3D Printed Shining Bells

The holidays are fast approaching and you need to get ready with your decoration, for in and around the house and for the tree.Here is an instructable that you can follow to make Shining 3D Bells ..

3D print the Bell parts attached in step 3 in different colored filaments and fit them together with super glue, like in the picture above.

And if you want to make your bells sparkle in the dark, use transparent filament for the center 3D part of the bell and add a color changing LED inside, which you should get at your local hardware store like RadioShack.

In addition get the kids involved by using a glitter glue pen and colored ribbon to go with color of the bell.

Here are the things you'll need

• 3D printer (if you dont have one find a near by maker space that has one)
• A laptop with 3D printing software installed like Repetier-Host
• Filaments (i am using Red,Transparent,Blue and Green PLA)
• String/Ribbon/Wire for hanging the bells
• Scissors

Optional things to make the bells sparkle

• Glitter Glue pen
• Ribbon
• Multi colored LED
• 3V battery
• electrical tape

Download the 3D printing software that you printer supports, in my case i am using the Printrbot Simple Metal which use Repetier-Host as a software to

• Slice the STL files attached, which basically means cutting the part into various layers
• And send commands to the 3D printer while printing

Once you have your software installed, follow the instruction manual of your 3D printer and complete the Slicer setting, it should be something similar to the screen shot above if you are using a Printrbot and Hatchbox PLA

Download the STL files.

Now use the STL files attached to print the bell in various colors

Add the STL file to Repetier Host in the Object Placement tab, you should see the part in the 3D view

Go to the Slicer tab and hit the slice with Slicer button ,this should take about 2- 5 minutes based on you printer settings.Once the process completes you should see the G-Code section populated

Now load up the filament and you are ready to print, by hitting the Run button.

Printing the parts should take about 25 to 35 minutes.

Use super glue to stick the parts together,put a little pressure on the parts and leave the parts to dry for a couple of mins

In addition use glitter glue pens to give the bell a sparkly feel and leave it for at-least 20 minutes to dry.

Tip: if you see any warping on the 3D printed parts use sand paper or the file on your nail cutter to get a smooth finish.

Cut a piece of ribbon using scissors

Stick the ribbon together using super glue as shown in the picture above.

Then tie the another piece of ribbon through the bell hook.

Leave one end of the ribbon long so that you can use it to tie it to your tree.

Based on where you plan to hang the bells you can add a color changing LED.

Test the LED , connect the long end of the LED to the +ve end of the battery(you should see a + sign on one side of the battery) and the shorter end to the -ve end of the battery.

Tape the LED around the battery using electrical tape

Tip: If you have a tree that already has changing lights, hang the Bell on a branch above the LED bulb , which kind off makes it look like your bell is glowing ..

If you plan to hang a couple of bells on your front door you will need the bells to be slightly larger. For this use 123D design by AutoDesk to enlarge the bells.

• Download 123D software from the following link http://www.123dapp.com/design-alt
• Open the App on your laptop and open the STL file you downloaded as part of step 3.
• Click on the object and use the scale button.
• As shown in the picture I am scaling the bell to 1.4 times its original value.
• Then use File >> Export to STL and save the file to your computer.
• Similarly scale the other two part by 1.4 and save them to your computer
• Follow steps 2 to 6 to print , glue and add an LED.