3D printing is a spectator sport

3D-printed iron flask illuminated with LEDs

This illuminated iron flask sits patiently in our gaming room, waiting for some low-wisdom derp to throw it. Photo by Monica Jones

See what I did there? The headline is funny because in Baldur’s Gate 3, when you throw the iron flask, a spectator breaks free to show you what chaotic neutral is all about.

Oh shut up. I’m hilarious.

Anyway, Devon 3D-printed this iron flask, designed by Mark Pedersen, as a prop for our gaming room. He modified the original design to make the bottom detachable and added electronics for just a touch of menace.

Also, we know spectators are lawful neutral. It was just a stupid joke.

Supplies

For the body: Protopasta Stainless Steel Filled PLA 3D Printer Filament
For the eyes and mouth: Clear red SUNLU 3D Printer Filament
Sandpaper in multiple grits

Note: Devon sanded the body using 400-, 800-, 1000-, 2000- and 3000-grit sandpaper, in that order, to achieve a realistic metallic finish.

Instructions for electronics

The seed pixels (the LEDs) have three wires. The marked one is for voltage, which gets soldered to the 5v hole on the ESP. The next one is for signal. I soldered that to D4. The final wire is for ground, and that one gets soldered to G.

Cut as much wire as you need for your project. We recommend using no more than 30 LEDs on an ESP board.

Next, install WLED on the board. You’ll need to install the drivers first. Then plug in WLED and follow their setup instructions. Your config should look something like this.

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An elegant weapon for a more civilized age

Illuminated wall-mounted lightsaber display

Feeling kinda cute. Might slaughter all the younglings. IDK. This 3D-printed wall mount with programmable LEDs holds one of our lightsabers. Photo by Monica Jones

During our trip to Disneyland last year, Devon and I made custom lightsabers at Savi’s Workshop. Devon also bought a replica of Rey’s weapon, and I bought him a Darksaber for Father’s Day.

This is the way to a lot of lightsabers.

Don’t look at us like that. Normal people have lightsaber collections, and there’s nothing weird to see here.

A collection without a way to display it is just vendor trash, so Devon 3D printed wall mounts for our budding Jedi-Sith armory.

Supplies

Free STL files
Silk Silver PLA
Protopasta Steel Filled PLA
Hatchbox Black PLA
Overture clear PETG
Diffusion film
Right angle USB-C cable, 10 ft
Threaded inserts (M2 for grate, M3 for clip)
Socket-cap screws (M2 for grate, M3 for clip)
Heat-set insert tips
Soldering iron Make sure it's one compatible with the tips you get
Solder
ESP 8266 board, USB-C
Seed LEDs Amazon, AliExpress (We used the ones from AliExpress)
Wet or dry sandpaper, 150, 220, 400, 800, 1500, 3000 grit
Double-sided mounting tape
Pixel String Light
WiFi Development Board

Instructions

The seed pixels (the LEDs) have three wires. The marked one is for voltage, which gets soldered to the 5v hole on the ESP. The next one is for signal. I soldered that to D4. The final wire is for ground, and that one gets soldered to G.

Cut as much wire as you need for your project. We recommend using no more than 30 LEDs on an ESP board.

Next, install WLED on the board. You’ll need to install the drivers first. Then plug in WLED and follow their setup instructions. Your config should look something like this.

Sand the grate, moving up from 150 to 3000 grit, to get a realistic metallic shine.

Use thin strips of mounting tape to stick the LEDs inside and to hold the ESP on the back. Position it so the right-angle USB cable can seat reasonably.

Use a soldering iron to sink in the threads, and attach the clip to the front side of the grate.

Cut the diffusion paper to size, and sandwich it between the base and the grate. Attach the grate with the screws.

PRINTING NOTES

The mounts were printed on a Bambu, utilizing the AMS to use multiple filaments in the same print. If your printer can’t auto-swap filament, you can switch manually part way through the print.

The grate was printed using Silk Silver PLA with Protopasta Steel Filled PLA on the top four layers.

The clip was printed with Hatchbox Black PLA. The body was printed with the same, but Devon also used Overture clear PETG for the support interface to simplify removing the supports.

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The one where Devon can't let it go

A few years ago, Devon welded me a steampunk light switch for my studio. It was a sweet Mother’s Day present, but sadly, it kept falling apart. I didn’t want this well-intentioned gift to become a lifelong emotional burden for him, so I finally forced him to give up on it.

Or so I thought.

Apparently, he held on to that failure for years, because he surprised me recently with this 3D-printed version. He’s put more skill points into 3D printing than welding, and this one is solid.

Get the free design from 3dprintingworld. They paint it with iron paint, but Devon opted to print this light switch with iron-infused filament and rust it with hydrogen peroxide, salt and vinegar. Find the technique at Protopasta.

Now maybe he can find some peace.

To infinity -- and beyond! -- in your OpenForge dungeon

Video of OpenForge’s infinity hallway from different angles. Video by Devon Jones.

This infinity hallway can be used for magical shenanigans, or as a simple way to indicate that a hallway goes on for a long time. If infinity is more than you need, our release includes files for building just the hallway.

This project has been in the works for years, literally. Devon first ordered some of the stuff he needed all the way back in February 2018.  Five years later, he finished nailing down the skills he needed to make this work well.

He made custom bases for hallways. While this tile is technically 3x2, if you print a 3x base, it won't line up well. Our release includes a new set of bases to solve this problem. The tile is effectively the same as a 2x2 tile with two separate walls attached. He also made versions of the bases with more space for electronics, and added space to all sets under 2x2 square bases. Finally, people have been asking for plain separate wall bases with the new flex magnetic holes in them, so he added those as well.

How to make the infinity hallway

For this print, you'll need plexiglass or polycarbonate. It must be 1/16 inch or smaller. You might struggle if it's larger than 1/20 inch (0.05 inches). In metric, 1mm or 1.5mm thick. You'll need a way to cut the plexiglass. I've included an .svg in case you have access to a laser cutter, but a plexiglass cutter will work too. You're cutting for just under 2 inches by 2.5 inches. Once the plexiglass is cut, you'll want to apply the window film cover, then trim it to size. Finally, paint the back of one of the pieces of plexiglass silver, and after it dries, paint it black.

How to make the torches

  • Print the wall you want, a base, and the matching floor that is cut for walls. Use the old base design to give yourself a little more space to play with if you're doing a 2x2 tile. Also print the torch. There are two torch versions. The textured one is better on a resin printer. If you have only FDM, both can work, but the older, untextured torch is easier to print on FDM.

  • Paint the tile and glue it.

  • Take one of the 2 pin dupont cables and cut it in half. Feed it through the hole. When the wire is out of the other side, pull it snug to get the connector fully into the wall. If you look at the photo above, you can see that the connector goes fully inside the wall. You will always want the cable to have the red and black wires the same on every tile you make. With the wall facing me, I put the red (power) on the left, and black (ground) on the right.

  • Strip some insulator off the end of the cable -- long enough that you can feed it through the holes in the lily pad battery holder. Red goes to +, Black to -. I tend to strip off about 1 inch so that I can feed the wire through and then wrap it/tie it to make it secure. It's better if you solder it, but you can get away with wrapping.

  • Test the LED in the socket. The longer of the two wires should go in the red side of the connector. Once that's tested and it works, feed the LED through the torch body, test it again, and glue it down. I prefer to file the plastic top to scar it up to make it better at diffusion. Finally. I like to attach the LED with hot glue and shape that into a bit of a flame. Test it in the socket again.

  • Once it all works, you can start trimming the wire from the LED so it sits snugly against the wall. Remember: You can't cut something to be longer, so trim it a little at a time and test until the torch can sit snugly against the wall.

  • Remove the battery holder, and glue the wall into place on the tile, ensuring the wire makes it inside the middle of the base.

  • Now, you can choose to feed it out through one of the clip holes, or trim it down and reattach the battery holder. There's a photo above showing how I fit the LilyPad inside the base.

  • Finally, if you have any problems, come chat in the OpenForge Discord. We should be able to help you out.

Recommended gear

Soldering

Useful but optional

  • Hot Glue Gun Used to cover LED and sculpt flame

  • Mini Files For scraping up the LED surface for better diffusion

Grab the files

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