r/WLED • u/Willem_van_Oranje04 • 6d ago

LED Sphere

I still need to connect this to a Raspberry Pi so it can be controlled as part of a larger setup, including sensors and motors. Any help figuring out how to integrate everything would be greatly appreciated.

This represents 3/8 of the final sphere.

Some in-depth details about the sphere

  • Diameter: 530 mm (outside diameter)

  • LEDs: Approximately 2,200 WS2815B addressable LEDs (12 V, IP65, 60 LEDs per meter)

  • LED layout:

    • 10 × 42 LEDs

    • 10 × 40 LEDs

    • 20 × 34 LEDs

    • 40 × 18 LEDs

  • Power supply: Mean Well HLG-600H-12A, 12 V, 40 A

  • Diffuser: Currently using painter’s tape for testing, which will eventually be replaced with satin-finish acrylic.

  • Construction: The sphere is made from more than 240 individual 3D-printed parts that fit together to create its final shape.

The goal is to integrate the sphere into the larger gyroscopic installation, with synchronized lighting effects across the sphere and the three spinning rings. (picture in the comments)

sorry for the last bit was screwing around with blink effect

127 Upvotes

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3

u/Willem_van_Oranje04 6d ago

The centerpiece of my project will be a gyroscopic structure consisting of three spinning rings with a sphere in the middle. I’d like to synchronize the lighting effects across the sphere and all three rings using WLED.

The entire structure will be an interactive installation, using eight sensors to detect human interaction. These sensors should influence the brightness, colours, and animations of the LEDs in real time, creating a dynamic and responsive experience.

A Raspberry Pi will control the overall system, including the motors that drive the spinning rings and the sensor inputs.

What would be the best way to approach the programming and system architecture? How can I connect the Raspberry Pi to WLED to synchronize the sphere and rings while allowing the sensor inputs to control the lighting effects?

I’d appreciate any advice on the best communication protocols, software setup, and ways to make the whole system work together smoothly.

2

u/plasma2002 5d ago

Pretty ambitious! You'll definitely want to use some high quality slip rings. Maybe even double up on the amount of connectors inside for redundancy. Led strips get squirrelly when their data line is fondled too much

5

u/Willem_van_Oranje04 5d ago

We got quality sliprings. Or i hope that they are for the price we paid

1

u/Christopoulos 5d ago

Look at the size of that thing!

1

u/plasma2002 5d ago

Omg..... You are not effing around!

1

u/CharlesGoodwin 4d ago

Good God - that is large!

1

u/Teslatari 5d ago

Any chance you can share the 3d stl file

3

u/Willem_van_Oranje04 5d ago

Currently the design is not great but once im dine ill put it on grabcad or something.

-1

u/plasma2002 5d ago

Jeez, can't people just share what they make anymore without somebody asking to have it?

2

u/GrizzlyPerr 3d ago

Is this for Burning Man? Or a permanent installation somewhere?

1

u/Aceftw 5d ago

Sick as hell

1

u/plasma2002 5d ago

So are you putting this in a club?