Mercedes-Benz Rotating Logo

Two weeks ago i got my first 3D printer and started creating in the wonderfull world of 3D printing. During the configuration of my printer i printed many different patterns of the Mercedes-Benz star, but most of them were not at the expected form, so decided to make something out of them. By joining some stars together i created the form of the first picture. The geometry which surrounds the star looks more like a tetradecagon than a circle, which made me print more and more times in order to achieve the desired result.

When i saw the contest "Make it Move" i said why not? and decided to make it rotate. Later i added a LED at the center of the star but this design must be further developed because the mechanism which transfers the power supply to the rotating star is not working efficiently.

If you like my project please vote my entry at the "Make it Move" contest.

Supplies

For this project you are going to need:

- 3D printer

- PLA fillament in different colours and glow in the dark series

- DC motor

- LED and thin wires (optional)

- 3V battery holder

- switch

Step 1: Printing and Sanding the Parts

I have designed all parts with Autodesk Inventor, the Design Accelerator is the best way to design gears quick and easy, then i converted the files to .stl.

Start by 3D printing the parts, you can find the .stl files on the list below. For some of the parts i used the glow in the dark filament in order to have the result shown on the video when the lights go out, these parts include both sides of the star, some gears and of course the base with the old Mercedes-Benz logo.

The parts were printed by the Creality Ender 3. The bed temperature was set to 60° C and the hot end to 210° C while using PLA filament, for better surface results i reduced the feed rate to 80%.

Before printing the parts make sure that the scale is set right, all parts should be printed in 1:1 scale, this way you will avoid assembly fit problems. Since you have all the parts printed you should clean and sand imperfections like over-extrusions or stringings. This is very important for the gears, please control if the gear teeth are meshing each other the right way and rotate freely after placing them on their axles.

Step 2: Assembly of the Star

Use glue to join both sides of the star together after placing the pin in the slot at the centers, then clamp them and give the glue enough time to dry. Pay special attention by alligning both ends of the base foot of the stars, this parts must fit in the slot of the last gear.

Step 3: Assembly of the Base and Gear Support Frame

The cylindical base is the mounting component of the electric motor, the switch and the battery and together with the gear support frame and the gears they consist the main motion transmition unit of the project.

Fisrst of all place the motor in the frame, mount the motor support and fix it with tie wraps to the base. Then glue the gear support frame to the base, let the glue dry proceed to the next step.

Step 4: Mounting the Gears

Before placing the gears to their axles on the mounting frame add some grease to the axles and the gear teeth of all gears. You can find the assembly sequence on the first picture. The last gear to be placed is the smallest gear which transmitts the rotation from the motor to the rest of the gear reduction.

Step 5: Assembly of the Gear Cover

The gear cover and the old glow in the dark Mercedes-Benz logo should be glued together and clamped. Then the three feet of the cover should be placed in the holes of the base. Pay attention by placing the feet to the base holes, the grooved foot must be placed in the hole between the gears, otherwise the gear will be blocked and will not rotate.

The last thing is to assembly the star and the last gear.

Step 6: Wire the Motor Electrics

The motor is powered by a 3V battery pack and between them there is a switch. Enjoy your rotating star, day and night!

If you like my project please vote my entry at the "Make it Move" contest.

Step 7: More Ideas

The project started as i tried to set my new 3d printer, so i have printed several star until i achieved the desired print result. This way i have printed more than a dozen stars, with them i created a static logo.

Furthemore i am developing a design to integrate a LED in the center of the star and i m going to post soon the results.

If you like my project please vote my entry at the "Make it Move" contest.