Colorful lighting spot controlled by WiFi ESP8266

Colorful lighting spot controlled by WiFi

Is it possible to use 3D printing to create and test electronic products/prototypes? Is it expensive to use 3D printing technology to create parts? How to create your pieces with 3D printing if you don't have a printer at home?

In this article we will present answers to all these questions and explain the step-by-step process of creating an electronic project. From this, you will be able to understand the process of creating and validating 3D printed products.

The audio visual production of images and videos uses a very important element for capturing images: lighting. Lighting is fundamental to the production of any image. With it, we can modify the style of the scene, apply lighting effects and create different sensations based on the lighting colors of the environment in which the object is located.

3D printing is no longer new these days. Several companies use this technology to create numerous solutions. In the year 2023, Wilson launched its first airless ball, which was developed using a 3D printer.

According to a Forbes article, the final pick features a laser-sintered powder of a unique, custom elastomeric material suited specifically to the needs of basketball. A ball designed to be used in any basketball game.

Just like in the sport of basketball, current 3D printing technology allows us to develop products and solutions for any area.

Based on these principles and existing technologies, we developed the WiFi-controlled RGB lighting spot.

Several products on the market are used to produce light in environments. Today, with the advancement of lighting styles, there are some devices that are capable of providing colored lighting to produce a different feel in the image. However, during the lighting process in audiovisual production, users need a device that is easy to use and that can, for example, be connected to WiFi so that the lighting effects are controlled via WiFi. Many devices use buttons to control and this task becomes very difficult for the user.

Based on this problem, we use 3D printing to create a product with the aim of creating colorful lighting that is controlled directly by WiFi through an electronic brightness control circuit.

Below, we will explain the entire creative process of this device.

WiFi Controlled Spot Lighting Device

The spot lighting device was developed with the aim of being easy to use, controlled entirely by WiFi and small, to be carried in any bag. Below we present the structure of LuxFi.

LuxFi is a device created to be easily installed in any location, such as: support base, table, wall and even a tripod, using a screw connection pin.

Its structure is designed to be simple. In the image you can see that there are no control buttons. Its settings are made through the application and this makes it easier for the user to use and adjust the parameters.

As much as you develop a product/solution with the user in mind, you also need to understand how to get your idea off the ground and transform it into a real prototype. To achieve this, today we can use digital prototyping resources to create our own solutions through specialized companies that offer low manufacturing costs.

Manufacturing Processes with 3D Printing

A few years ago, developing the mechanical structure of a product cost a lot for industries, as it was necessary to resort to more expensive manufacturing processes and this made creating prototypes difficult.

Today, with the advancement of 3D printing technologies, it has become much easier to create structures for testing and analyzing prototypes.

The 3D printing market has grown and there are companies that have innovated and popularized 3D printing for anyone who wants to create industrial quality parts, with low manufacturing costs and fast manufacturing times.

The JLC ecosystem offers all this and more. Through our platform, any user can develop their solutions and products. You can manufacture electronic boards, purchase and assemble electronic components and manufacture the mechanical structure through 3D printing with industrial quality and finishing. There are countless technologies and materials available for you to develop everything quickly, in a single location and at a fair and affordable price.

We utilized all the resources of the JLC ecosystem to create the LuxFi prototype structure. It is made up of 2 important parts: the mechanical structure, which was manufactured using 3D printing, and the electronic control boards.

Below we have the mechanical structure of the front housing, the back cover and the base support for fixing the LuxFi.

After modeling and dimensional analysis of the designed parts, it is necessary to manufacture the parts. To do this, it is necessary to analyze some points to determine the type of material, manufacturing technology and other important points for making the prototype. After all, what considerations should we make to manufacture the first prototype?

Considerations for the manufacturing process

Before manufacturing any part or product structure, we must answer some questions, such as:

• In what environment will it work?
• Will it be exposed to the Sun?
• What is the temperature of the environment where it will be installed?
• Is this environment humid?
• Will it suffer any impact?
• What is the investment value for manufacturing the prototype
• What type of application will this product/part perform?
• What is the equipment's user profile?

The answer to these and other questions helps to outline something very important:

the material for manufacturing the structure of the product/part.

The material selected for manufacturing was resin, through the SLA (Stereolithography) process. This process uses resin to manufacture the parts. Among the types of resin, we use Imagine Black. A material that answers the questions listed above and that allows us to create our prototype with the color black, as we wish.

The total manufacturing cost for the structure was $12.85.

The two LuxFi electronic boards were designed from the structure.

Electronic Board Manufacturing Processes

The project control circuit is divided into two parts: the WiFi control board with ESP8266 and the colorful LED matrix board, which connects to the WiFi control board.

The structure of the two electronic boards are shown below.

The two electronic boards are fixed by means of screws to the cover structure with the aid of insertion nuts. They are connected to each other using JST connectors, see the figure below.

Each electronic board was developed at JLC and below we have the cost of manufacturing and assembling electronic components for 5 units.

RGB LED matrix electronic board - $57.53

WiFi Controller Electronic Board with ESP8266 - $43.74

After all, what is the average final cost to assemble a LuxFi prototype?

Cost Analysis for Manufacturing

The manufacturing cost is a major point to be analyzed in the manufacturing process of any prototype. Products with very high costs become unviable, depending on the public profile and profit margin.

JLC is the ideal ecosystem to create any project. Next, we will do a cost analysis for building the electronic board structure and housing with 3D printing for the LuxFi.

The total manufacturing cost of the 3D printed structure and electronic boards are listed below:

1 x RGB LED Matrix Electronic Board - $11.51

• 1 x RGB LED Matrix Electronic Board - $11.51

1 x WiFi Control Board with ESP8266 - $8.75

• 1 x WiFi Control Board with ESP8266 - $8.75

1 Kit with 3 3D printed parts - $12.85

• 1 Kit with 3 3D printed parts - $12.85

The total average cost for developing the electronic boards and manufacturing the housing structure with 3D printing (resin) was $33.11. How much would this same prototype have cost a few years ago if we hadn't had easy access to an industrial manufacturing ecosystem? Everything would be much more expensive!

Below, we present the result of the digital prototype after manufacturing and assembly.

Result of building the Prototype

Below is a presentation of the result of the assembled project structure.

Now, see the structure of the 3D printed parts in the figures below.

The parts showed a great 3D printing result after the manufacturing process. Furthermore, a polishing stage was carried out after manufacturing, with the aim of improving the surface finish of the piece.

Assembling the structure is very simple. The two electronic boards will be fixed to the rear cover. To do this, we use insertion nuts to create a hole with a metal thread for the screws. See the result in the figures below.

The support base is mounted together with the LuxFi housing body using an M3x16 screw and an M3 nut. It is through this screw that the user can adjust the rotation angle of the LuxFi and tighten the screw to the ideal lighting angle. See the figure below.

Finally, the light diffusion screen is applied to the inside of the housing using adhesive material and fixing the back cover to close the LuxFi. See the figure below.

After assembly, lighting control tests were carried out with LuxFi. In this project we use WLED firmware to control the application. This firmware has its own application and allows you to register several devices and control them directly from your home's WiFi network. Below, we have some images of how the device works.

The images above show the LuxFi being controlled via the WLED app. From there it is possible to control the color, level of light intensity of the LEDs and also animation effects with the LEDs. All control was sent over the WiFi network.

In addition to the WiFi network, it is also possible to access the device's WiFi signal and control it through the device's web page.

After all, is it advantageous to use JLC ecosystem services for prototyping products with 3D printing and other technologies?

Conclusion

The electronic system performed optimally, without any defects. Furthermore, the mechanical structure presented an excellent final finish, thanks to the quality of 3D printing and surface finishing processes. As it was possible to observe, the printed structure presented an appearance similar to a housing produced with a thermoplastic injection molding machine.

This provides better visual perception in the design of the prototype's electronic housing. This entire structure was designed with a very cheap investment, worth $33.11. This shows that the JLC ecosystem is advantageous and allows us to develop countless prototypes at a cheap and accessible price for any consumer.

If you want to create your first products with professional quality, visit JLC and learn about our 3D printing, machining and professional electronic board manufacturing services.