Le Nuage Lumineux- Metereological Lamp

• Le Nuage Lumineux

Introduction

Hi everyone!

We are Gonzalo Bueno, Julia Moreno and Yolanda Palacios, a group of four students from 'Creative Electronics', a Electronics Engineering 4th year module at the University of Málaga, School of Telecommunications. ( http://www.etsit.uma.es/ ). This instructable is our final project.

It is a product oriented mainly to artists, psychologists (music therapy, chromotherapy...), students, people who live abroad, etc. Among its main features would be to perform a work of relaxation. In addition, it serves as interactive home decor.

Objective

The first objective is the simulation of the different meteorological states as rain, storm, cloudy or sunny day inside a "lamp". In its first version these states can be selected from an infrared control or from buttons inserted in the lamp itself.

Necessary materials and components

The materials and components used to perform the design are those that are detailed below:

• Arduino nano - 7.32$
• 2x Relé 5V - 9$
• 2x N3904 transistor - 1$ aprox
• 2x diodes - 0.50$ aprox
• IR for arduino - 2$
• 4x methacrylate sheets 15$ aprox
• Led lights (waterproof) - 8€
• Humidifier - 15,89 €
• Water pump - 8$

Cable, resistors ,a 3d printer and PLA or ABS, soldering things and a couple of days...

Steps to follow

In this section we will detail the steps followed making the prototype of ' Le nuage lumineux '.

Step 1: Structure Design and Measurement Calculation

The first step to consider is the design you want to use for the "metereological lamp", in this case a rectangular cube structure has been selected with a pyramidal base in the exterior thus achieving greater safety in case of water leakage.

As can be seen in figure, there are two bases: an internal and an external one. The internal base is responsible for storing the water, the humidifier (to give the feeling of a cloudy day) and the water pump that carries a tube up, while the outside is the one that contains the electronic part. Then there is the methacrylate structure between the walls of the inner base and the lid so that it is as fixed as possible. In the lid you can also see the irrigation system and a hole in the center where the LED lights will simulate the different climates. In the interior of the methacrylate will be a transparent tube by which the water gets pumped to the irrigation system in order to simulate the rain and/or storm.

In the steps described below you will see each part more detailed (including the corresponding measures of each part).

Step 2: Internal Base Design

Once proposed the design wanted to use and the measures now comes the printing of the internal base of the structure. It is important to note that it may be necessary to use resin or varnish to make the base watertight so the water doesn't get out at any time.

In figure you can see two cubes that are attached from the base up to a height of 5cm that is later divided to be able to integrate in between both the methacrylate or the hard plastic. The external edge is somewhat larger in size than the inside to avoid water problems and also includes a protrusion to be able to adapt it later to the external base. It also has a couple of holes to be able to pass the existing cables of the water pump and the humidifier. Both should be sealed perfectly so the water doesn't pass, and must be done once the cables are through and it's clear that no change is needed.

In the above image some of the dimensions of the internal base have been detailed. The inner cube is 100x100mm with 3mm thickness each wall, the external cube is about 119x119mm with 3mm thickness and between them there is a separation of 3.5 mm where the glass will be inserted (this can change depending on the thickness of the glass).

The size of the holes in which the cables goes through can vary depending on the size needed.

On the other hand, and as can be seen in figure, the external walls have a protrusion at the end of them, for the adaptation to the external base as previously mentioned, and have a dimension of 3.5 mm.

It is important to remember that this base must be completely watertight so the electronic part are safe.

Step 3: Methacrylate Structure

Once the internal base is printed, the space between the cubes is re-measured to avoid errors, now proceeds the cut of the methacrylate or hard plastic (it is possible that in the same place you buy it you can cut to the desired size). The shape that should be had is the one shown in figure.

Detailed measures (Methacrylate structure):

• Thickness: 3mm.
• Height: 350mm.
• Width of two crystals: 113mm.
• Width of two crystals: 107mm.

The widths of the crystals go two on two so that they fit two by the outside and the other two on the inside. It should be taken into account that the measures may vary depending on the thickness of the methacrylate or hard plastic.

How to fit and seal the crystals will depend on the type of material used, so depending on that decision a search should be done about the best way of doing it.

The crystals have been inserted into the inner base and before sealing anything the lid is going to be printed out.

Step 4: Lid Design

The lid is designed in two separate parts. The first part would be the top lid whose sole objective is to close the climatic lamp and, as can be seen in figure, it's designed to fit by guides with the other part of the lid (which will be detailed later).

It's difficult to appreciate, but the lid in the upper area carries the logo of Le nuage lumineux, it's been done by printing at different speeds. It can be seen depending on the intensity of the light that the lamp produces.

Detailed measures (Top lid):

• Thickness: 3mm.
• Spacing between guides: 3mm.
• Height: 6mm.
• Background: 116mm.
• Width: 119mm.
• Internal guide width: 107mm.

The inner part of the lid is the one detailed in figure. It can be observed that it has the guides to fit with the external lid. There is also a cylinder in which the LED light goes, a hole inside the cylinder so the light can pass, another small hole by which passes the water tube and numerous cone-shaped holes of two different sizes for the irrigation system.

It was decided to print the lid in white so the light trespasses to make a nice visual effect, it also allowed to put holes inside the cylinder (to pass more water) so that some LEDs trespass directly and others do it through the lid.

The images shown in figure show the internal lid from different views so that it can be fully appreciated as it is and see the measurements of each of the parts that compose it.

Detailed measures (External lid):

• Thickness: 9mm.
• External circumference for LED: 79mm.
• Circumference thickness: 6mm.
• Circumference height: 10mm.
• Internal circumference for LED: 30mm.
• Height: 40mm.
• Width: 119mm.
• Guide height: 113mm.
• Guide width: 3mm.

Step 5: Checking

At this point it is needed to check that everything done until now works correctly: If all the pieces fit, seal them and join the glass walls. Then, it is verified that the structure is watertight, and if not it will have to be solved. Once everything is watertight, the humidifier is introduced and verified to work well. In our case, not having the components until later than expected, the holes were not made to the base as the measures were not clear. Therefore, now that the humidifier came, the holes has been made with a drill. The cable has been passed and sealed with silicone. Once it has dried it has been tested again to be watertight and fully working. The same process has been done for the water pump. And in the case of the LEDs, it has been decided to put two, one at the base and another inside the lid as planned, this way it lights up much more. So far the lamp must be watertight, and have all the components in its base with the wires passed, and the water pump tube reaching the lid, as can be seen in the image below.

Step 6: Exterior Base Design and Base Legs

With everything working now, the design of the external base have to be decided. A pyramidal form was selected so that, in case of leakage, the electronics do not suffer damage. In addition to this, it has been necessary to design four little cubes as legs because the cables pass under the internal base and make the lamp unstable.

Detailed measures (Pyramidal external base):

• Height: 174 x 188.49mm
• Width: 130mm.

Detailed measures (Internal base legs):

• Height: 22mm.
• Width: 20mm.

Step 7: Programming and Electronics

In this step you will be doing the programming and electronics parts. In the case of the programming, you will use the remote control that have the LED lights (that uses infrared) for the programming of the whole system. It will be, through the buttons of that remote control, how the electronics will be handled. The code is attached as an appendix at the end of this section.

In the case of the electronics the different components have been welded. In the 'step by step' section you can see in more detail how this part has been done.

Step 8: Final Check

Once you're all set, just check that it works properly: the lamp does not leak, remains stable and LEDs, water pump and humidifier also work properly. Also, the electronics don't make any trouble. The final result can be seen in the image below.

Step 9: Step by Step