WLED Obelisk Lamp

This is a simple obelisk lamp I made using OpenSCAD, transparent PETG filament, a strand of BTF brand WS2812B “Neopixel” fairy lights, and an ESP8266 D1 Mini V4 microcontroller running the fabulous WLED software. I powered the device using a USB-A to micro-USB power cord and 2000 mA charger/power supply.

The obelisk consists of the obelisk itself, plus a base for mounting the microcontroller. I hand-notched the base and obelisk for the USB power cord. I soldered the power cord directly to the microcontroller, with the fairy lights also soldered directly to the microcontroller.

For installing the fairy lights in the obelisk, I cut off the female JST connector and power leads on the “far end” of the string (the “output” end of the string where more WS2812b LEDs could be connected.) I then took the farthest LED (#50, counting sequentially from the power and signal injection “beginning” of the strand), applied some hot melt glue to it, and carefully positioned it at the apex of the obelisk. I freeze-sprayed the hot melt glue to ensure the LED stayed put. Then I simply shoved the rest of the strand into the obelisk, the more willy-nilly the better since I wanted a random cluster of lights scattered throughout the lamp.

For the base, I soldered on a female JST connector to the appropriate pins on the D1 Mini (see the WLED web site for reference on what pins to use), then tied a figure-8 knot strain relief knot in the USB power cord at an appropriate distance, and plugged it  into the D1 Mini.

I used double-sided tape (you could also use transfer tape) to mount the D1 Mini in the middle of the base. I then positioned the power cord so that it sat in the exit notch with the figure-8 knot  just on the inside of the notch, then I hot glued the knot in place to prevent the cord from being pushed back into the lamp.

I was careful to use a data USB cable, so to flash the WLED software on the lamp I just plugged it into my computer, went to the WLED installation web site, followed the instructions, et voila!

Thanks as always to Aircookie and the entire WLED community for the incredible software!