As Halloween approached the electrical engineer freed up time to start working on the Wizard Staff again.
With all of the pieces for the dragon paw and orb done I assembled it to check everything out.
And discovered several things I didn’t like…
Remember when I said 5″ was the Goldilock Size? When put together it just didn’t quite have the presence I wanted. There were also several things about the design of the inner structure I didn’t like: the slots for the retainer tabs in the top of the sphere had to be printed with supports. These were difficult to remove and interfered with smooth turning of the top. The locking ring covered some of the LEDs, hurting appearance. It was harder than necessary to install the LED strings.
I’ve redesigned this thing enough times that starting over isn’t a big deal. Open up a new CAD file and go to work. Make the new 6″ model with all of the changes and lessons learned so far. Print it out and fit the pieces together.
I’ll admit to being concerned that it was too big. Not so! In fact it could be even bigger! But 6″ looked good, had the presence I was looking for, and was easy to handle.
As I was studying the model to look for further improvements a realization struck: Hey! It looks like there is now enough room inside the Orb for the controller! And the battery pack. And the other supporting pieces we might need.
Well, see if it fits: Grab the controller and stuff it inside the inner framework. A bit tight, but I started visualizing how a support structure could be built to hold it.
A vague thought tickled the back of my mind – weren’t there even smaller WLED controllers available? Why yes, yes there are! Order one and wait “patiently” for delivery.
Slip this smaller controller inside the inner framework and try it in various positions. Find a location I like. Dig out a set of calipers and a steel rule and start measuring the new controller. Fire up the CAD system and design a structure to hold the controller inside the Orb. Add a little bit of clearance so that the controller will actually fit inside the pocket.
Hit the print button and let it run over night. Slip the controller into the framework and slide it into its pocket – and it fits perfectly! There is plenty of room for the rest of the components, so harass the electrical engineer for a list of the actual parts he wants to use.
