Light Up 3D Printed Christmas Tree

I spent a few weeks 3D printing a Christmas Tree and attaching LEDs to it so that it would light up. I knew this project would challenge me because it included several lessons we learned over the first semester, such as 3D printing and coding. I initially chose this as a seasonal decoration that I could have around my house and combined everything I had learned. It would be a good summation of my semester and a keepsake I could have.

24 5 mm LEDs (6 red, 6 green, 6 yellow, and 6 white)

A 3D Printer - I used a DREMMEL

3D Printing Software - I used Tinkercad.com

A breadboard

2 rolls of different colored stranded wires (Yellow and blue, red and black, to differentiate between positive and negative)

48 simple solid-core wires (2 wires per LED, also better if it could be color-coded)

Cord to attach breadboard to a larger power source

Soldering Machine

The first step is to design the first layer of the Christmas Tree. You do so by selecting the pyramid shape twice, rotating one of them 45 degrees, and then merging them. Then you size it to your liking. My Christmas tree, in my opinion, was too small so I'd suggest making it bigger. For reference, I made mine 100 mm x 100 mm x 30 mm. Then you have to cut off a bit of the top. Use the hollow square shape place it on top of the pyramid and lower it until the peak is gone. Then merge it all together.

Next, we need to create the final two layers. To do so, copy the first layer and make it smaller. I made my second layer 75 mm x 75 mm x 18 mm. For the top layer, you do what you did with the first layer and use two pyramids rotate one of them, and then merge them. Then you don't do anything with it. My final layer was 50 mm x 50 mm x 25 mm.

The next step is to create the holes where the wires and LEDs will go. First, you need to create the big hole that will go through the middle of each layer so that the wires can go up and down the tree. You use the hollow cylinder feature and size it to your liking. Mine was 25 mm x 25 mm. Then you place it in the middle of the layer and merge it. It is important to apply the hole to each layer separately. The different layers should not be stacked during the printing process, and anything done to them needs to be done separately.

Then we're gonna create the holes that the LEDs go through. You are going to use the hollow cylinder again and rotate it 90 degrees on the y-axis, and then you will size it to your liking. Mine were 6 mm x 6 mm. Then, you are going to place them on the edges of the layers but keep them just from touching the bottom of the layer. Make them long enough so that they go through the other side of the layer. Then, you will copy the hole, rotate it 45 degrees, then place it at the next edge. You will repeat this step until you finish all the edges for all the layers.

To create the stump, pick the cylinder and make it to the size that you like. Mine, to better support my tree, was 40 mm x 40 mm. Then you need to hollow out the middle of the cylinder, you need to get the hollow cylinder shape. I made the hole in the stump 30 mm x 30 mm. The final part to this step is to create a hole on the side of the stump so that the wires can come out and we can attach them to the breadboard. I made mine 20 mm x 20 mm but you can make it larger if you want. Just be careful how big you make the hole so that the tree can remain stable. Merge the stump with it’s hollow pieces.

Send your prints to your 3D printer and wait for it to print.

Next step is to solder your braided wires to you LED’s. I cut my wires to be around 10 cm long each, and then soldered the wires to the LED using a soldering machine. The machine works by heating up a metal wire so it turns into liquid and then connecting the two wires with the liquid metal and letting it dry. I color coordinated my wires to make it easier by attaching a yellow wire to the positive end and a blue wire to the negative end.

In order to better organize the wires and ensure they don’t shortcut, I recommend putting a piece of tape around one of the soldered legs of each wire, and then taping the wires lowers down so they group together and are more organized.

Next you’re going to put the leds in each of the holes, one layer at a time. It might help to tape the wires to the tree so that they stay.

Next you’re going to attach all the wires to the breadboard and light up the tree. In order to that, you line up 4 sets of wires along 2 rows, aligning the positive rods with positive rods and the negative rods with negative rods.

Next, you attach wires to positive conductors, like 5V, and wires to negative GND and attach them to the negative or positive sides of the breadboard.

Finally, take another set of wires and transfer the positive electricity to the positive rods, and the negative electricity to the negative rods. Though dim, all the lights should light up. And there you have your Christmas Tree!

This project was very challenging for me personally. The tree incorporated several I learned throughout my semester, such as 3D printing and building circuits, combining the two units was a challenge in itself. It was also the first project I directed myself, so figuring out the timing was challenging. In the end, most of my wires were attached, and my Christmas Tree is not stabilized and looks very rough. If I had more time, I would've been more on top of testing the base and ensuring the wires that would connect to the breadboard were connected. I also would have tested the size of the Christmas tree itself. It was way too small to handle all the wires I wanted it to handle, or I would've attached fewer lights. All in all, I learned a lot from this project. I learned a lot about time management and the importance of staying ahead, and I learned a lot about visualizing my project and being able to map it out so that everything fits. I also learned how to bounce back from setbacks and challenges. Hopefully, you can see the vision, and I hope this helps or inspires you!!