Ender 3 Pro Lighting

thingiverse

Please note that light strip widths may vary, and as such they may not work with your printer. I would recommend trying to test fit the strip prior to cutting or assembling to ensure it will slide into the groove. If using the solder version of the rail, try sticking one of the LEDs to the rail and see if the rail still fits into the groove. This is to ensure you don't spend 2 hours assembling and burning your fingers to find out it won't it. Feel free to imagine how I determined this... <h1>STL Descriptions</h1> ***STL Orientation is wrong. Print flat on back. I have included an image of the printing orientation as reference. There are two STL versions provided, depending on the style you wish to utilize. One is meant to be used as a "solderless" (just stick your light strip to it). The other saves on LED count (and also power/heat) but requires soldering to assemble. I have supplied both, but the images are from the unit that require soldering as that is the one that I built. I did this in PLA and haven't had any issues, but I have done a lot of soldering in my day. The design that requires soldering necessitates soldering very close to the printed part. PETG, ABS, or other high-temp material will hold up better if you have issues with warping while soldering. <h2>LED Strip Sourcing</h2> I had used the WS2812B RGB individually addressable light strip in this build. It does require its own control unit (one isn't provided), so please bear that in mind if you decide to buy these. https://a.co/d/2dDfYzA Other light strips *may* fit but I have not tested any others. NOTE: The lights I used DID overhang the printed part by about 0.5mm on either side. Yours may as well. There is enough tolerance that this won't pose a problem and actually helps to ensure the lights do not move once they are installed into the z-axis groove. <h1>Solder-less Design</h1> Ender 3 (270mm printing height): Print 2x, one for each side Ender 3 (370 print height extension): Print 4x, 2 for each side Approximately 24 LEDs per side (48 total) <b>Instructions:</b> In order to utilize this one, you will need to peel the backing from the LED strip and stick it directly to the PLA bar you printing <h1>Solder Required Design</h1> Ender 3 (270mm printing height): Print 2x, one for each side Ender 3 (370 print height extension): Print 4x, 2 for each side Approximately 12 LEDs per side (24 total). Wire Length Tool: Print x1 (it will save you time and heartache). <b>Instructions:</b> Cut the LEDs apart from the strip and solder a 21mm (-ish) set of 3 wires to a single side of each LED (preferably the side marked "in"). The length is about perfect for a tight fit between LEDs of the version I used. You may need to adjust as necessary and as such, doing a test fit with two LEDs and one set of wires may be beneficial.... To use the tool, push the wire into one end until it reaches the surface of the other side. Cut the wire as close to the edge as possible using angle cutters. Do not solder wires to 2 of the LEDs (these will be the first LEDs in the series). I have included a STL for a tool to help with this. Once you have 3 wires soldered to one side of all 24 lights, pass the wires into the housing, and up through the other (for future attachment of the light that will be there). Peel and stick the LED to the flat spot provided. Randomly solder each connection. By Randomly, I mean solder a wire on one LED, then move to a completely different LED at least 3 or 4 away. Do not spend more than 10 seconds per wire soldering, and give it at least double the time you spend soldering a connection for that area to cool down. If you don’t, the PLA will warp. If the PLA warps (it probably will) - you can use a heat gun to straighten out again. But be warned, there isn't a lot of clearance between the guide and the rail (this was done intentionally), so as a result it will not take much for it to not be able to slide into place. The final step would be passing through, and soldering the input wires (power and data) to the starting point of each light bar. Again, take your time, and let it cool between soldering to ensure warping is prevented or kept to a minimum. Once soldering is complete and the unit is cooled, take the top support off the printer, and slide the light rail into the v-groove. Depending on how much warpage has occurred this will either be extremely easy, or moderately difficult to prevent breakage. Again. Take your time and go slow. Do not rush. If there are bends, or if the lights are slightly wider than the ones I had used, it may require a little more finagling to get it into the unit. The specific lights I used DID over-hang the printed part by about 0.5mm on both sides <h1>Future Adds</h1> Since the LED strip I chose necessitated supplying my own controller, I designed and programmed a circuit using a PIC16F1455 and a rotary encoder. I will be posting the compiled code, BOM and Gerber files for this in the future for anyone that wishes to roll their own as well.