Pixel Globe

Make a huge globe of animated lights with your 3D printer! The medium globe is 22" in diameter and uses 720 "seed" pixels and the large globe is 30" with 900 pixels.

1. Natively uses seed pixels (no seed-to-bullet adapters)
2. Entirely 3D printed
3. Requires 320x320x320mm printer build volume
4. Mounts onto 1/2" EMT pipe that sleeves into 1/2" rebar in-ground

1. 3D printer with a minimum bed size of 320mm L x 320mm W x 320mm H to print the parts needed.
2. PETG filament recommended for its flexibility, strength, and outdoor endurance
3. The large sphere uses 3,500 grams of PETG filament (3.5 spools)
4. The medium sphere uses 2,100 grams of PETG filament (2.1 spools)
5. The rubber clips that hole the pieces together require TPE rubber filament (TPU should also work if it is not too stiff).
6. Either sphere requires 118 grams of TPE/TPU filament (0.12 spool)
7. 39 zip ties, 4mm width
8. 10-12 screws/bolts to assemble the internal pole support
9. 720-900 "seed" pixels, 22AWG conductor thickness, 2" spacing, 3-conductor (data, power, ground), loaded onto a spool.
10. 2 male pigtails for pixels, flat ribbon-style wire
11. 2 male & 2 female pigtails for pixels, round stiff wire
12. Bottle of super glue
13. Clamps for holding leaf pieces while glue dries
14. LED controller: There are many kinds to choose from, but an easy one is this from Aliexpress:

DOMRAEM ESP32 WLED USB-C Addressable LED Controller ~0.5W Standby for WS2811/14/05 DIY Projects, MQTT Alexa Smart Home Control

Make sure the controller supports two outputs, WLED, 12V, and has an ESP32 processor. Then you can control your globe from your phone or even xLights, a popular pixel control software.

The globe requires 18 vertical "leaves". They will be eventually be joined together at the top & bottom to form the globe. Each leaf consists of sections that are printed then glued together.

Download the STL models here:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7367667

The medium sphere has a left, middle, and right sections. The large sphere has a left, left middle, right middle, and right sections. Print 18 sets of these sections. Of note:

For the medium globe: Of the 18 "middle" sections, 15 will be regular "middle" sections and 3 will be special "middle support" sections. These latter sections will receive the spokes emanating from the central pole inside the globe.

For the large globe: Of the 18 "middle-left" sections, 15 will be regular "middle-left" sections and 3 will be special "middle left support" sections. These latter sections will receive the spokes emanating from the central pole inside the globe.

Print the sections with supports, as the tabs on ends of the sections need them. The tabs are very thin and supports will be thin, too. Your printer and slicer will need to be well calibrated to print the supports properly and to easily remove them after printing.

For the large globe, each "leaf" is composed of four sections (left, left-middle, right-middle, and right). Each section has "tabs" that help interlock them, but you will need super glue to finish joining them.

Put 4-5 drops of super glue on the tabs connecting the sections to each other, clamp into place, then allow to cure 12 hours

When you are finished, you will have 15 "regular" leaves and 3 "support" leaves. The support leaves have a cube-like protrusion in the middle or middle-left section.

Your seed pixels will come on a roll. With the flat side of a leaf facing down, insert the seeds into each clip, going up the leaf with seeds then back down again to where you started. Push and hold the seed into a clip with one hand, then use your other hand from the back of the leaf to revolve the seed into place with both hands. The "fat" side of the seed should face he flat side of the leaf.

Arrange the remaining leaves in a "flower" pattern on the floor or a large table, then insert seeds into the remaining leaves. When done, all of your leaves should be joined (via the seed pixels) on end, arranged like a flower.

For the medium sphere, you will insert a total of 720 pixels as one, long string.

For the large sphere, insert 450 pixels in nine leaves as one string, then another 450 pixels in the remaining nine leaves, resulting in two separate strings.

Test the seed pixels be connecting them to a pixel controller or pixel tester.

For the large globe, you will need a controller with two outputs configured as 450 pixels each.

For the medium globe, you will need a controller with one power+data output configured as 720 pixels and one power-only output. The latter output is used to inject power at the end of the string of pixels.

If all goes well, all of the lights should light-up, no flickering, and white color should be white and not pinkish.

3D print 162 rubber braces using TPE filament ("soft" TPU could also work). When you look at a brace, one side has smaller holes than the other. You will see pegs on the sides of each leaf. With the side of the brace with the small holes facing down, push a brace firmly onto a peg. You will feel it snap into place. Push the other end of the brace to an adjoining leaf. For now, only attach braces to the two inmost sets of pegs from the center of all of the leaves (like the center of a flower). You will form two circles of braces going around the leaves.

For the pole system parts, use 30% infill with four walls/perimeters in your slicing software. This will allow the parts to be adequately strong.

The top & end caps and top & end cap braces are the same size for the large and medium globes. These can be printed without supports. I suggest 30% infill with 4 perimeters/walls.

For the large globe, 3D print the bottom, middle, and top pole sections. The middle section will require supports only in the three square openings near its top. The top and bottom pole sections don't need supports at all. When finished printing, remove the supports from the middle section..

For the medium globe, 3D print the bottom and top pole sections. The bottom section will require supports only in the three square openings near its top. The top pole section don't need supports at all. When finished printing, remove the supports from the bottom section..

Print three "spokes" for the large or medium globe.

Print a top cap, top cap brace, bottom cap, and bottom cap brace.

Attach the bottom cap brace to the bottom cap with a couple of screws/bolts. Slide this assembly on the bottom of the bottom pole section.

This assembly has two holes for attachment to the pole, but the pole itself does not have matching holes. Use a drill to make the holes on the bottom pole to align with the holes on the assembly, then use two screws/bolts to attach. Note: be sure to use short screws/bolts that protrude too far into the pole, as an EMT pipe will slide vertically through the entire globe after it's finished.

You will notice four large holes on the bottom of the pole cap assembly and four long slots on the bottom pole section. These are for the pigtails.

1. Insert two male round pigtails into the bottom cap assembly, into the bottom pole section, with the wires coming out of the long slots on the pole sides.
2. Solder a female flat pigtail to the exposed male pigtail wires.

For the medium globe, attach the top pole section to the bottom pole section using two screws/bolts.

For the large globe, attach the middle pole section to the bottom pole section, then the top pole section to the middle section using four screws/bolts.

Insert the three spokes that you printed into the receiving slots in the pole. If the attachment holes do not line-up, insert the other end of the the spoke. Attach spokes to the pole with zip ties.

The pole is assembled!

Seed pixel wiring have three wires, on is marked with repeated dots. This should be the 12V line, the middle wire should be data, and the last wire should be ground. Check with your pixel vendor to ensure this is correct for your seeds.

For the medium globe, solder a male flat pigtail to the beginning of the seed string. This will be the power+ground+data input for the string. Solder a male flat pigtail to the end of the string, but do not connect the data line. This will be the power injection for the end of the string.

For the large globe, solder a male flat pigtail to the beginning of the first seed string (450 pixels). Insulate/terminal the end of the string with black tape or liquid tape. Then solder a male flat pigtail to the beginning of the second seed string (450 pixels). Terminate likewise. No power injection is needed for the large globe.

Stand the pole loosely in the center of the leaves.

Start attaching rubber braces as you go (to the internal pegs flanking the leaves), starting in concentric circles at the base of the globe and making circles upward. This will slowly bring the leaves together as you work your way to the top. This may be easier than attaching leaves one at a time to the top cap and attaching rubber braces to each leaf as you go. When you have attached braces halfway up the pole, be sure to insert the pole spokes into the three leaves with sockets. You can optionally secure the spokes to the leaves with zip ties using the provided holes.

Tip: Attaching rubber braces to the inside of the globe is tedious work. Be careful not to put too much pressure on the leaves or the may break! I find it easier to hold pressure with one hand on the outside face of the leaf while using the other hand inside the leaf to push-on the brace.

After all of the braces are attached and the leaves have come together near the top of the pole, secure them to the top pole cap zip ties.

Note: Do not lock the zip ties yet. I find it works well to insert the zip tie starting at the top of the leaf's hole, then through the top of the outer ring's holes on the cap (zip tie going down through the cap), then feed the zip tie from under the cap bottom's inner ring's hole. The head of the zip tie will be on the top of the leaf while the end of the zip tie is poking up from the inner ring's holes on top of the cap. This will keep the leaf in-place temporarily without locking the zip tie yet.

With all of the leaves attached to the top cap, carefully flip the globe upside down by gripping the exposed zip tie ends at the top and the loose pole bottom on the other end. Now you are looking at the bottom cap now at the top with the pigtails exposed. Attach the leaves to the bottom cap with zip ties.

Before you lock the zip ties on the top and bottom caps, test the pixels again with a pixel controller. Then tie-off and trim the zip ties.

The globes will accept a 1/2" EMT run vertically through the entire globe. The top and bottom cap braces have holes that you can attach EMT pipe to, drilling holes through the EMT pipe to match the brace holes.

If you are putting the globes in a yard, consider driving 1/2" rebar in the ground, then slip the EMT pipe over that. The global may still be heavy enough to require guy wires to keep them straight and not topple from wind.

Enjoy your new globe!