Introduction: Real Time Moon Phase Lamp
I'm into Astronomy since I was 6 years old and currently I'm doing a lot of Astrophotography and stargazing, so when I saw this contest, I started to think about space related project :)
In stargazing, Moon phase is very important as when it's a Full Moon you won't see many stars in the sky, so I have been checking my mobile Moon calendar for perfect stargazing conditions, clear sky and no Moon. Then I had an idea :) I have seen many 3D printed Moon lamps, but that was it, just lamps. I came up with the design that will not only be a Moon Lamp, but it will also show current Moon phase in real time, so when I will look at my lamp, I will know straight away what Moon Phase it will be that night.
In the design, I have added few options for the speed, so you can switch between real time Moon phase (29.5 days) or, if you like, you can speed it up to 24Hr cycle or even faster to 1Hr cycle. It's up to you which mode you choose and you can switch between them at any time :)
Supplies
- ULN2003 stepper motor driver
- 12V 1A power supply (2.1mm center positive)
- Mini 3 position switch (1P3T)
- DC socket (2.1mm pin to match your power supply)
- Equipmnet wire
- 1m of 15-18 SWG enamelled copper wire (about 1mm diameter)
- Solder (preferably lead free)
Tools:
- Soldering Iron
- 3D printer
Software:
- Arduino IDE
- 3D prinSlicer
Step 1: 3D Design
I designed the Moon Phase Lamp in Fusion 360 which has been my favourite CAD software for few years now. It took me about 4 hours to design all the base parts and additional 2 hours to make a spherical lithophane Moon.
After 3D printing prototype, I had to make few minor adustments to the design and couple of upgrades, like swich, that allows you to change the rotation speed. The final version was 3D printed and ready for the assembly after couple of days, and in the next few steps I will show you how to make your own real time Moon Phase Lamp :)
Step 2: 3D Printing
For a very long time I have been using older version of Cura, as it's working great for my custom build 3D printer. You can, of course, use other slicer or newer version of Cura, but the basic setting in general will remain the same and you can find them below.
- Load .stl files into Cura slicer
- I recommend printing with 200 microns layer resolution for the base and 100 microns for the Moon
- Set infill to 20% - 30% for the base and 100% for the Moon
- For the main lid you will need support material (10% infill works quite well)
- I recommend printing speed 40mm/s - 50mm/s
- Depending on nozzle type and PLA brand, I recommend printing temperature between 200C - 230C
- After each part is printed, I recommend to write the part number with marker at the back, so you can assemble the mirror in the right order
NOTE: Make sure that you print the Moon pieces in WHITE PLA (or PETG). White material gives best results for the lamp. Rest of the parts you can print in any colour, but BLACK works quite well the Moon lamp will look nice in the dark.
THE MOON STL FILES: Due to limited size of the file that I can upload for Instructables, please follow the link to my Thingiverse or GrabCAD profile to download the two halfs of the Moon.
Step 3: Electronics
On the photos above, you can see connection diagram for the Moon Phase Lamp.
Please follow the diagram and solder all components together accordingly (see picture of soldered electronics which is placed inside the 3D pinted base).
NOTE: Make sure that you have fume extractor switched on while soldering. In case you burn yourself with hot soldering iron, immediately cool affected arm under cold water.
Step 4: Arduino
During the asembly I come across a small problem with stepper motor overheating after 30 mins of running. This was not acceptable as the lamp should work 24/7, so I made changes to the code. Now at the beginig of the loop the power to the motor is swiched on and then after the movemnet, the power is switched off. This way the motor is only powered for few miliseconds to move and it remeins cold all the time, so you can run it 24/7.
Here is the code that you have to upload using Arduino IDE, and instructions how to do that:
- Open Arduino IDE
- Open the code [File -> Open -> Moon_lamp_v3.ino]
- Copy folder 28bYJ48 (with 28BYJ48.cpp & 28BYJ48.h) to library directory [c:\User\User_Name\Documents\Arduino\libraries] (see picture above)
- Connect Arduino Nano to PC/Laptop using USB cable
- Choose COM port [Tools -> Port “…” -> COM…]
- Choose Arduino board type [Tools -> Board: “…” -> Arduino Nano]
- Choose Arduino Nano processor type [Tools -> Processor: “…” -> ATmega328P] [It is possible that you will need to change it to ATmega328P (Old Bootloader) depending on Arduino Nano]
- Verify the code
- Upload
Step 5: Assembly Part 1
- At first, insert all soldered components into the moon lamp base, Arduino, Stepper Motor, Stepper Driver, DC power connector, ON/OFF switch and 1P3T switch (as shown on 1st picture above).
- For the 2 wires which are connected to the 12V E10 bulb, solder the 15-18 SWG enammeled copper wire and feed the wire through the hole in the lid.
- Screw the lid to the base (there are 3 x M3 x 10mm screws) and wrap the enamelled copper wire around the bent arm (see 2nd picture above).
- Solder the E10 bulb holder to the enamelled copper wire. Please check polarity before soldering, by connecting wires to the bulb holder and switching the lamp on to see if it works.
- Twist the wires together and form an 'S' shape with the E10 bulb holder at the end (see 3rd, 4th and 5th picture above).
Step 6: Assembly Part 2
- Mount the 3D printed hemosphere, which was printed in Black PLA (or PETG) to the 28BYJ48 stepper motor (as shown on 1st picture above).
- Adjust the enamelled copper wire with the bulb holder, to make sure the bulb is hidden inside the hemisphere in the center (as shown in 2nd picture above).
- Make sure the twisted wire is fed through the hole at the top of the hemisphere (see 2nd picture above).
- Once you happy with the wire arrangement, glue the small piece at the top of the hemisphere to close the hole. This way the wire will be secured inside the hole and, when the motor will rotate the hemisphere, the wire will not get tangled (see 3rd picture above).
Step 7: Assembly Part 3
- Glue the front side of the Moon (3D printed in White PLA) to the base (see 1st picture above).
- Once the glue is cured, glue the back side of the Moon (see 2nd picture) and leave it for at least few hours to cure
- There will be a small gap between both Moon hemispheres and you can use solder iron to gently melt the two parts together (see 3rd picture).
- Another way, to seal the gap between two half of the Moon, would be to use super glue or 3D printing pen and extrude thin layer of WHITE PLA between them.
NOTE: I recommend to use Gorilla super glue, as it works really well for 3D printed parts, but you can, of course, use any other super glue you have at home.
Step 8: Test Your Moon Phase Lamp
Now Your Moon Phase Lamp is ready :)
You can now choose between 3 diffent speeds, depending on what you like. You can switch using 1P3T switch to 1 hour rotation period so the Moon will complete the cycle within 1 hour.
If you choose 24 hour cycle, I would recommned to switch the lamp on during the day when the Moon Lamp is at New Moon Phase. This way, when it will get dark, the Lamp will move to Full Moon Phase in the middle of the night.
Finally you can switch to very slow rotation of a 29.5 day period which is a complete Moon Phase cycle. If you syncronise your Moon Phase Lamp with the real Moon Phase, and then leve it swiched on, you will know exactly what Moon Phase it is every day by simply looking at the lamp. This mode is particulary importnat to me, as I am an astrophotographer and, when there is a Full Moon, I can't see many stars. Now I will know the condition for stargazing without checking Moon calendar :)
Enjoy making!
First Prize in the
Space Contest
