Servo Flower

myminifactory

This lamp draws inspiration from the Lotus flower. It consists of 12 individual leaves, each equipped with a separate SG90 servo that can move independently. These servos are controlled by an Arduino Uno microcontroller. I originally intended to control the servos using a light-sensitive resistor, but for assembly purposes, I used a potentiometer instead. To make assembly easier, I also created a simple Arduino sketch that uses one potentiometer to control all 12 leaves. If you're unsure about how to wire the servos and potentiometer (or light sensor), consult the official Arduino website at https://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Knob for guidance. In this design, the leaves and LED holders are printed in "spiral vase mode." Each pair of leaves is printed as a single unit, which must then be cut out using scissors. I found that printing with a 0.4 mm nozzle made cutting the leaves easier, but it was more challenging to cut the larger orange leaves, which I printed with a 0.5mm nozzle. To make cutting easier, I recommend printing only one or two layers on the base. The LED holder is also printed in "spiral vase mode," and I created small holes at the top for the wires that connect to the LEDs. At the bottom, I cut out two slots to allow the servo wires to pass through. See the accompanying pictures for a better understanding of this process. The 1w LEDs require a heat sink and must be glued onto it. I designed these heat sinks as small aluminum pieces in the shape of flowers. If you're unsure about how to drive these LEDs, consult another model at https://www.myminifactory.com/object/50305 for guidance. The base is printed using traditional methods and requires support material. To attach the arms of the leaves to the servos, use the screws provided with the servos. I included a "servo test fit piece" so you can test fit the mounting hole of the leaf arms/holders. Then, you'll need 4 M3x10 bolts and 4 nuts to secure the servos in place. The servos fit together like Legos. For the bottom lid, use small wood screws or the ones that come with the SG90 servos. I've created short videos of this lamp in action but don't have a YouTube account. Instead, I've included some videos with the files in a Zip archive. In these videos, you can see me controlling the lamp by turning a potentiometer. A significant drawback of using servos is the noise they produce. They work more smoothly and quietly when controlled by a light-sensitive resistor, but that requires a longer video file size, which would be too large to upload. I plan to improve my Arduino sketch in the future. This project was printed using PET-G material. If you have any questions or need further clarification, feel free to ask.