DIY LED Christmas tree. Volumetric LED garland for the Christmas tree A smart decision is to create a garland with your own hands
Hi all!!! Happy New Year, everyone!! Let all the bad things stay in the old year, and all the good things will be with us in the new year!! So in this article I want to tell you how to make in just a couple of hours just such a small Christmas tree that can decorate your workplace, for example, in the new year, or can stand somewhere at home
The basis of the device is a simple multivibrator.
The oscillation frequency depends on the ratings of the capacitances and resistors in the base circuits. Wide field for experiments.
What do we need?
1) LEDs. I used three colors green 6pcs, yellow 6pcs and red 7pcs.
2) Resistors. 10kOhm - 2pcs, and 1kOhm - equal to the number of LEDs used.
3) Pair of transistors
4) Heat shrink with a diameter of 2 and 4 mm
5) Lacquered copper wire, approx. 0.8 or 0.7 mm thick
6) Something else...
The wire must be cut into pieces about 10-15 cm long. The number of such segments should be equal to the number of LEDs multiplied by two. It is advisable to make half of the segments 10 cm, the second half 15 cm.
Resistors are soldered to the LEDs, then all this is soldered to our wire segments, as in the figure.
Then the resistors on the LEDs are "hidden" in heat shrink.
After that, it is necessary to once again check each LED with a resistor for operability, and clarify the polarity. Then we twist together all the "pluses" of the LEDs, and all the "minuses" Then, as it were, we split the bunch of "pluses" into two so that we get two approximately identical groups of LEDs that we will connect to our multivibrator. Approximately like this.
I made the multivibrator by hinged mounting on two KT816G transistors, and unfortunately I did not have time to photograph it.
It remains to shove all this into any suitable case, and voila !! Enjoy!!
Do-it-yourself LED tree that does not require programming!
This project shows how to make a Christmas tree decoration without much effort and knowledge. The Christmas tree has a size of 120 x 80 cm and is made of ordinary LEDs, but their operation absolutely does not require a microcontroller and its programming. And that means it's for everyone.
The project does not take that long to make, even though it contains almost 1500 individual LEDs. It is assembled quite quickly and simply, but this is taking into account that you will follow the instructions below, which will give warnings against various errors. Before starting the assembly, it is recommended to watch the video presented above.
Step 1: Materials and Tools
To make this project, you really don’t need as many materials and tools as it might seem at first. This makes the project cheap and easy to manufacture. So, you will need:
Materials:
- LEDs 5 mm. Almost 1100 green, 300 yellow and 100 blue LEDs were used in this project. Moreover, the yellow and blue LEDs should be blinking.
- MDF sheet or fiberboard
- Soldering materials
- Electric wires, about 30 meters, preferably from a thin, solid copper core. In this case, a stripped telephone cable was used.
- An old laptop charger as a power source, in this case we used an 18.5 volt 4 amp power supply.
The most important secret in this project is to make the LEDs of individual colors blink. In this project, these are the yellow and blue LEDs. In design, the assumption was made that they would flash at different intervals, causing a random pattern after a while, and this theory turned out to be correct. At the moment of power supply, they start flashing at the same interval, but after 10 - 15 seconds, they start flashing randomly. If we take into account this feature of non-uniform operation, it turns out that to create a beautiful effect, no microcontroller, no programming, no resistors, no capacitors, nothing but LEDs are required!
From the tools you will also need quite a bit:
- Drill with a diameter of 1 mm and 5 mm, drill
- soldering iron
- Wooden layout - matrix
- Insulating tape
- Wire stripping tool (as it turned out the most important, because it makes the job very easy).
- Ruler, pencil and other little things.
Step 2: Preparing the Design
Preparation for work takes about half of the total time for the manufacture of this project, and believe me, it's worth it.
First, you need to draw an image on checkered paper (you can use graph paper), using only the colors of the LEDs that you can find. Be careful with the red color, because. in this case, 100 red flashing LEDs were ordered, and it turned out that when they are combined in a series, they turn off the entire series at the same time and do not light up anymore (this looks ugly and is not recommended for you). By combining red LEDs in a series of 9 pcs. they hardly caught fire. Blue and yellow LEDs are not affected by this problem, so I had to exclude red LEDs from the whole project.
In this project, the image was originally created in Photoshop, but it turned out to be quite a difficult moment. After searching for similar programs on the Internet, many software products were found that decompose images into square pixels. There are a lot of them, and which is more convenient - you choose. The essence of this step is to divide the image by colors into squares of a certain size. Then print it out on paper.
The next step is to properly orient the LEDs to reduce physical links. One could simply orient all the cathodes in one direction and the anodes in the other, thus creating a kind of square mask, connecting the power to only two poles, but in practice this turned out to be very inconvenient. Therefore, the connection scheme in this project looks like a connection of rectangular areas, since it does not require a large number of additional resistors to reduce the voltage supplied to the LEDs, and at the same time reduces the current consumption.
From the data sheet of the LEDs, it was found that each LED has a voltage drop of about 2.5 volts. In order to completely eliminate the use of resistors, it was decided to combine the LEDs into a series at the rate of 18.5 Volts / 7pcs. \u003d 2.6 Volts (Voltage drop across the LED). Thus, one series of LEDs should contain 7 LEDs and at the same time they will glow at maximum brightness.
In our case, we used a template with squares, in the center of which there was a dot of a certain color. Then, on paper, each color was combined into a series of seven LEDs. It was a very tedious task, but fun in its own way, almost like solving a puzzle. As it turned out in the end, a series of 7 LEDs is not enough to withstand a voltage of 18.5 volts, so in the end I had to increase the series to 9 LEDs. We strongly recommend that you find out and accurately calculate the allowable stresses per series. This will save you from reworking the entire circuit.
Step 3: Coordinate Soldering (LED Series)
In order to make life easier, a small matrix was made. Using the same dimensions as the final assembly, a small wooden board was made with a 5 mm pitch between the dots. When applying this matrix to a sheet of MDF or fiberboard, it must exactly match the holes to be drilled. After marking the holes, it is recommended to mark the row and column numbers, this will further simplify your further assembly. Also, on this matrix, in the next step, separate series of LEDs will be assembled, which will then be inserted into the main template.
Step 4: Create Custom LED Series
Now, with a handy template for composing a series of LEDs, you can proceed to the next step. You need to start from the very beginning, i.e. from the first series. Place the LEDs of the first series in the required order. Some of the legs of the LEDs need to be cut, otherwise they may cause a short circuit. Then straighten the legs of the LEDs so that you get a serial connection (ie, plus the previous one with the minus of the next, etc.). To mark the series, small pieces of adhesive tape were pasted with the series number on the anode of the last LED, and the minus was not indicated in any way. After assembling the series, it is checked for operability, if everything is fine, then you can proceed to the next series. In this project, 150 series of LEDs were obtained, the work is very tedious and requires attention. Remember to check connections after soldering.
Step 5: Preparing the Fiberboard
The size of the MDF sheet that was purchased for this project was the perfect size so there was no need to cut it. If you have such a need, then cut the sheet to the required size.
Draw a square grid all over the sheet, but first make sure it matches the grid you used to create the LED sections, i.e. matches the pre-matrix. Be careful if you break the square matrix a bit, i.e. draw lines not perpendicular, it can ruin your whole project!
Then, using the square template you drew on the paper, define the round areas where you want to drill the holes. These are not exact areas, they are only needed to understand the outline of the figure. Then apply the exact points for drilling holes.
After that, to make the holes easier to drill, drill all the holes with a 1 mm drill, and then go through all the holes with a 5 mm drill. This step is quite long, it took about 7 hours to drill 1500 holes!
Another extra hour was spent sanding the various bumps and deburring.
Step 6: Installing the LEDs in the MDF Board
This step is quite simple, but again, if you have exactly the same dimensions of the preliminary matrix and the holes drilled in the MDF sheet. If everything is correct, then simply insert the sections of LEDs from the back of the MDF sheet into the drilled holes, according to the paper map. Ideally, you won't need any fixation of the LEDs.
Be careful when inserting the LEDs into the holes, if the distance is a little off, then there is a chance of damaging the LED lens or soldering the pins. Also, do not rush to remove the tape with section numbers, it will come in handy in the future!
Step 7: Creating Positive and Negative Power Rails
To create power buses, you need to take a regular wire that is used for a voltage of 230 volts (for example, PVA wire strands), strip it of insulation, and twist it well to avoid delamination of small wires. Each side will require approximately 150 cm of wire. Then fasten each of the cores on the back of the MDF sheet, for example, with plastic staples, on both sides of the sheet vertically. At the intersection of the lines of the squares, the wire must be tinned for further soldering (in this case, about 60 points were obtained on each side).
Step 8: Connecting the LEDs
At this step, when all the LEDs are in place, clearly define where the series has a plus and a minus. The order in which the sections are connected does not matter.
Start from the bottom row. Solder each section in turn to the positive and negative power rails. In order to save time, wires and the number of solder points, consider connecting sections in parallel - this will significantly save your time and effort. Remember that the wires for connecting to the power buses must be insulated, otherwise a short circuit will occur!
It is recommended to connect line by line, this will help you a lot if you make a mistake. Also, if you wish, you can add a regular power switch between the charger and the LED tree to the circuit, in our case, the project works simply by connecting the power supply to the outlet.
This is where the production of the project ends, but remember that this idea is suitable not only for the image of a Christmas tree, you can implement your own ideas that are completely different.
On New Year's Eve, I want to decorate my house in an original way: not like the neighbors, and of course, not like “like last time”. With the help of the LED garlands offered for sale, you can create interesting compositions, but the price of the issue crosses out bold design decisions. Yes, and typical Chinese LED decorations look the same, and as a rule - faceless.
A smart solution is to create a garland with your own hands
- Firstly, it will be a 100% original product.
- Secondly, the decoration configuration will be exactly what you need.
- Third, it's a real money saver.
- And finally, you can safely say to family members, and especially children: “Daddy can!”
The concept is as follows: wires are stretched from the top to the lower branches, LEDs are arranged at the same interval, as if creating tiers.
The light must be dynamic: a control controller is required. Simple LEDs shine beautifully, but spot lights do not create volume. So you need shades for each LED element.
The calculation of the garland starts from the power supply. The option is purely individual: I used an unnecessary PSU from a laptop. The expected number of LEDs is no more than 100 pieces, when using standard 5 mm LEDs, the total current consumption (20 mA * 100) is 2 A at maximum brightness. For serial connection of 6 diodes (voltage drop on each of the order of 3 volts), the voltage of the power supply is 18-20 volts.
General calculation of the power of the garland:
We collect 5 lines. Each "thread" consists of 18 LEDs, 6 pcs. per channel (RGB option). 18 * 5 \u003d 90 pieces, total current 1.8 A. Thus, a power supply for a laptop with parameters: 19 volts, 4 amperes, is suitable. This provides a double power reserve.
Selection of necessary materials:
1. LEDs. I ordered for red, green and blue LED straw hat elements, the dispersion angle is 120 degrees.2. . Let's take a closer look at this element. If you don’t want to waste time making your own circuit (there are many options, the cheapest of them is on Arduino), you can take a ready-made controller for RGB tape. All circuits work on the same principle: 3 controlled channels, the switching sequence is set, and the brightness of the light. Actually, the three colors here are conditional, you can connect 3 channels of the same LEDs and enjoy the lighting effects.
To power the 19-volt channels, I chose a controller with a universal voltage of 12-24 volts. The control circuit is powered by any voltage in this range, at the output we get voltage.
A prerequisite (for my scheme) is the presence of a remote control for controlling modes.
3. Instead of a wiring harness, I chose (3 channels + 1 common).
4. different colors.
For ease of installation, I used 4 pin dupon connectors (2.54 mm pitch). The corresponding set has long been purchased from the same Chinese, an excellent help for various electronic crafts.
Since I planned to hide the LEDs in the shades, I bought it on Aliexpress. Landing diameter is 5 mm.
Calculation of the connection diagram
LEDs, even when connected in series (in my case 6 diodes), are connected through a current-quenching resistor. Parameters of LED elements on the package:
The calculation of the resistor is carried out according to the formula, or on the LED calculator. I used the online service:
- For the RED channel (voltage drop 1.8-2.0 V), the resistance is 420 ohms.
- For the GREEN and BLUE channels (voltage drop 3.0-3.2 V), the resistance is 82 ohms (green) and 75 ohms (blue). The green LED element shines brighter, so a higher value resistor to equalize the overall picture.
I bought a common anode RGB LED controller. That is, a minus is applied to each channel, and a plus to the common wire.
We collect a garland
You can use twisted wires, as on factory garlands. I liked the design on the train more.
We make a reinforced leg for each LED element. To do this, you need toothpicks and heat shrink.
We collect, we heat with a hairdryer.
It turns out this construction:
It makes sense to immediately prepare and test all 90 LEDs.
Then we mark the cable, determining the installation sites of the diodes through an equal distance. I made neat cuts along the cable on the wires of the desired color, cut and tinned the mounting points.
After assembly, each LED looks like this:
It turned out neat and reliable.
It is convenient to solder on a device with a magnifying glass, which is called the "third hand".
Next, we connect the supply wire (common "+") to the channels, through resistors.
We isolate the parts with heat shrink.
And connect with the "plus".
We cover this loop with a large diameter heat shrink.
We mount connectors on the opposite end.
Then we put snowflake shades on the LEDs.
The lesson is not easy (after all, 90 pieces!), But fascinating.
We check again. The effect is amazing.
Note: Working LEDs do not work well in photographs, so the image is significantly worse than the original.
It remains to mount the garland on the Christmas tree - and call the kids: admire dad's work.
Outcome:
The total financial cost of the garland is no more than 1000 rubles. The main consumable part is a ready-made controller. The power supply is conditionally free. Diodes and wires are mere pennies. Additional costs: 300 rubles for snowflake shades. The option is not mandatory, but significantly increases the attractiveness of the garland.
The time spent (4 full days off) is absolutely not a pity: it was interesting to work, and the result is worth it.
The traditional large Christmas tree was replaced by its miniature versions, made from a variety of materials. The Christmas tree made of LEDs looks the most festive. There are several ways, LED Christmas tree. At the same time, Christmas trees look different from each other and original.
LED Christmas tree on the wall
The simplest and easiest option for making an LED Christmas tree does not require much effort. To make such a Christmas tree, you will need an LED garland, pushpins and photographs, or small plastic toys. The tree will decorate the wall.
The buttons must be fixed in the area of the top of the spruce, at the ends of its paws and at their base. Mark the middle of the LED string and attach it to the top button. Then pass both ends of the garland through the buttons, depicting a Christmas tree. You can decorate such a Christmas tree with light balls, toys or photographs. Turn on the LED garland and admire the new Christmas tree.
LED tree from a bottle
An original Christmas tree with LEDs can be obtained on the basis of an empty champagne bottle. In addition to the bottle, you will need a drill, a drill, plasticine, glue, an LED garland and paper.
The bottle must be cleaned of the label and rinsed. Fix the prepared bottle on the work surface with plasticine. At the bottom of the bottle, cover the drilling site with plasticine. Start drilling a hole. After a small notch is formed, drop a few drops of water into the hole. This is necessary so that the drill does not get very hot. Drill the hole all the way. Remove all plasticine, rinse the bottle and wipe it dry.
Pass the garland through the drilled hole and fill the bottle with it. To make the product more like a Christmas tree, roll the white parchment paper into a cone, fix its edges with glue. Turn on the garland. With this, your Christmas tree is ready.
Floral Mesh LED Christmas Tree
This Christmas tree in appearance will resemble a Christmas tree from under, but it will look more aesthetically pleasing. To make a Christmas tree, you will need a floral net, thick cardboard, cling film, scissors, PVA glue, a brush, sewing needles, an LED garland and Christmas tree decorations.
From cardboard, you need to twist the cone of the desired height. Cut the floral mesh into strips. In a container, dilute the PVA glue with a small amount of water. Wrap a cardboard cone with cling film, cut off the excess. Moisten the pieces of the floral mesh in the glue solution, and apply them to the cone, fastening them with sewing needles. After the first layer of the mesh dries, lay out the second in the same way. Leave the cone to dry completely.
After that, remove the mesh cone from the cardboard structure, carefully remove the film as well. Put an LED garland inside the cone and decorate the entire Christmas tree with toys.
Good day! Before New Year there is still time, I decided to make a Christmas tree. As they say, I blinded her from what was!
And it was exactly:
- Copper tube 30 cm high with a diameter of 5-7 mm (iron can also be used),
- Copper wire with a diameter of 1-1.5 mm, I don’t remember how many meters, soft electrical tape “Japan” (Actually “Made in China”), I think it’s suitable and narrow tape,
- Heat shrink with a diameter of 4 mm,
- Copper wire (I used twisted pairs from UTP cable),
- 3mm LEDs (quantity depending on the number of branches on the future Christmas tree) green and red which were available, which were once ordered from a Chinese online store,
- Resistors (the value and quantity depends on the connection method and supply voltage, I soldered resistors from old circuits of phones, TVs, tape recorders),
- Pliers,
- Scissors or wire cutters
- Yarn "Grass" of green color was bought in the department "Yarn",
- Power supply (used an old phone charger)
- Resistor ratings, quantity and connection scheme can be calculated on the website: http://www.casemods.ru/services/raschet_rezistora.html
- The calculation of the multivibrator was done in the program "Symmetrical multivibrator"
Let's get started!
We measure the wire on the upper branches, make an allowance for attaching the branch to the trunk, fold it in half and twist the halves together. Thus, we get a branch blank:
The number of branches in the first row depends on your imagination, I made 4. Next, we attach the branches to the trunk with electrical tape.
We make the crown in the same way. Next, we make the second row of branches down. I have 6 of them, all made the same as the first ones, only they are a little longer, the number of branches in a row and the number of rows in a tree depends on you. Thus, you need to make and fix all the branches on the future Christmas tree.
If you do not want to make a garland, then you can immediately wrap the branches and trunk with Grass yarn. But I made a garland, or rather, even two separate ones. One garland of red LEDs and the second of green.
I soldered the LEDs in series in 2 pieces, a 120 ohm resistor 0.04 watts. Supply voltage 6 volts. There is one LED for each end of the branch. The tip of the branch was inserted between the legs of the LED. The wire from which the branches are made in lacquer insulation. After soldering, heat shrink was put on.
Before winding the branches, I checked the entire structure for operability (as you can see in the photo, this is already the second Christmas tree, and the third in the video at the end of the article).
The Christmas tree stand was made from a cardboard tube (the basis of a bobbin of packaging film). The top of the stand is cut out of chipboard, a hole is drilled along the diameter of the trunk, the chipboard is attached to a cardboard tube with nails, the bottom of the stand is sawn out of kragis. The barrel is fixed in the stand with hot glue. The stand is lined with black cashmere.
On the side of the stand, a hole for the power cable is drilled.
A multivibrator is inserted into the stand, calculated in the “Symmetrical multivibrator” program and soldered according to this scheme:
Everything is connected according to the scheme. After installing the multivibrator in the stand, we fix the bottom of the stand (cragis) with a furniture stapler. The tree is ready! Optionally, you can imitate snow on the branches with gouache.
Video of homemade Christmas tree: