DIY Hexagonal Nanoleaf LED Light

Intro: DIY Hexagonal Nanoleaf LED Light

After seeing the price tag for the Nanoleaf Aurora or similar LED Panels I did some research and decided to create my own version for a much lower price point.

What you are going to need:

• Access to a 3D Printer
• 2mm thick semi transparent acrylic
• WS2812 LEDs (50cm per LED Module)
• 5V Power Supply (I use 10A for 8 Modules)
• WeMos D1 mini
• Cables
• 4* M4 Countersink screws + nuts for each connection between the modules

STEP 1: Preparing for 3D Printing

I used Solidworks to create the 3D model. It is designed in a way to be very slim and close to the wall. For this reason I used slim 5mm LED strips. They are more expensive than the standard 10mm ones, but I prefered the look of the slim panels. If you want to save some money, I also uploaded a version of the frames for the standard 10mm strips.

Also the frame itself is quite slim, but it still hides the side view of the LEDs. On the backside are indentations for cables which also provide more strength for the panels.

To connect the modules with each other I decided to use screws to create a firm connection. There is a connector piece which then screws two pieces together. The connector acts as a little spacer to the wall to allow some airflow for cooling through the holes on the back. With the cutouts in the connector you can hang the assembles module to Nails / Screws in your wall.

The frames can be printed without support. I used a layer height of 0.16mm.

STEP 2: Cutting Out the Acrylic Diffusers

I have access to a laser cutter, so I decided to use this machine to cut out the acrylic pieces . This allows very precise cuts and saving some time. If you do no have access to a laser cutter you could also use a hacksaw or similar.

To give it a diffused look but still let enough light through, I used acrylic with a light transmission of 45%. You can use a single A4 sheet of acrylic to cut out two pieces.

STEP 3: Testing the Electronics

For the electronics and programming of the WeMos D1 mini you should check out this awesome project on Github:

https://github.com/NimmLor/esp8266-nanoleaf-webser...

It is a very detailed instruction on how to set everything up. It includes all the controls for the lights and also has lots of prebuild light effects. There even is an explanation on how to set it up with Node Red and control it with your Alexa.

Before putting everything together I tried the code with a short test strip from the LEDs. After some tinkering it worked just fine.

STEP 4: Assembling All the Parts

One important note first:

The cables you see on the picture from the back were too thin for the amount of LEDs I used. This caused the cables to get quite warm and also it caused a voltage drop over distance. In succession the blue LEDs decreased in brightness, the further they were away. Later on I changed all the cables on the back for much thicker ones. So make sure to use the right thickness for the amount of LEDs you are going to use.

Wiring up all the panels is quite tedious and not as simple as putting together some Nanoleaf Panels, but I think it is worth it.

In my case the acrylic pieces were precisely cut and I cut simply press them into place. Depending on the precision of your pieces you might need to add some glue.

STEP 5: Done

I am really happy with how the panels turned out.

They have a nice and even glow and are extremely bright, much brighter than the Nanoleaf Panels (therefore they also draw more power). I use them as a sunrise / wake up light and they do a great job for this task.

The fact that they have spacers on the back and also glow through the frame, makes them look like they are floating and not attached to the wall.

_____

The files are now online

Comments

[krime777]

Hi,
Im totally new in this topic. Do you have a 3D Printer you can recommend for amateurs?

[moderncrafts]

Hi,
this depends on your budget. My first 3D printer was an Anycubic I3 Mega, which I still use and like. Another well known budget option would be the Creality Ender 3. However there are different versions (https://amzn.to/3yXtDJF) of this printer with some small changes and upgrades.

If your budget is a bit higher and you want a more elegant looking machine with more advanced features, you can also check out printers like the Ankermake M5 or the Bambu Lab X1

[krime777]

Thanks for your help. I have bought a Anycubic Vyper now and im almost about to print the frames for your Project.
Now ive seen that you only builded Nanoleafs with a maximum size about 16 cm and I'd prefer to build the original size of about 21 cm. Do you have any suggestions how i can make them bigger as easy as possible? Ive a friend who is trained in 3D modelling , but he says he cant work with your files because they are locked.

Best regards from germany

[moderncrafts]

Dann können wir wohl auch auf deutsch schreiben :D
Glückwunsch zum Kauf deines Druckers!
Ich weiß nicht was du genau was an der Datei "gesperrt" sein soll. Allerdings ist das STL-File natürlich nur ein "dummes" Flächenmodell und nicht parametrisierbar. So wie ich das Modell konstruiert habe, lässt es sich aber leider auch
im Originalmodell nicht einfach vergrößern ohne dabei andere
Verknüpfungen zu zerschießen. Am einfachsten ist es vermutlich das Model im Slicer direkt in X und Y Richtung zu skalieren. Dadurch werden aber auch die Wände etwas dicker und die Löcher für die Verbindungselemente größer usw.

[krime777]

Hahahaa das macht das ganze ja auf jeden Fall einfacher :D
Als ich die Frage gepostet habe , hatte ich den Drucker und das dazugehörige Programm noch nicht ausprobiert.
Jetzt weiß ich wie einfach ich die Dateien skalieren kann und muss dann halt nur dran denken die Verbindungsteile entsprechend anzupassen.
Mein Kollege hatte sich halt nur die STL Datei in einem anderen Programm angeschaut und konnte damit nichts machen weil es warscheinlich wie eine pdf funktioniert und erstmal umgewandelt bzw in diesem Fall gesliced werden muss .
Naja eine Frage hätte ich da noch, welche kabelstärke würdest du empfehlen? Ich habe schon vor in der Endstufe vielleicht 15 Teile zu verknüpfen und ein dementsprechend starkes Netzteil zu verwenden .
Danke dir für deine Hilfe und überhaupt für die ganze Arbeit die du hier rein gesteckt hast !

Schöne Grüße

[ibakkal]

LED strip fits in printed housing perfectly. Good job 👍

[roland.bremb]

Great work on this!

how thick is the spacer you're using? and is the glow on the backside from the holes or does is really shine through the material?

[roland.bremb]

also, why did you decide to mount the leds onto the side and not the bottom surface to make them even thinner?

[moderncrafts]

If you mount the LEDs to the bottom surface, you would need even more LED strips for an even dristribution. This would also require a lot more soldering of individual strips. Also the Panels would actually need to be even thicker, since you would need a much bigger distance to achieve a decent diffusion.

[moderncrafts]

The spacers are the "Connector+Holder" parts. They move the panels 4mm away from the wall.
The glow is by the LEDs shining through the frame pieces

[ao.barbre]

Is also a wemos housing for the 5mm panels
I can only find the 10mm one

[moderncrafts]

You are right, I am missing one of the wemos housings. However, the version that is uploaded, is the thinner version for the 5mm panels :D
I am going to upload the thicker version now as well.

[DerMega]

This project is great. I like the shape and the design of the hexes.
Have you tested this with 30 leds/m or did u just take the 60 leds/m?
Have you already reworked the hexes with a bigger cable canal?
I already printed one testpart and share your opinion that it will be a bit too small.

[DerMega]

Ok, for myself I found out that you can use WS2815 with 12V so you dont need thicker cables and no redesign :)

[moderncrafts]

Thanks! And sorry for the late response, but it seems like you already found a solution :D I just found out about the WS2815 a few weeks ago, and they are definitely a good choice.

The version I uploaded should already be the updated version with the wider cable canal, which is meant for a pair of 1,5mm² cables - but I am going to check it again.

I did not try with a lower LED density since I wanted it to be quite bright and have the light as even as possible. If you don't care that much about the brightness, you could also try 30 LEDs/m and maybe use acrylic with a lower light transmission that is better at diffusing the light.

[mthompson239]

Sorry if noob question but new to this and would really like to give it a go. Is 1 WeMos D1 required per LED strip or only 1 to control the LED strips as shown in the video? If 1 can be used, is there a limit to how many strips can be connected? Much thanks for sharing!!

[moderncrafts]

You only need one WeMos D1 mini to control all the LEDs. Compared to "regular" LED strips, which have plus and one channel per color, these adressable LEDs only have plus, minus and a data connection. This allows to control all LEDs individually.

I think in theory there is no limit to how many LEDs you can control. In praxis the refresh rate will go down at some point. But you should easily be able to control 1000 individual LEDs.

The limiting factor might be the current draw. These LEDs run on 5V and therefor draw a higher current than regular 12V LEDs. So with a huge amount of LEDs you need a really big power supply and need to feed in the electricity in multiple areas to split the current throughout the LED strips.

[mthompson239]

Much thanks for the detailed reply.

[monkeytown123]

first of all the result is truly amazing!!
i might´ve skipped it while reading but with what thickness of cables did you end up using?

[moderncrafts]

Thanks!
I think I didn't mention the thickness of the cables, since this also depends on the LEDs you use and how many panels you use. But you're right, I should mention it for this setup.

For this setup all LEDs combined can draw up to 50W. Running at 5V equals 10A. So the "main cable" coming from the power supply and connecting all the panels together should be at least 1.0mm² (17 AWG). The wire is then splitted to the individual Panels, so each panel only draws 1/8 of the current. I think for these short pieces to each panel I used 0.35mm² (22 AWG).