Print PDF
Favorite
Email
Have you ever wanted a mini-planetarium for your room? Well now you can! This instructable will help you create a fairly portable planetarium leaf that you can put over a bed, a couch, or anywhere else in your house. All you need is an IKEA leaf canopy , some fiber optics, power LEDs, conductive thread, and a lilypad arduino. Also, this leaf is HUGE.
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1List of Materials
Unfortunately you can't order these leaves from IKEA online. You have to actually go to IKEA. I suggest calling your local IKEA first and seeing if they have some (they almost always do). Otherwise, ebay occasionally has some. They cost about $15.
In addition you'll need:
1) Lilypad Arduino : $20
2) >400 feet of 1mm fiber optic filament : $60-$70
3) Conductive Thread : $33/spindle, but you could get a smaller amount for $9
4) Six Power LEDs: Anywhere from $5-$10 each. Check on ebay if you want to buy bulk. Luxeon LEDs are nice, but the ones I used are discontinued. Check up on your forward voltage depending on what voltage you run your lilypad (which has no current regulator). I ran mine on 3.7V and my LEDs had a forward voltage of 3.4V, so I didn't need a resistor (the lilypad can handle 40mA safely).
5) Battery / 3.7V Wall Adapter: I used these tiny li-pos ($12) with a usb charger ($10). It runs the leaf for 4-5 hours per charge. You can also by a wall adapter and use that to power your arduino (just cut the chord and attach your power and ground lines or else get a coaxial converter). If you get a 5V wall adapter ($6) add some resistors to your LEDs (like 40 Ohms. 100 Ohms to be extra safe with whatever LEDs you buy).
6) Green Fabric: Cheap at craft stores. You won't even need a square yard.
7) Velcro: Cheap at craft stores.
8) Small Clear Beads: Cheap at craft stores.
9) Hot Glue: Cheap at craft stores.
10) Sewing Needle and Scissors: Cheap at craft stores.
11) Green Gaff Tape: Cheap at craft stores.
12) Blue Painter's Tape: Cheap at stores.
13) Single Stranded Wire: Cheap
14) Electrical Tape: Cheap
15) Fine grained file or sandpaper: Cheap
16) Heat-Shrink big enough to hold ten 1mm fibers: Cheap
16) Solder and Soldering Iron: Expensive but hopefully you can access one!
Remember to check ebay/online for cheaper prices!
In addition you'll need:
1) Lilypad Arduino : $20
2) >400 feet of 1mm fiber optic filament : $60-$70
3) Conductive Thread : $33/spindle, but you could get a smaller amount for $9
4) Six Power LEDs: Anywhere from $5-$10 each. Check on ebay if you want to buy bulk. Luxeon LEDs are nice, but the ones I used are discontinued. Check up on your forward voltage depending on what voltage you run your lilypad (which has no current regulator). I ran mine on 3.7V and my LEDs had a forward voltage of 3.4V, so I didn't need a resistor (the lilypad can handle 40mA safely).
5) Battery / 3.7V Wall Adapter: I used these tiny li-pos ($12) with a usb charger ($10). It runs the leaf for 4-5 hours per charge. You can also by a wall adapter and use that to power your arduino (just cut the chord and attach your power and ground lines or else get a coaxial converter). If you get a 5V wall adapter ($6) add some resistors to your LEDs (like 40 Ohms. 100 Ohms to be extra safe with whatever LEDs you buy).
6) Green Fabric: Cheap at craft stores. You won't even need a square yard.
7) Velcro: Cheap at craft stores.
8) Small Clear Beads: Cheap at craft stores.
9) Hot Glue: Cheap at craft stores.
10) Sewing Needle and Scissors: Cheap at craft stores.
11) Green Gaff Tape: Cheap at craft stores.
12) Blue Painter's Tape: Cheap at stores.
13) Single Stranded Wire: Cheap
14) Electrical Tape: Cheap
15) Fine grained file or sandpaper: Cheap
16) Heat-Shrink big enough to hold ten 1mm fibers: Cheap
16) Solder and Soldering Iron: Expensive but hopefully you can access one!
Remember to check ebay/online for cheaper prices!
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
As for the LilyPad simple, it has a built in powersupply, does it still turn the 3.7v in to 5v?
Im very new when it comes to Arduino, coding, and LEDs, or anything of the sort. So, if the input power supply is let's say, 5v, then the output to the LEDs is 5v? Then I can either find a 5v LED or use the R=(V1-V2)/I to find a resistor.
And the link to the code seems to be broken :l