Mesmerizing Moiré Spinning Wheel With LED Backlight

Hi, my name is Alex. I am a 14-year-old in Orange County, California. I have always loved electronics, from soldering to programming, and I want to pursue a career in engineering.

While I was watching this video on kinetic art installations, I wanted to create my own version. Mine would also have an LED backlight to make the shapes pop.

In this Instructable, I’ll show you how to build your own Moire Effect Art Piece using inexpensive parts, add LED backlighting, and make the spinning randomized.

Supplies

You will need these supplies to build the device:

A 3d Printer with a build volume of at least 256mm. (Bambu Lab A1 works well)
1kg roll of light grey filament Amazon $14.98
#4-40tpi 1/2in Machine Screws Home Depot $1.47
LED Strip Amazon $14.99
28BYJ-48 Stepper Motor Amazon $8.99
Arduino (I used the Nano Every, but clones will run the same) Amazon $16.90
Power Supply Amazon $9.99
Double-Sided Tape Amazon $8.99
Super Glue Amazon $2.98

The Idea

The idea is to create a zen device that mixes technology with meditation. This will be accomplished with a case with LEDs on the front, which are covered by a diffuser and a stationary spiral. This creates the effect of diffused light and a blacked-out spiral. Then, behind the case, all the electronics can be mounted, including a motor which will drive a second spiral in front of the first to create the Moire effect.

I used Tinkercad (an easy-to-use, free web app) to easily create a rough model for visualizing the device. The red pieces are placeholders for LEDs.

Modeling

I used Autodesk Inventor to make these models. My school's engineering program gives students access to Inventor, and I love it. It is extremely powerful, with features such as parametric modeling, assemblies, and drawing creation, to name a few. After quickly learning how to use it through school projects, I now have a great feel for CAD, which I applied to this project.

Using motor dimensions I found online, I built a case that holds the motor and has room for the electronics. Making use of the arc and circular pattern tools, I easily created the spirals.

You can view an Inventor assembly of the parts in the .iam file or in the .stl named MoireDeviceAssembly.

Downloads

MoireCase_v5.stl

MoireDiffuser_v4.stl

MoireSpinner_v4.stl

MoireDeviceAssembly.stl

MoireDeviceAssembly.iam

3D Printing

Be sure to set the infill on the Diffuser and Spinner to 100%. You can do this by going to the "Strength" tab, setting "Sparse Infill Density" to 100, and "Sparse Infill Pattern" to Rectilinear. The case can use default infill to save filament and time.

Below are the sliced models ready to print.

Downloads

MoireCase_v5.gcode.3mf

MoireSpinner_v4.gcode.3mf

MoireDiffuser_v4.gcode.3mf

LEDs

Now it is time to attach the LEDs to the case. Begin by starting from the outermost area of the case (green dot), and push the plug through the hole. Now you can unwrap the tape and lay down the strip spiraling inwards slowly (red line). You can stop about a half inch around the screw holes (blue dot), as in the picture. Make sure you cut the LED strip on the cutting marks. For the lights I linked to, the cutting marks are shown above.

Since these lights come with a remote, you can easily change the light color or effect through the remote.

Electronics

Mounting The Motor:

To mount the motor, place the screws through the screw holes with the heads visible when looking at the LEDs. Now place the motor into the screws and tighten with the nuts.

Mounting Electronics:

To mount the electronics, use double-sided tape to secure the parts in the best locations. Refer to the picture for proper placement. For the power supply, bend the breadboard pins to the sides and ensure that the jumper pins are set to OFF, as in the 3rd picture. This way, you can tape directly onto the board as opposed to onto the pins.

Wiring:

Use the power supply pins on the top of the module near the center, as highlighted in the 4th picture. Please use the Wiring of Stepper Motor with Arduino diagram I modified for our project for reference when wiring.

Assembly

To finish assembly, we need to connect the remaining pieces.

Begin by applying superglue to the rim of the case and pressing the Diffuser against it until fully cured. Next, press the Spinner shaft into the hole of the Diffuser and spin slowly while pressing until it fits into the motor.

Programming

The last step is programming!

Plug in your board, open the Arduino IDE, go to Tools, set the board to Nano Every (or your chosen board), and upload!

This code allows for the motor to spin back and forth with randomized turns each time.

#include <Stepper.h> //library to control the motor

const int stepsPerRevolution = 2038; // the amount of steps needed to make a full rotation

Stepper myStepper = Stepper(stepsPerRevolution, 7, 5, 6, 4); // initialize the motor with the pins that we connected

void setup() { //happens once

myStepper.setSpeed(10); // set speed to 10 rpm, you can change to whatever speed you want

}

void loop() { //loops forever

myStepper.step((random(1,6)/2.0)*(stepsPerRevolution));

// picks a random number from 1-6 and divides it by 2.0 to allow for decimals. Then multiplies that number by 1 revolution and spins it.

delay(100); // wait 0.1 seconds

myStepper.step(-(random(1,10)/2.0)*(stepsPerRevolution)); // same thing but in reverse

delay(100); // wait 0.1 seconds

}

This code makes the motor spin in only one direction. To choose the direction, go to line 6 and set the Direction variable to 1 for forwards and -1 for backwards.

#include <Stepper.h> //library to control the motor

const int stepsPerRevolution = 2038; // the amount of steps needed to make a full rotation

Stepper myStepper = Stepper(stepsPerRevolution, 7, 5, 6, 4); // initialize the motor with the pins that we connected

const int Direction = 1; // set to 1 for forwards and -1 for backwards

void setup() { //happens once

myStepper.setSpeed(10); // set speed to 10 rpm, you can change to whatever speed you want

}

void loop() { //loops forever

myStepper.step(Direction*(stepsPerRevolution));// Spins it once in the direction chosen

}

Downloads

MoireDevice.ino

MoireDeviceOneDirection.ino

Conclusion

You did it! You made a backlit Moiré effect device with randomized spinning times and easily customizable lights via remote. You can even nail it to a wall with the provided mounting hole. To see it run, plug both the LEDs and the power supply into the outlet and let the moving shapes and changing colors mesmerize you!