Goals:<\/strong><\/p>\n Extras:<\/strong><\/p>\n This post discusses Adhesives.<\/a> I’m waiting to get those to experiment with gluing PVC together.<\/p>\n LEDs<\/strong><\/p>\n How many LEDs?<\/strong> My original wheel has an inner diameter of about 5’8″ (I’m 5’6″) = 68″. Circumference is that times pi: 68*3.14 = ~214″, or 5.4356 meters.<\/p>\n I had ordered my first set of LEDs from AdaFruit: 11 x RGB LED Weatherproof flexi-strip 60 LED<\/strong> – (per 1 meter)[ID:346] = $247.50 (Yeah, seriously expensive for non-addressable LEDs, and I din’t use about 6m of the stuff – I originally planned for LED strips on each side, slightly off from center weight position). That’s $22.50 per meter,<\/strong> and for the entire wheel I have 5.4m*60LEDs=~324 LEDs at a price of about: $121<\/strong> per wheel.<\/p>\n So I ‘ll say I need 330 LEDs,<\/strong> or potentially twice that if I want them on each side (slightly off center).<\/p>\n What LED strip to use? The WS2812B LED<\/strong> contains a driver built into it, and seems more durable based on this RGB 123 post<\/a> (it has reverse polarity protection). Pololu has a blog post here<\/a> and for sale here<\/a> – Addressable RGB 60-LED Strip, 5V, 1m (WS2812B)<\/a> – $22.45 per meter (ordering 10m+) . Adafruit also has a new LED strip which they are calling “NeoPixel<\/a>” ($23.95 per meter, for 4-39 meters ordered – 6M would be $144) –It probably is WS2812 (not B) based on their info, and saying how careful you have to be to hook it up.<\/p>\n Should I even use LED strips? Single-item ones from Adafruit: http:\/\/www.adafruit.com\/products\/1379<\/a> (WS2812 5050 RGB LED with Integrated Driver Chip – 10 Pack). I’d need 330 (LEDs desired) \/ 10 (per pack) = 33 packs of these, at $4.05 per pack: $133.65 –<\/strong>– these alone would be more expensive than buying the LED strips, AND I’d need a resistor added somewhere in there. I think me trying to manually solder 330 of these LEDs together is out of the question. I have to<\/strong> use strips.<\/p>\n Finding strips<\/strong>: I bought some of the WS2812 (not the B!) strips — the B strips seem to have reverse polarity protection built in..which is nice\u2026and actually not that much more expensive. I just had 10% off from Sparkfun so I ordered 6M from them https:\/\/www.sparkfun.com\/products\/12028<\/a> . Otherwise, I would have gotten them from Pololu in 2m strips<\/a> 6 M total.<\/p>\n Edit: <\/strong>My friend matthew mentioned\u00a0http:\/\/blinkinlabs.com\/blinkytape\/<\/a> – it looks cool (but expensive) and the software was something I was thinking about doing!<\/p>\n How to Protect the LEDs?<\/strong><\/p>\n New idea: cut groove, and fill in with liquid silicon rubber to protect LEDs<\/strong><\/p>\n I had thought about this before but couldn’t think of a good way to cover the LEDs that wouldn’t interfere with light emission. Then I realized the LED strips already have some type of protective plastic coating, and it might be possible for me to embed them in some more!<\/p>\n Options out there:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n SORTA-Clear\u00ae Translucent Silicone Rubber<\/em> – https:\/\/www.smooth-on.com\/index.php?cPath=1115_1134<\/a> – …Kind of what I want, but not clear enough.<\/p>\n This looks like it is perfect, but it is *super* expensive ($200-$260) to order for me to just try it out:<\/p>\n Clear Flex\u00ae Water Clear Urethane Rubber<\/em>– http:\/\/www.smooth-on.com\/Life-Casting–Uret\/c3_0_6_1117_1153\/index.html<\/a> Epoxy resign might be my best bet, and comes in a small quantity ($33) This might be better for clarity, and seems great for allowing light to go through: I’m also still considering cutting the PVC and gluing it back together; I’ll experiment more with that approach, although I dislike it. Cutting a groove will be tough for sure!<\/p>\n Edit: <\/strong>My friend Chris Bensen told me Crystal Clear is sold in small quantities! I found it quickly on Amazon – search for: “Castin’Craft Clear Poly Casting Resin with Catalyst 16 oz” \u00a0– $20. I’m going to experiment with that too.<\/p>\n I previously used Arduinos for projects; they are easy to program and have lots of code and samples out there on how to use them. However, I’ve heard they are slow, and I want something with enough RAM to handle complex patterns. So, I’m going to drop Arduino and try a much faster Teensy 3.1:\u00a0\u00a0http:\/\/www.pjrc.com\/teensy\/<\/a><\/p>\n Edit: <\/strong>Mad suggested I look into a Spare Core Arduino clone<\/a>; it has plenty of RAM and built in wifi\u2026so I ordered one!<\/p>\n Connectors<\/strong><\/p>\n I’ve had a heck of a time finding good connectors. My first wheel used really crappy connectors I bought from Frys that aren’t at all meant to connect wire to wire. The main trouble I had is that the big digital supplier sites like Mouser and Digikey are hard to navigate. I finally realized what I wanted was called “wire to wire connectors”<\/strong> in the industry. Eventually I found this great site on Molex: Wire to Wire connectors<\/a>. I figure about 5 amps would be the max current, so I needed something that could handle that; that (should be) about the rating when all lights are powered full on (full white). I (think) 20awg wire will be fine to use to transfer power; the wire length from wheel to wheel will be short, and the wheel won’t ever be run at full white that long (full power). The Molex Micro-Fit connectors<\/a> seem to fit the bill really well. Now, it took me hours and hours to find them and pick the ones I want; now I realize the website on Molex is setup really nice to filter down what you want. (I also learned I wanted “bag” and not “reel”). I don’t want “ears” on them as they won’t be “surface mount” connectors (another thing I learned). Once I had the part number, I could easily find it on Mouser (which is much better than Digikey).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n
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\n..I’m not sure if it will “stick” to the wheel; if it casts, and then simply falls out, it won’t hold everything together.<\/p>\n
\nClear Epoxy Resin<\/em>: http:\/\/www.smooth-on.com\/Castable-Epoxy-Res\/c1295_1377\/index.html<\/a>
\n…and it might bond the things together nicely. I ordered some of this (about $50 with sipping – called EpoxAcast 690 – Trial Size (10017194))<\/p>\n
\nCrystal Clear\u00ae Series – Optically Clear Liquid Plastic<\/em> – http:\/\/www.smooth-on.com\/index.php?cPath=1156<\/a>
\n…but they don’t have prices listed for it on their website, and it is probably hard to get.<\/p>\n