Twinkle Christmas Tree 3D Greeting Card

 

This project is from techdiy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Build own your lighting Christmas tree greeting card using shopping bags and gift tissue paper and write a message on the tree. So, you can put this tree card into a envelope and sent it as a greeting card for your family and friends. When you close velcro between layers of the tree, the tree lights up.

time to make : 1 hour ~ 1hour 30 min.

Tech D.I.Y.  encourages mothers to learn about technology with their kids in ways that are simple and fun. The kits and instructions teach electronic crafts and have solid engineering lessons behind them.

Step 1: Christmas Tree : Materials

- four sheets of colored paper which are 10 inch x 8 inch
- sixteen sheets of tissue paper which are 10 inch x 8 inch

• I cut a shopping bag and tissue paper to make these paper materials. You can reuse your shopping bags and the tissue paper as well.

- eight ultra bright LED(white, 3mm)
  (5mm$1.95)
You can use any regular 5mm LED as well.
- one 3v coin battery(CR2032, $0.75)

- sixteen thin white wires 10 inch long
- two sets of white Velcro which is 1/2 inch x 1/2 inch
- some tape
- a pair of scissors
- a needle nose plier(optional)
- a pencil
- a hot glue gun and glue sticks

Step 2: Christmas Tree : Step-by-Step Instruction

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. fold colored paper and tissue paper in half and cut tree shapes
The first thing we need to do is to cut trees, stars, and a pocket using templates. You can download the template pdf file in below URL.
Christmas Tree Template download
Fold a piece of paper in half and place the templates. Cut outside using scissors and cut inside using a blade.

2. attach tree shapes using a tape
Connect the tree papers using tape. So, when you complete and are ready to connect, it will actually stand-alone.

3. band legs of 8 LEDs
We will attach the LEDs on the tree. We have 8 LEDs and we will wind wires on the LEDs' legs. Band the legs of the LED to the outside.

4. wind wires on LED legs
When you finished band the legs of LEDs, band wires on the legs. The white wires will be attached to the positive leg of LED and the yellows wires will be attached to the negative leg of LED. There are two ends of wires which are striped one long and one short. Band the one stripped wire around the LED legs.

5. push the wires through middle of each tree
We will insert the LEDs in the middle of the tree. Make a little hole using a blade in the middle of the tree and push the wires through the hole and pull out the wires. Insert the wires in each section of the tree and pull out the wires to one section of the tree.

6. divide the wires to negative and positive
In this side you can see the all wires come out. We need to divide wires positive and negative. You can divide white wires for positive group and yellow wires for negative group.

7. tie wires and attach them on the tree
Tie the yellow wires together and attach them to the right side using a glue gun and then, tie the rest of the white wires and attach them to the left side.

8. attach the paper to hold coin battery
Now, we will make a pocket for inserting a coin battery. Place the coin battery over the negative wires and attach the pocket using a hot glue gun over the battery. Make sure the pocket should hold the battery tightly. When you close the tree, you should see the LEDs light up.

9. attach Velcro to touch negative wires with battery
Attach a set of Velcro on the top and bottom of the pockets and on the other side of the tree as well. We are almost done!

10. insert the 3v coin battery
Insert the 3V coin battery into the pocket so that the positive side of battery will touch the other side of wires though a hole of the pocket.

11. Finish!
When you close the Velcro, see the lighting is turned on!
Enjoy~

If you need more information for making it, please visit TechDIY.orgsite.

Step 3: Christmas Tree : How to use

You can wire some messages inside of the tree and use this tree as a card.
Put it in an envelop and send it by mail. It will be a beautiful present for your family and friends.

More decoration~
You can add a star top of the tree or make a hole using a hole punch.

For more information and pictures on TechDIY.org site.

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The Best Led Project Ever!

 

Step 1: Tools.

A dremel or similar rotary tool with a good selection of accessories is money well spent. It isn't great at anything but is good enough for almost anything.
An electric drill of any kind with a good
selection of drill bits is also a great buy.
A "third hand" isn't necessary but will prove to be invaluable when soldering small components.
Buy a good soldering iron. A decent pencil tip "Weller" is under $30. and will do a good job.
Get a good quality set of wire strippers.
Get a pair of needle nose pliers and a couple pairs of mini wire cutters/nippers.
Get a solder sucker.
Get a good variety of screwdrivers
You also need a hot glue gun.
An inexpensive multi- meter is a good investment.
Get a few "olfa" style knives and a hobby knife set.

Step 2: Major Supplies

1) experimenters board.
2) fine solder
3) enameled wire. (I recycled mine from an old t.v.)
4) jumper wire. ( I bought a breadboarding wire kit ) you can make custom lengths from solid core bell wire.
5) a project box. large enough to accommodate a 9v battery/clip and 2-3 switches.
random stranded wire.

Step 3: Specific B.O.M.

Parts and components.
1) 9v battery clip
2) 2x spst mini toggle switches
3) 1x Large dome clear 40watt incandescent bulb.
4) 1x 5mm dome U.V. led
5) 10x smd ultrabright leds
6) 1x 555 timer chip
7) 1x 4017 decade counter chip
8) 3 x1K 1/4 watt resistors
9) 2x 104 ceramic disc capacitors
10) 1x 10 microfarad electrolytic capacitor.o
11) 1x100k linear taper potentiometer
12) 1x 9 volt alkaline battery.
13) 1x 4.7K 1/4 watt resistor
14) Tonnes of patience and the ability to read a schematic .

Step 4: Cut The Bottom Off Of The Lightbulb

Use an abrasive cut off disc to remove the metal bottom of the lightbulb.
Then very gently use the cut off wheel to cut through the part where the bulb sticks out.

Step 5: Gutting The Bulb

Once you get the part that sticks out cut open, very carefully break the rest of the glass with a screwdriver and needle nose pliers. Once it is flat enough, I used a small diamond cut off disc and very gently pressed it onto the glass opening. Note you are not supposed to use a cut off discs flat side so be very careful. Once you are most of the way through you can pull the filament and glass out of the bulb.
I smoothed the hole witj a round diamond rotary file.

Step 6: Get The Wires Ready

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Fold lengths of the enamel wire in half and twist together. Cut the ends and remove some of the insulation. I used the diamond rotary file. The looped end makes a cradle for the tiny surface mount leds. You can use any led you want though.

Step 7: Make A Tree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Twist the enamel wire that you have soldered the leds to into the rough shape of a tree. insert them into the bulb and use tweezers to pull the branches into place. Just like Christmas time? Use a hot glue gun to fix the tree into the bottom of the bulb.I also added one U.V. led.
I used a battery to identify which wires were positive and negative. If you use 3 volts and very quickly tap the wires, I found that the leds survive a reverse bias. Solder the wires into the board and label their polarity.

Step 8: The Circuit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I browser searched "Random led flasher" and found this one. I'm sorry I don't remember where I found it.
It will randomly flash up to 10 leds and the clock and reset pins are controlled by a 555 chip. Because of the way I wanted this circuit to look (messy and organic) I can't show you a step by step construction of the board as I just made it up as I went along.

Step 9: Power Supply

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used a small project box and wired two switches. One turns on the UV led and one turns on the flashing circuit.
The circuit is poweed by a 9 volt battery. The potentiometer controls the charge and discharge rate of the capacitors connected to the 555 timer circut. This allows you to control the speed at which the leds flash. The Leds light individually in steps.When you have the speed turned up high it has a strobe light effect. You have to see it in the dark to appreciate it. There is two Video links in the beginning of this instructable of this operating. enjoy!

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Bike Turn Signal & Brake Light Handlebars

 by Mizchief100

 Download

9 Steps

+ Collection

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This project was inspired by a very cool kickstarter called Helios Bars. I took it up as a DIY challenge! Essentially what this project does is put an arduino, LEDs, and buttons into your bike handlebars. The LEDs can be used as turn signals, brake lights, or display ambient colors while riding. It's fun, cheap, and a good introductory to LEDs and arduino. The coolest thing though is that the project can be completely enclosed in the handlebars and even waterproofed! This is because the Arduino Micro will fit inside any handlebars with an inner diameter of 0.7 inches or greater! It is also a cheap project with a cost of around $30-$40 to buy everything. The best way I can explain it is by showing it, SO CHECK IT OUT HERE. (I'm having issues with embedding so just try the link for now!)

 

Step 1: Parts List

To modify your handlebars this project uses a 'kit', all the pieces of which can be bought at a place like Radioshack. It's a fairly simple and cheap project with few components.

Parts:
Arduino Micro - You could also use Arduino Uno or any others, but they would have to be externally mounted to the bike. If you have a choice, get the version of the Micro without headers.
2x Pushbuttons - Any kind will work, you just may have to change a little code. I used the 12mm ones seen in the picture, and they work awesome.
2x (or more) RGB LED's - I recommend 2, but the number is up to you. You should probably get more just in case.
Resistors - Various resistances, these are needed for the pushbuttons and the RGB LED's so they will be specific to what you use. I used four 2k ohm resistors.
Batteries - Anything 6V or greater works but I will discuss this a lot more in the 'Custom Battery' step.
Wire - Lots and preferably thin.

Tools:
Soldering Iron
Drill
Files

Step 2: Basic Circuit

Circuit Description:
So the design of this project boils down to the schematic for the LEDs and the buttons in the pictures. It's much easier to see the circuit from the pictures but I will describe it just to be safe. Basically you have a wire carrying 5V through a resistor (resistance value depends on your LED) and three signal wires going to both LEDs. Then there will be a 5V, ground (through a resistor, once again the resistance depends on your button), and signal wire going to both buttons. You will also need V-in and ground wires connecting your battery to the arduino. That's the extent of the circuit! To keep things simple I used central ground and 5V wires that ran the whole length of the bar so I could solder all the components onto them wherever they were needed (I used this ground wire to connect the battery as well).

Extra Info:
Once you have all your parts I recommend breadboarding your components into the circuit to do some testing and make sure the program runs properly. Note that the way to hook up your RGB LEDs may be different depending on what kind you have (I have common cathode RGBs). I control the RGBs using the PWM pins on the arduino so be sure you hook up the LEDs to the exact same pins I do (you can use other PWM pins but you will have to modify the code). Once you have it set up then you are ready to test it with my program, or your own!

Step 3: Program

The IDE for writing code and programming any arduino can be found HERE. You can grab my program in the word file I have attached and copy paste it into a new arduino sketch. Unfortunately I couldn't upload the arduino file. Just connect the arduino micro using a Micro B/USB cable to your computer and click the upload button on the arduino program. If you are having trouble uploading or don't know how try HERE or HERE. 

NOTE: if you don't have common cathode RGB LEDs then you will have to modify my code. Try switching the values for the variables off and on and it should work.

BikeBarsProgram.doc23 KB

Step 4: Soldering the Components

NOTE: Try this project with just 2 LEDs in the endcaps first, having 4 or more proved very difficult to wire and looked challenging to get inside the handlebars to position well. It is also easy to add more onto your existing circuit later.

Laying Out Circuit:
When soldering your circuit make sure you leave a little extra wire length for the LEDs and arduino, for the buttons though , the wire distance between them must be EXACTLY the same as the distance between their mounting holes (or quite close). It is very difficult to push the wire together of it is too long. I can't help you with exact lengths of wire because depending on LED placement, number of LEDs, handlebar shape, and button placement, the lengths of wire used change dramatically. I recommend pushing just one wire through certain sections of the bars to find exact lengths of wire.

Cleaning Up Wiring:
To keep the wiring clean I would twist certain sections together, such as the three signal wires for the LEDs or the 2 signal wires for the buttons. I then took these 4 or so braided wires and arranged them how they should be to attach to component and taped them all together every 6 inches or so. I also laid out all the components to keep myself from getting confused. This kept things as clean and organized as possible.

Soldering:
Next I soldered the wires to my components, leaving the arduino for last. Use plenty of solder to ensure strong, durable connections. After soldering make sure to wrap all exposed solder joints and metal with electrical tape or something similar to prevent accidental circuit changes/shorts.

Testing:
Just make sure to double check your circuit schematic with mine and test it afterwards to make sure it works. I planned on having the battery near one end of the handlebars and the arduino micro near the end of the other to keep them separated and safe and this is shown in the circuit. You may need to make changes if you aren't doing the same.

NOTE: If your arduino micro has headers you may need to desolder them so they will fit inside the bike bars, if you don't wish to have them mounted inside the handlebars, then you can leave the headers on. An awesome guide for desoldering can be found HERE.

Step 5: Preparing the Handlebars

This step seems long but really you are only drilling holes in your handlebars and endcaps.

Removing Handlebars:
You are going to need to pick your handlebars for this project. The first step is to take them off your bike by undoing the allen screw(s) holding them in place at the top of the fork. There are many possibly ways they could be attached so I'll let you figure that out. Next, remove your handlebar grips/tape and brakes. After you have the bar completely off and bare, remove the end caps by prying with a screw driver.

Next use a marker and plot where you want to make holes for the LEDs and buttons. You only have to make holes in the handlebars for the buttons if you are putting the LEDs in the endcaps of your handlebars.

Drilling Endcaps:
Now you will need to find two drill bits. One that is the size of the LED "bulb" and another the size of the button part of your pushbutton. First take your end caps and use a clamp to hold them in place. Fix you LED drill bit into your drill and make a hole cleanly through the whole way. Test to see if your LED is able to protrude from the outside end so will be visible when mounted. If not widen the hole by wiggling the bit or trying a larger bit. Repeat for other LED. If you are adding additional LEDs in the handlebar drill those holes now too.

Drilling Handlebars:
After this you only have left to drill the holes for your pushbutton. I recommend putting the bars in a vice. On the spots you've marked on your handlebar use a hammer to pound a nail on each of these spots to make a small mark that the drill bit can grab. Then fix your button drill bit and drill in each of the holes. You will also need to make another hole on the back part of the handlebar for each hole you just drilled (so you will have a hole going completely through both sides of the bar). This allows you to push from the back of the button and stick something in to keep the button pressed up against the handlebar so it can be clicked without falling back into the bar. I recommend doing 4 holes in the same spot, so 2 holes go completely through both sides of the bar, this is because it is very difficult to twist the button to a button to a better orientation once inside the bar making mounting tough.

Finishing Touches:
For all the holes in your handlebars you will want to file the outside and if you have a de-burring tool or a small file then use those to smooth the inside of the holes as well.

Step 6: Assembly

Helper Wires:
You are ready to assemble the device! To make it as easy as possible I used what I call 'helper wires' which are just one strand of wire that I pulled through a section of the handlebar. I used three: one from the end of the tube to the right button, one from the right to the left buttons, and a third from the left button out to the other side of the tube (see pic if confused).

Assembly:
I would tie the helper wire to the V-in and ground wires of my circuit since they were longest and put tape over the knot to reduce the chance it snagged on something. Then I would slowly pull the helper wire and push in the part of my circuit entering the handlebar so the long circuit would slowly inch its way into the handlebars. Once the helper wire pulled out the right button hole I would untie it and attach the next helper wire to the V-in and ground wires again, repeating the process until the circuit was completely through the handlebars. Be careful to not tug or push too hard if it isn't moving, it might be caught on the inside burs  of one of the holes. Look into the holes and if you see wires near them take a paperclip or wire and poke them away from the opening before pulling again.

Securing Buttons:
Once you have it completely through line up the buttons with their holes. You will need to find something that you can stick in the back side (opposite the hole that the button part of the pushbutton will stick through) to secure the button so it won't fall back into the handlebars when pushed. I used a tapered plastic piece (not sure what it goes too...) I found in the basement that fit snugly in the hole and held the button well.

Don't worry if you need to take out and re-insert the circuit into the handlebars a few times to readjust things, it doesn't take too long and my circuit worked fine even after several times of pushing and pulling on it.

Step 7: Reattach to Bike

Now the last step is just to attach the handlebar back to the bike. Be sure to reattach brakes and grips/tape if desired. I found that if you lightly tape over the buttons so they aren't pressed then they are completely hidden and are waterproof! To waterproof the rest of the design you can use some tape/hot glue/sugru between the LED and end caps. Also don't worry if you plan on making a custom battery you can insert it once attached to the bike. Try it out! I used a 9V taped to the bars for testing.

Step 8: Custom Battery (optional)

You can skip this by externally mounting a larger battery, such as a 9V, and just having you V-in and ground wires attached outside of the handlebars. To make this project completely fit inside the handlebars you will need to make a skinny battery pack! The largest battery that I found would fit with wires is AAs.Originally I decided I would use 6 rechargeable AAs soldered in a line with little pieces of wire between each battery so it could flex, but I decided that would be too difficult and so I just used rechargeable coin cells instead. Feel free to make whatever works best for you, it just has to be 6V or more.

Connecting the Battery:
Connect the negative (-) terminal of the battery to your ground wire and the positive (+) terminal of the battery to your V-in wire. Then just stuff the wires and batteries down the handle and plug it back up. If you have questions let me know.


Battery Life:
As for battery life, during testing I used an old 9V (far from full charge but I don't have actual readings) and it is still working perfectly fine after 4-5 hours so power requirements for the battery is quite low.

Step 9: Enjoy

This is a great learning project with an awesome end product! I hope to see this evolve, I mean once you have two buttons and an arduino in your bike handlebars there's plenty of things you can do from there. Let me know how it goes and if you do anything awesome with it!

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