ProtoPoi

thingiverse

ProtoPoi are my first attempt at making 3D-printed poi. To reduce total print time, the poi are constructed from a combination of 3D-printed parts and flexible tubing. This reduces their overall weight, and also makes them fairly squishy so smacking yourself in the face with them is not as unpleasant! V2, featured here, uses small pieces of galvanized steel wire as pins to retain the tubing within the 3D-printed endcaps. This ensures that even with repeated abuse, the poi will not fall apart. You can print and assemble just the poi, and weight them with 1/4"-20 nuts like I have shown, or you can print and assemble the light modules and make them glow in the dark! The light modules can be assembled from parts obtained from SparkFun and DigiKey, and the code is open-source on GitHub: https://github.com/fughilli/ProtoPoiController The Fritzing screenshot shows how to hook up the electronics, but you'll have to work delicately to make it all fit on the proto board. See the photo of the wiring to see how I did it. BOM, plain ProtoPoi: Polyethylene Tubing (107mm per segment, 24 segments) can be purchased from McMaster-Carr: https://www.mcmaster.com/#5958K11 1/4"-20 Steel Nuts (I found that 4 per poi feels weighty enough) are available at McMaster-Carr: https://www.mcmaster.com/#90473A029 550 Parachute Cord can be purchased on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MNTIXIM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 BOM, light modules: 850mAh LiPo batteries (x2) are available at SparkFun: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13854 Tricolor 5mm LED lights (CC), x8, can be purchased from SparkFun: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9264 Pushbuttons, x2, can be obtained from SparkFun: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/97 Slide switches, x2, are available at SparkFun: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/102 L293D chips (x2) can be purchased from SparkFun: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/315 MSP430G2553IN20 microcontrollers (x2) are available at DigiKey: https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/texas-instruments/MSP430G2553IN20/296-28429-5-ND/2638885 JST 2P Female Connectors, x2, can be purchased from SparkFun: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9749 Snappable Proto Boards (x1) are available at SparkFun: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13268 0.1uF Ceramic Capacitors, x2, can be obtained from DigiKey: https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/vishay-bc-components/K104Z15Y5VF5TL2/BC1160CT-ND/286782 68 Ohm Resistors (x6) are available at DigiKey: https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/stackpole-electronics-inc/CF14JT68R0/CF14JT68R0CT-ND/1830323 47 kOhm Resistors, x2, can be purchased from DigiKey: https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/stackpole-electronics-inc/CF14JT47K0/CF14JT47K0CT-ND/1830391 22 kOhm Resistors (x2) are available at DigiKey: https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/stackpole-electronics-inc/CF14JT22K0/CF14JT22K0CT-ND/1830383 M3-12mm Machine Screws, x8, can be purchased on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Assortment-Precise-Beautiful-printed/dp/B0714FLXND/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1532256102&sr=8-3&keywords=m3+screw+set