3D Printed Glow-Spike Bracelet Created by Rick Winscot Last updated on 2014-08-13 12:00:11 PM EDT
Guide Contents Guide Contents 3D Printing Battery Compartments LED Spikes Wiring / Soldering 2 3 4 11 17 Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 2 of 24
3D Printing Fire-up your 3D printer... it's time to make a fun and glowy wearable! Tinkercad is a great tool for creating 3D models. It's online, and it's easy to use. Print the parts below in any color plastic that suits your fancy - clear or natural PLA works great for the spikes. You will have to print the bracelet with rafting... to support the holes where the LED spikes are inserted. LED Spikey Bracelet on Tinkercad http://adafru.it/dpa Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 3 of 24
Battery Compartments Sand the outside of the batter compartment flat... glue will stick better and the battery compartments will be much stronger. Did you know that when you add super glue to the plastic dust it creates a super strong bond? Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 4 of 24
Scrape the battery compartment ring flat on the side that meets with the bracelet. Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 5 of 24
Test-fit your parts... snug as a bug on punk rock rug! Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 6 of 24
Super glue is great and dries in no time. When you press the two part together, align the notch in the ring with the wire hole on the bracelet. Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 7 of 24
Press and hold for 20 or so seconds... and then repeat these steps for the other side. Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 8 of 24
We're ready to install the spikes, LEDs, and wire it all up. Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 9 of 24
Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 10 of 24
LED Spikes Add a little bit of adhesive around the neck, where each LED spike will be inserted. Depending on what kind of adhesive you use, you might want to set the bracelet aside for a little while to cure. Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 11 of 24
Repeat for each of the five spikes. Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 12 of 24
Grab your trusty hot-glue gun and five LEDs. Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 13 of 24
When gluing-in your LEDs, make sure that the short and long legs of the LEDs are all oriented the same. This will help simplify the soldering step. Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 14 of 24
Don't snip the legs of the LEDs! We will use them to wire-up the circuit. Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 15 of 24
Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 16 of 24
Wiring / Soldering Start at one end of the bracelet, and bend the legs of the LEDs to their nearest neighbor. In most cases, they will overlap just enough to solder the two connections together. Continue soldering short legs to short legs and long legs to long legs until you reach the other side of the bracelet. Take a small bit of your hookup wire and strip the insulation about 3/4 of an inch down. Wrap that around a small screwdriver. Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 17 of 24
Smash the coil... Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 18 of 24
And pass the wire through the hole in the base of the battery compartment. Grab your other spool of hookup wire, and pass 1/4 inch of bare wire up through the bottom of the battery compartment. Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 19 of 24
Solder each to appropriate legs of the LEDs. BLACK = negative = shorter leg RED = positive = longer leg Repeat this step for the other side. Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 20 of 24
To protect the wires, you can cover them with electrical tape... I had some sicky-back foam handy. Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 21 of 24
Trim to fit! Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 22 of 24
And install your batteries. The bracelet will work with just a single battery, but won't last quite as long. Adafruit Industries https://learn.adafruit.com/3d-printed-glow-spike-bracelet Page 23 of 24
What are you waiting for? Go show somebody what you made! Adafruit Industries Last Updated: 2014-08-13 12:00:12 PM EDT Page 24 of 24