Got a set of 4 quarters (15 LEDs each) of a circle of WS2812 (did not see any WS2812B at the time) LEDs off fleaBay and wanted a circular frame to hold them together. I whipped this up from scratch in OpenSCAD because I know just enough to fumble my way to somewhat working code. I cut out a square space at the back so that they can be soldered up without it interfering with them sitting flat. I have created a clock face and I’m controlling the LEDs with an Arduino Nano, but getting them into a circular ring was the first step, and may be all you need.
The more complete CLOCK is here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3137687 (ongoing project)
Smaller printers won’t be able to print the entire track as a complete circle, so there are 2 options, halves and quarters that snap together like basic puzzle pieces. I may work on a slightly more elaborate way of them connecting for a tiny improvement of the look, but I have a printer that prints the whole circle, so it’s not a high priority.
This thing should be pretty customizable, I don’t know if you can use it for other sizes of LED rings less than 60, however, I can safely say that if you have the same product from a different factory and you need to make minor adjustments to make it fit, you will be able to customize it perfectly. I had to adjust the diameter to a half millimetre to get the curve correct so they fit in with no gap between the circuits. It turns out that the section connections added that half millimeter to the diameter, so I have corrected the full track to be the correct diameter since I had only tested the fit of the 2-part track. The diffuser STL has been replaced to match the change. I’m still pretty new to OpenSCAD, so there are quite a few inefficiencies and blunders that may get corrected if I have the time or donations (which allows for more time and provides motivation).
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
