Print PDF
Favorite
Email
Light up your home with this breathtaking piece of sky!
I made this star map last year for my wife, and everyone who sees it wants to know how it was made.
Be warned, to build something like this is a *big* project. You should expect to know:
* Basic woodworking skills
* How to handle a soldering iron
* How to design LED-based circuits
* How to safely deal with AC voltages
And above all, you'll need plenty of spare time.
This star map is a little over 2m wide, and 1.2m tall. It weighs 12-15kg, has somewhere between 1500-2000 optical fiber stars, and 108 LED stars.
You could quite easily use some of the techniques in here to make a small version, and it would still look really nice. This instructable then, can be used as a general reference for building star maps, not just how to replicate mine exactly. There is some additional info for small maps in the Addenda section.
I made this star map last year for my wife, and everyone who sees it wants to know how it was made.
Be warned, to build something like this is a *big* project. You should expect to know:
* Basic woodworking skills
* How to handle a soldering iron
* How to design LED-based circuits
* How to safely deal with AC voltages
And above all, you'll need plenty of spare time.
This star map is a little over 2m wide, and 1.2m tall. It weighs 12-15kg, has somewhere between 1500-2000 optical fiber stars, and 108 LED stars.
You could quite easily use some of the techniques in here to make a small version, and it would still look really nice. This instructable then, can be used as a general reference for building star maps, not just how to replicate mine exactly. There is some additional info for small maps in the Addenda section.
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1Materials - Optical Fibers
![400px-Fiber-optic_Christmas_tree[1].jpg](/files/deriv/FHT/NXWH/GI0TMDG3/FHTNXWHGI0TMDG3.MEDIUM.jpg)
Note: You can't use fishing line. Don't even think about it. It just doesn't conduct light in the right way. [ref]
You can buy optical fiber by the reel, but there are better and cheaper ways to get it*: For large star maps; a fake Christmas tree works very well! This time of year, it's not hard to find one cheaply.
For smaller star maps; the retro-tastic 'UFO Lamps' are a great source of fibers, and are pretty easy to find in dollar stores.
Both of these sources are great! They are cheap, and they terminate all the fibers into one place, so it is easy to light the stars.
Just consider:
* The more stars you have, the better it will look. Try to find a tree or lamp with plenty of 'points'.
* The size of the tree/lamp will determine how large your map can be. For example, if you have a 120cm / 4ft tree, you can build a map about 2m / 6.5ft wide. (Of course, the exact shape of the tree and your frame will affect the maximum. Get your measurements right before you buy/cut anything expensive. ;-) )
[*] Some fiber-by-the-reel is sold here. The 0.5mm fiber is probably the closest to what is found in trees/lamps, and costs 8c/ft, or 2c/ft if you buy 19,680ft worth. A $5 UFO lamp might have 400 x 1ft strands, already cut and terminated - at 1.25c/ft.
You can buy optical fiber by the reel, but there are better and cheaper ways to get it*: For large star maps; a fake Christmas tree works very well! This time of year, it's not hard to find one cheaply.
For smaller star maps; the retro-tastic 'UFO Lamps' are a great source of fibers, and are pretty easy to find in dollar stores.
Both of these sources are great! They are cheap, and they terminate all the fibers into one place, so it is easy to light the stars.
Just consider:
* The more stars you have, the better it will look. Try to find a tree or lamp with plenty of 'points'.
* The size of the tree/lamp will determine how large your map can be. For example, if you have a 120cm / 4ft tree, you can build a map about 2m / 6.5ft wide. (Of course, the exact shape of the tree and your frame will affect the maximum. Get your measurements right before you buy/cut anything expensive. ;-) )
[*] Some fiber-by-the-reel is sold here. The 0.5mm fiber is probably the closest to what is found in trees/lamps, and costs 8c/ft, or 2c/ft if you buy 19,680ft worth. A $5 UFO lamp might have 400 x 1ft strands, already cut and terminated - at 1.25c/ft.
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
At some stage I might sell kits for smaller star maps, if people were interested.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=fiber-optic
Oh, and great instructable! I'm now almost done with my monster. 40"x60" with about 5200 stars. I only did the major constellations accurately (with 1mm fibers), then a few spaced out .75mm for accent stars, and then several thousand .25mm stars. The couple major stars in the sky are 2mm as well. I might make another instructable that adds onto this with my personal tips and experiences.
Thank you so much for the ideas and inspiration.
(Glueing after putting fibres in is difficult, that's why I glued as I went)
Definitely test the foam before you put it near your hard work! The cyanoacrylate in superglue ruins fibres, I'm sure some of the components in that stuff would have a similar effect.
Rated!!
congrats!!
Please post a photo of it, if you're able.
Well done!
One could alternatively:
a) Have all stars the same size.
b) Collate the fibers yourself, and use some different sizes of fiber.
OR
c) Clump several fibers into one hole for larger stars.
No idea where you are, so that's the best I can do. :-D
I ended up making a cluster of white LED's and added one blue LED to the mix. This gave mostly white with a splat of blue which was quite nice.
Also, with the Arduino running 6 PWM outputs I had to change the random number from 255 to 40 as the fading effect took too long!
We sit there at the moment watching the "stars" looking at which ones will fade out first, it is mesmerizing to watch.
Thank you for building yours which in turn made me build mine.
If you took enough photos, I think you should do a writeup on Instructables, I'd certainly be interested to see how you built it.
I will see if I can detail the electronic side as an option for you and I may even post as my first i'ble :-)
Anyway, mine would still sit in the shadow of yours :-)
My first one is published http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-Star-Map/
Thank you :-)
The advantage is if you poke a fibre through and you hit the "paitent pending raising device" it doesn't damage them !
For the big star map I raised it with a small coffee table on either side. For the small star map, I printed the map area onto a larger piece of cardboard, and folded the left and right sides down to make legs.
I need to think of something cool to call it so I can market it :-)
I have just fitted the ally frame and the new fibre cable should be here soon for the larger stars. I was hoping to get the Arduino fitted this week but I am off for a couple of days :-(
Work keeps getting in the way!
Big thanks to meawert and qazwsx755 for the initial code and assistance.
The whole thing ROCKS!
int three = 3;
int five = 5;
int six = 6;
int nine = 9;
int ten = 10;
int eleven = 11;
int flickerONE = 7;
int flickerTWO = 8;
int threeNow;
int fiveNow;
int sixNow;
int nineNow;
int tenNow;
int elevenNow;
int threeNew;
int fiveNew;
int sixNew;
int nineNew;
int tenNew;
int elevenNew;
int flickertONE;
int flickertTWO;
void setup ()
{
pinMode (three, OUTPUT);
pinMode (five, OUTPUT);
pinMode (six, OUTPUT);
pinMode (nine, OUTPUT);
pinMode (ten, OUTPUT);
pinMode (eleven, OUTPUT);
pinMode (flickerONE, OUTPUT);
pinMode (flickerTWO, OUTPUT);
threeNow = random(255);
fiveNow = random(255);
sixNow = random(255);
nineNow = random(255);
tenNow = random(255);
elevenNow = random(255);
threeNew = threeNow;
fiveNew = fiveNow;
sixNew = sixNow;
nineNew = nineNow;
tenNew = tenNow;
elevenNew = elevenNow;
}
#define fade(x,y) if (x>y) x--; else if (x
void loop()
{
analogWrite(three, threeNow);
analogWrite(five, fiveNow);
analogWrite(six, sixNow);
analogWrite(nine, nineNow);
analogWrite(ten, tenNow);
analogWrite(eleven, elevenNow);
threeNew = random(255);
fiveNew = random(255);
sixNew = random(255);
nineNew = random(255);
tenNew = random(255);
elevenNew = random(255);
while ((threeNow != threeNew) ||
(fiveNow != fiveNew) ||
(sixNow != sixNew) ||
(nineNow != nineNew) ||
(tenNow != tenNew) ||
(elevenNow != elevenNew))
{
fade(threeNow,threeNew)
fade(fiveNow,fiveNew)
fade(sixNow,sixNew)
fade(nineNow,nineNew)
fade(tenNow,tenNew)
fade(elevenNow,elevenNew)
analogWrite(three, threeNow);
analogWrite(five, fiveNow);
analogWrite(six, sixNow);
analogWrite(nine, nineNow);
analogWrite(ten, tenNow);
analogWrite(eleven, elevenNow);
flickertONE = random(5);
digitalWrite(flickerONE,HIGH);
delay(flickertONE);
digitalWrite(flickerONE,LOW);
delay(5-flickertONE);
flickertTWO = random(1000);
digitalWrite(flickerTWO,HIGH);
delay(flickertTWO);
digitalWrite(flickerTWO,LOW);
delay(1000-flickertTWO);
}
}
Just painting the ally framwork so I can start to assemble the parts. Once that is done I can put the Arduino in and start running the LED's.
I will try and get you some pics and a video once it is done.
Just a tip for stripping the tree, don't use a knife unless you need to, not only do the fibers end up with a red tint to them but you also end up with a pile on the floor for that smaller map you mentioned :)
I have started so I will finish.........
Top idea though! Wish I had this project when my son was young, the LED version was too bright!
The tree I dismantled tended to use green plastic foliage wound around and around, then sticky taped at the end. Finding and removing those strategic bits of sticky tape might make things go a bit faster.
This wasn't something I used, but might be useful; what about an unpicker (just google it) or a crochet hook to strip the foliage with less risk of personal or fiber injury?
There are a few dents in the fibers where the next level of branches went off but the general result looks good :-)
the base where all of the fibers are glued is very dull, so the light going through is also dimmed. Any ideas how I can polish it up at all?
Thanks for the insperation!
The only trouble is that 2mm LEDs for example are quite easy to find, but I wouldn't know where to get my hands on 2mm fiber.