LED Spinning Sign

This is a quick and easy project to create a spinning LED sign for your special event. The design is inspired and based on bike LED which spins to create an image. This my second attempt at an LED Sign and I have created with a number of improvements over the prototype which I have never posted. In this version, the motor assembly can be removed and stored along side the extruded aluminum shaft. This allows the sign to have a smaller foot print when you want to store it away. In addition, I have added a faster motor which allows the LED strip to spin up to 500 RPM which is approx 25 MPH on a 26" wheel. Total cost for the project is approximately $100.00 give or take.

Quick Video (Looks Better in person): https://youtu.be/f0PRC1S5N2I

Print Settings

Printer:

Afinobot Creative Pro

Rafts:

No

Supports:

Yes

Resolution:

.02

Infill:

80%

Bill Of Material

1 x Uxcell DC 12V 550RPM Micro Gear Box Motor Speed Reduction Electric Gearbox Centric Output Shaft (Amazon $13.22)

1 x Pololu 1083 UNIVERSAL ALUMINUM MOUNTING HUB FOR 6mm SHAFT PAIR, 4-40 HOLES (2 Pack) (Amazon $13.99)

6 x 4-40 x 3/8" Screws (Local Hardware store or parts bin)

1 x Pixnor 6V 12V 24V 28V 3A 80W DC Motor Speed Controller (PWM) Speed Adjustable Reversible Switch 1203BB dc motor driver reversing (Amazon $8.45)

1 x YIER LED Bike Wheel Light with Auto Open and Close - Ultra Bright LED-Colorful Bicycle Tire Accessories- Waterproof (Amazon $29.99)

1 x V-SlotLinear Rail 20mm x 20mm x500mm (Openbuilds Partstore http://openbuildspartstore.com/v-slot-linear-rail/ $5.50)

7 x Tee Nuts (25 Pack)(Openbuilds Partstore http://openbuildspartstore.com/tee-nuts-25-pack/ $4.95)

7 X Low Profile Screws M5 x 10mm (25 Pack)(Openbuilds Partstore http://openbuildspartstore.com/low-profile-screws-m5/ $3.20)

1 x Slot Cover x 500mm (Openbuilds Partstore http://openbuildspartstore.com/slot-cover-panel-holder/ $2.00)

1 x XT60 Connector Male/Female with Lock and Insulating Cap (5 Pack) (Hobby King https://hobbyking.com/en_us/xt60-connector-male-female-with-lock-and-insulating-cap-5-pairs.html $4.85)

1 x Nylon XT60 Connectors Male/Female (5 Pack) GENUINE (Hobby King https://hobbyking.com/en_us/nylon-xt60-connectors-male-female-5-pairs-genuine.html $4.15)

1 x ZIPPY Compact 1300mAh 3S 25C Lipo Pack (Hobby King https://hobbyking.com/en_us/zippy-compact-1300mah-3s-25c-lipo-pack.html $10.80)

11 x M3 Brass Knurl Insert Nuts Metric Threaded (Outside diameter: 4.2/5mm) (100 Pack) (Ebay $6.00)

2 x #1 x 1/4" Phillips screws (10 Pack) ( Local Hobby Store $2.39)

17 x 3mm x 8mm long socket head screws ( Local hardware store)

YIER LED Bike Wheel Light Modifications

Warning

Please note the software which is distributed by the YIER company is not well documented and contains avirus. In order to use the software, I is required to disable the antivirus software. I resorted to using an older PC which is isolated from my other systems and has been installed for such task.

If anyone has a clean version of the software please feel free to provide a link to it. Ideally I would like to get my hands on the source code in order to make improvements to the software.

Lastly, please be careful when using this device. Spinning objects at a high rate can cause serious injuries to yourself or others. Use at your own risk and with care.

Do not stall the motor, as it can overheat the motor winding's and cause the motor to burn out. (Darn Kids ruined the first one I built doing this)

Notes on Creating Images

When creating your images remember to rotate the image 90 degrees clockwise. This must be done to compensate for the location of the magnetic pick up. Otherwise your images will be laying on their side.

Example image rotated.

Example of LED Spinner in action and interlace issue.

General Notes and Thoughts

So it looks like I will have another update in this design for the following reasons:

1. The shaft on the motor does not provide enough support and creates a wobble. This may be resolved by adding a thin bearing off the motors shaft.

2. The speed of the motor does not seem to benefit the design all that much. It seems that a motor which provides 250 RPM is visible by the human eye, however a motor which spins at 500 RPM provides the same visibility and can be seen better on a video, whereas the slow motor causes larger gaps in the image when filmed.

3. The image when spinning tends to shimmy back and forth when it is displayed. This may be due to the size of the magnetic pick up used to trigger the hall sensor. As the current design uses a larger magnet which creates a strong magnetic field, I would like to create a custom pick up which is smaller, however I am concerns that magnet may need to be closer to the LED spinner leading to crashes based on the wobble.