Electronics and water don't play well together.  I am starting small, though I have to admit the more I play around with LED wearables, the grander my vision gets.   I'd better get started on this tail soon or it's going to have so many bells and whistles that it'll never get finished.

I just got back from NC Merfest (blog entry about that very soon!) where the Mermaid Atlantis and I showcased our newest collaboration: glowing LED mermaid seashell bras.

Atlantis specializes in silicone cast seashells and they're really gorgeous and durable.  My initial idea was to encase the LEDs and electronics in silicone, thus waterproofing and diffusing them in one easy step.  However, after a few prototypes we changed the design a bit (LEDs too close to the surface of the silicone shells read as "glowing nipples" which was NOT the effect we were going for!).  

The result is a super cool, swimmable waterproof seashell bra that looks and feels amazing underwater!

The shells are Mermaid Atlantis' "D Shells" product - slightly larger than the standard "C" shells she sells, and a bit thicker.  I encased the LEDs themselves in plastic to keep them waterproof and add to the diffusion, and then set them on the bra behind the seashells.  

The LEDs are Adafruit's neopixels - they're incredibly bright and are run from a Gemma and a very small LiPo battery.  The electronics live in a small waterproof case which is hidden at the back of the neck (beneath long flowing mermaid hair).  I haven't tested them for depth yet, but I swam down at least 8 feet and they continued pulsing and glowing in a most delightful way.  :)  And the nice thing about this setup is that they're programmable - I can change the color or pulse rate or brightness in just a minute or two.

We also wore them with matching slinky sequined Mermaid dresses at the Merfest's Masquerade Ball and felt like we absolutely stole the show.  :)  

Video of lots of mermaids swimming at MerFest!  You can see me swim by in the shells near the end.

Read More

Light-up Shoes for Grown-ups. Well, for me anyway.

I have always wanted a pair of light-up shoes.  All the kids are wearing them.  They can stomp and their shoes light up with red or blue or sparkly and I've always been SO JEALOUS.

Tonight, I finished my very first set of light-up shoes.  I never, EVER want to take them off.  Yes, I am standing here, writing this, in light-up shoes.

It's very hard to photograph the outside of your own ankles.

I was inspired by this Firewalker Shoes Tutorial from Adafruit.  If you haven't ever poked around Adafruit, I highly recommend it - they have lots of light-up wearables tutorials and inspiration.  I want one of EVERYTHING.  

I don't like the Vans/Converse look so much so I decided to use a comfy pair of boots I had in the garage.  They are pretty cute and steampunk-y with buttons up the sides, but one of the buttons had come off and they'd been migrating to the back of the shoe closet.  I have a feeling they're never going to get forgotten about again.

I removed all the buttons and wired up 5 of Adafruit's neo-pixels to a brand-new Gemma.  This is the first time I'd used a Gemma, but I have a little experience with the neopixels thanks to my light-up unicorn horn project.  (What?  I haven't blogged about the light-up unicorn horn yet???  Here's a pic:

Rainbow Unicorn FTW!

I promise to go into detail about this project at some point.. maybe after the Halloween madness dies down)

I sewed the neopixels into the holes where the buttons had been, and sewed clear iridescent buttons onto the outside, and buttoned the shoes back up.  The iridescent buttons catch and diffuse the light from the neopixels and look just gorgeous.  They run off 3 AAA batteries, and the battery pack just slips nicely down inside the boots - I don't even notice it.

I originally wanted to add a velostat pad under the heel so the lights would react when I stepped down, like in the Firewalker tutorial, but the velostat I got was part of a bad batch and didn't work right.  I've ordered some more and will probably add this functionality in later on.

Regardless, I am absolutely DELIGHTED with how they turned out.  The Gemma uses a simplified (?) form of Arduino, and between the unicorn horn and this project, I'm starting to figure out how to tweak the code to get the lights to do cool things.  Each project is a little more exciting and a little fancier.

You know where this is all leading, right?  There will be a light-up swimming mermaid tail sometime in the not-too-distant future.  Oh, yes there will.

Video, which I couldn't embed for some reason, of the pretty lights

Read More