kaleidoscope

4 Articles

LED Kaleidoscope Uses Induction Power Magic

March 29, 2022 by 4 Comments

The kaleidoscope was first invented back in the early 1800s, with the curio known for showing compelling psychedelic patterns as light passes through colored glass and is reflected by mirrors in a tube. [Debra] of Geek Mom Projects recently gave the classic toy a thoroughly modern twist with her own build. (Thread Reader Link).

[Debra]’s kaleidoscope still relies on the typical mirror-tube construction to create reflections upon reflections which generate symmetrical patterns for the viewer. However, instead of colored glass beads lit by external light, she replaced these with so-called “wireless LEDs.” These little bead-like LEDs are fitted with small coils that allow them to be inductively powered without wires when they are placed in the magnetic field generated by a powered coil. Thus, [Debra]’s kaleidoscope works day or night, even in a dark room, since the light is coming from the little beady LEDs themselves.

It’s a great demonstration of wireless LED technology; there’s something almost magical about the tiny free-moving glowing beads. If you don’t want to buy them off the shelf, you can even make your own! Video after the break.

Continue reading “LED Kaleidoscope Uses Induction Power Magic” →

Exquisite Craftsmanship Elevate Vic’s Creations Above The Rest

June 16, 2019 by 13 Comments

This booth was easy to miss at Maker Faire Bay Area 2019 amidst tall professional conference signage erected by adjacent exhibitors. It showcased the work of [Dr. Victor Chaney] who enjoys his day job as a dentist and thus feels no desire to commercialize his inventions — he’s building fun projects for the sake of personal enjoyment which he simply calls Vic’s Creations. Each project is built to his own standards, which are evidently quite high judging by the perfect glossy finish on every custom wood enclosure.

Some of these creations were aligned with his musical interests. The Backpacking Banjo was built around a (well cleaned) cat food can to satisfy the desire for a lightweight instrument he can take camping. His Musical Laser Rainbow Machine (fully documented in Nuts & Volts) was created so little bands formed by independent artists like himself can have a visual light show to go with their live performances. The Music Kaleidoscope is another execution along similar lines, with an LED array whose colors are dictated by music. Venturing outside the world of music, we see a magnetically levitated Castle In The Clouds which also receives power wirelessly to illuminate LEDs

The largest and most complex work on display is an epic electromechanical masterpiece. Par One is a rolling ball sculpture featuring the most convoluted golf course ever. Several more rolling ball sculptures (also called marble machines or marble runs) are on display at Dr. Chaney’s office which must make it the coolest dentist’s lobby ever. The lifelike motions he was able to get from the automatons he built into the sculpture are breathtaking, as you can see below.

Continue reading “Exquisite Craftsmanship Elevate Vic’s Creations Above The Rest” →

kaleidoscope

Arduino Powered Digital Kaleidoscope

September 6, 2014 by 6 Comments

[Jose’s] latest project brings an old visual effect toy up to date with digital electronics. Most of us are familiar with inexpensive kaleidoscope toys. Some of us have even built cheap versions of them with paper tubes, mirrors, and beads. [Jose] wanted to try to recreate the colorful pattern effects created by a kaleidoscope using an Arduino and an addressable LED strip.

The build is actually pretty simple. The base is a disc of PVC cut to just a few inches in diameter. [Jose] started with an addressable LED strip containing 60 LEDs. He then cut it into 12 sections, each containing five LEDs. The smaller strips were then mounted to the disc, similar to spokes on a bicycle wheel. The LED strip already has an adhesive backing, so that part was trivial.

The final step was to add some kind of diffuser screen. The LED strips on their own are not all that interesting. The diffuser allows the light to blend together, forming interesting patterns that are more reminiscent of the patterns you might see in a real kaleidoscope. Without the diffuser you would just see individual points of light, rather than blended color patterns.

The whole thing is controlled by a small Arduino. [Jose] has made the code available at the bottom of his blog post. Be sure to watch the video of the system in action below. Continue reading “Arduino Powered Digital Kaleidoscope” →

Laser Kaleidoscope Uses More 3D Printing And Less Scavenging

February 25, 2013 by 6 Comments

laser-kaleidoscope

At first we thought that [Pete Prodoehl] was using the wrong term when calling his project a Laser Kaleidoscope. We usually think of a kaleidoscope as a long tube with three mirrors and some beads or glass shards in one end. But we looked it up and there’s a second definition that means a constantly changing pattern. This fits the bill. Just like the laser Spirograph from last week, it makes fancy patterns using spinning mirrors. But [Pete] went with several 3D printed parts rather than repurposing PC fans.

In the foreground you can see the potentiometers which adjust the motor speeds. The knobs for these were all 3D printed. He also printed the mounting brackets for the three motors and the laser diode. A third set of printed parts makes mounting the round mirrors on the motor shaft quite easy. All of this came together with very tight tolerances as shown by the advanced shapes he manages to produce in the video after the break. Continue reading “Laser Kaleidoscope Uses More 3D Printing And Less Scavenging” →