3d printed water feature

thingiverse

This is a water feature I designed to keep the water pipe from rising through the bottom, creating an illusion effect using a plant pot that's no longer needed. The plant pots are available at Home Bargains and B&M, but at B&M they don't have holes in the bottom that you need to fill first, which is better. They cost £3, while at Home Bargains they do have holes anyway. The Sphere is 30cm and I got it off Amazon for £16.59. The base I designed is specifically for this size. I got the RGB LEDs from eBay for £2.39 for ten with a remote control, but I removed the batteries, drilled small holes in the back of them all, inserted wires, soldered them to the contacts, sealed the holes with silicone, and connected them all up to an adapter. I also drilled a hole through the 3D printed LED holder and another small hole through the bottom corner of the base to thread the wire through. All the wires then go up the 15mm copper tube and out the bottom. It might be better using 22mm tube, as it was very tight. I used an overflow fitting from a header tank, which you can get in many places, to go through the bottom. I sealed up the holes in the plant pot by using PLA and melting it in with a soldering iron. I got the small pump off eBay for about £6, but you can get cheaper ones. Also, the RGB LED in the top nozzle is 3mm and 12v, and you can find them on eBay for about £3 for ten. The bottom seal is just to cover all the holes that have been sealed up, covering the bottom with silicone, then placing the 3D printed cover over it to stop any leaks. If the pot didn't have holes that needed sealing up, this isn't necessary. The base simply sits in the pot and doesn't need anything to hold it up; it just wedges in nicely. When I first tried it with water, the water ran off the sphere and some over the side of the pot, but this is because it's new and polished. After a few hours, the water sticks to the ball and only runs off the bottom, as you can see in the video that was taken in daylight: https://youtu.be/7cM7RiU8ts8