DIY Wi-Fi Controlled NeoPixel Christmas Star

The Christmas star symbolizes the star of Bethlehem, which according to the Biblical story, guided the three kings, or wise men, to the baby Jesus. The star is also the heavenly sign of a prophecy fulfilled long ago and the shining hope for humanity.

In this instructable, we will show you how to make your own wifi controlled Neopixel Christmas Star in which you can set your own color and effects by using your own smart phone.

• NodeMCU x 1
• PerfBoard x 1
• DC jack x 1
• 5V 5 A adapter
• 2mm White Acrylic Sheet
• 3D printed parts
• Silicone Wires
• Female headers
• 200 ohm x 1

Here is the video of our Christmas Star.

These are the major electronic components required for this project. We used NodeMCU as the micro controller unit because we need to control the star using the smart phone.

For lighting up this project, we are using WS2812B 5V Addressable RGB LED Strip is extremely flexible, easy to use and each LED of the strip can be controlled separately by using a microcontroller. Each LED has been equipped with an integrated driver that allows you to control the color and brightness of each LED independently.

The LED strip should be powered using a 5V power source, and NodeMCU will also work in 5V. Our project needs around 200 Led's, so we need at least a 5A current as the power supply. 5V 5A AC to DC adapter will do the job.

Note:Make sure you select a power source that matches the strip’s needs.

We designed the frame of the star in our favourite design tool Fusion 360. The reason why we used it is that offers a wide range of preset construction geometry, which makes it really simple to create all the basic shapes. Polygon tool and Circular pattern are the key things used in sketching. The proper diffusion is possible even if there is a considerable distance between the acrylic and the frame. That's why we used 2cm extrusion for the frame.

We need access to large printers to print this. So we decided to slice the whole star into just one piece like this and printed five of this. We can do so because our star is symmetric. Then we will assemble this five pieces to form full star.

For gluing the frame we used instant glue.

Then we secured the led strip by cutting it to the required length on the frame. Three connections will come out of the frame. So we can pass these wires to the hole that we made on purpose. For wiring we used 30 AWG silicone wires.

Note: You should be aware of the arrow mark in the strip while attaching it.

As the diffusing channel, we have used a 2mm white acrylic sheet. We actually extracted the DXF file from the sketch that we designed in Fusion 360. Then we laser cut the material in a laser cutting shop by giving the DXF file to them. Then we placed the diffusion channel in the frame by means of the Fusion 360.

For securing the Nodemcu we attached the female headers to the perf board. If you are planning to run it for a long time ,we recommend adding a capacitor and resistor as close as possible to your addressable LEDs to help you get the most out of your WS2812-based devices for long strips.

Then we prepared the circuit as per the schematics.

We use this white 3d printed box which we actually got from our previous project to place our microcontroller and the powering adapter. We used hot glue for sticking the perf board and the DC jack with the box.

By using the DC Jack Socket Male Plug-Connector we can easily connect/disconnect our power supply.

In the software part, we used the WS2812Fx library and we used built-in ESP web interface code from it to make the project alive. In the code please update your SSID and password. After uploading the code you will get an IP address. You will get your own control panel in your device after loading the IP in your web browser.

Note : You will only have acess to star when controlling device and the star are in the same network.

Our Christmas Star is ready. We hope, you all liked this Instructable. If you have any doubts put them in the comment section or feel free to contact us through our email.