How to add software-controlled LEDs to your 3D printer!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ค. 2017
- Make your 3D printer tons cooler and more functional by adding LEDs the printer controls itself! This method will work for almost any 3D printer and you don't need to do any complex electrical work or mess with the firmware. This is the complete guide from selecting which LEDs to use, over control options, to configuring things to be automatically controlled!
🛒 Here are all the materials you'll need!
▪️Options for LEDs:
LED rings s.click.aliexpress.com/e/YbuNN3v
White LED strips s.click.aliexpress.com/e/faEuvVN
Really bright white LED strips s.click.aliexpress.com/e/Q7e2nmu
RGB LED Strips s.click.aliexpress.com/e/rf2fQbQ
White LED Spot (110-240V AC) s.click.aliexpress.com/e/RFurzrJ
▪️Drivers:
Transistor board (for switching 12V lights) s.click.aliexpress.com/e/Rb6yfAI
Relay board (for switching 110V/230V lights) s.click.aliexpress.com/e/meuzRB6
Solid state relay board (noiseless, for switching 110V/230V lights) s.click.aliexpress.com/e/fiuZv3J
▪️Accessories:
Jumper cables s.click.aliexpress.com/e/u76Aqnu
Buck module (for running 12V LEDs from 24V) s.click.aliexpress.com/e/qVNJMFm
Product links are affiliate links - I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you)
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Thanks Tom for the tech tips! If I can be honest, this is the kind of technical stuff you used to put out more and why I started following you. I'm less interested in reviews and more interested in technical data. Not that I don't like your reviews, but as a geek,I love being able to dive into the gear more. Today I had my y-axis channel on my ramps/arduino board die from a cheap Aliexpress driver, and I dug into the code and figured out how to remap my y stepper signals to my unused extruder driver so now I have a working board again that I don't have to toss out. I'd love to see more of that deeper diving material from you, you are pretty sharp and know a lot about this stuff. Thanks for the great videos, I watch everything you post!
Wow... Just... Wow! No wonder you are on this business for so long Tom -- you rock! Congratulations and thank you very much for sharing your wisdom! Take care!
You put out some great content, especially for us newbies. Thank you!
Great video! One thing that I especially like is your DIY driver board for driving RGB LEDs (at video position 5:53). As a DIYer, I would love to see a follow-up video or live-stream where you give details of the circuit design, discuss part selection, and then build a copy of the board from parts.
Thanks again for all the great content.
I completely forgot about all the direct pin control GCode commands and a few of the others. Thank you!
I've connected some status LEDs(In a little 'tower' atop the printer) to hot end fan, stepper enable and a few other spots so the lights show the physical status of the machine even if somthing goes wrong with the machine(Like an overtemp, mistake in the gcode or other problem). But I do like this idea for the overall lighting control.
Always loved this idea but never considered this route. Nicely broken down and explained.
This video was on another level, sir. Excellent info, nice shots, great edits...
+Brandon Terry thanks!
Thank you for sharing this. Now I will start illuminating my three printers. 👍🏼
Thank you so much for this!! It's exactly what I was looking for. I can't wait to make this mod to my printer.
Duuuuuuudee! Thanks for the info, was just recently thinking about a project like that. Great job Tom!
That intro is gold
Thanks Thomas! This is something I have been working on myself and you gave me some cairati .
Always good videos! Thank you so much for the time you spend. My prints are 100% better because of you!
Excellent info Tom. Thanks for sharing.
awesome Thomas Sanlandrer you just showed me how to do some thing I have been pondering, but was hesitating at the idea of messing with the firmware, I didnt even know it could be done from the g code, thank you for this video.
Tom, fast forward to 2022, I'm still using the Prusa clone I've built following your series, and in the spirit of RepRap, printed the parts for another one with 300x200 bed (and whole bunch of other mods), on 12mm ply reinforced frame and the things haven't stopped printing!! Now, I've decided to add LEDs, just for the fun of it, and this helps a lot.
This was a nice video. I miss these type of videos from you.
+John Cutburth II feels good making them again!
This video is gold man, thank you for sharing
awesome work ive been struggling to get this working on both my haribos 30303 scratch builds
Extremely helpful video!
I have some spare LED strip and was considering installing some on my LulzBot Mini as I'm fed up with not being able to see what's going on!
Although the PSU is 24v and the LED strip I have requires 12v I was going to connect two pieces of strip in series so they both have 12v from the PSU. I was going to use a small switch on the front of the printer controller case but having seen this I'm considering the alternatives, although I may still include the switch for isolation purposes.
Looks like my weekend is going to be illuminating!
Thanks for the video! Thumbs up for that expert forest of wiring on your Prusa.
A very informative and a great video. Will be trying this someday.
Love it! thanks for the tips Tom!
I love Dolly :) that printer is awesome.
I have an Mk2S and homebrew Mk2S (with parts my old Mk1) thanks to your clone Mk2 guide :)
Working to add the tubular frame and this cool LED project concept once i figure out the pinout for the rambo 1.3a
Got yourself a new sub.
Thanks Thomas. This is a great tutorial. Would you happen to know if there are pins on the CR-10 motherboard that I can use to accomplish this?
Very informative, thank you very much!
Thank you very much for your info, this is the best video about controlled led, I have been looking info about the gradually pritntig advance associated to a RGB led, is possible control like with the heating extruder?
Very interesting video.
I tried using the setup as shown on the reprap forum in regards to the FF module, but was not able to get it to work. This module is suppose to handle the lighting and also apply sounds to the actions of the start and end codes.
Not sure why it didn't work, but it would be a very cool thing to have for demonstration 3D printers that are designed to encourage new people to 3D printing.
Very well done ! Clean and things others just don't tell you and in detail what's going on. Very Nice !, Keep up the good work well appreciated. :)
Nice! thanks for the info!
Very useful and Informative!
Wow truly awesome video! Thanks!
This is cool, thanks. I have an Anet A6 and i will definitely fix some lights like this. Can u help me with or make a video to use a buzzer at the end of the printing? Anet has one but i have no idea how to get it to work.
Another awesome video! Tom, do you by chance have a link to that sweet LED lantern you show in the video?
great work Tom. Time to pick up some leds :-)
Hey Tom, I watched this a few days ago and just had a thought, what if you hook up an on/off switch to the lights to help if it is in a room someone is sleeping in? A followup would be cool!
great and simple control idea. I learned a lot of nuances about start and end g-code here including what looks like [parameters]. How about a tutorial using this "light control technique" with some kinda simple electronics to shut down printer at end of a job please?
Thanks Tom. This is a great video. I have all of those LEDs and some mosfets already, have been waiting to do this. You've inspired my weekend project. The reason I'm leaving at comment primarily because at about 11 minutes in, it really shows/seems that you are doing something you are passionate about. It is enjoyable to watch your happiness grow in these educational videos the last year or so I've been subscribed to you. Enough of the bromance, let's get this project started.
Thanks!!! I was thinking about how to do that exactly that to my Prusa I3 Mk2 and you saved me a lot of time & effort. :)
did you figure out what pins to use on the prusa?? I can't figure it out...
If I was installing these on my printer I'd run a brand new Arduino board in and run them from that. No point in putting the main 3D printer board under any more strain than it already my be.Great video, Tom. Thanks for it.
I don't even plan on adding LEDs to my printer, I'm just here because i can't stop watching your videos xd
I was thinking of getting the LED ring to use as a lighting source for my SLR camera's macro lens.
So cool, thanks Tom!
Not sure if it's been mentioned or asked before since this is an older video but what about adding ws2812 led's controlled by controller on an MK3s with gcode. That would be an amazing update video! Thanks for all your great videos Tom!
Very informative video for new printer owners. Looking for any info on how to get status leds on a CR-10. Can't find any information if there are any free pins on either 10 or 10s printer boards. Even if one free pin could possibly connect neopixels. All exists in Marlin just need some board info on pin possibilities (and pin redirecting if needed). Again, excellent videos.
Nice, I did it with relais first, then wrote a plugin for Octoprint.
I use it to get the status visualized via webcam. It was actually a hack in the Marlin firmware.
But I will try the G-Code variant
Hey dude I would love to see an updated video that fits today's newer addressable LEDs
i have to say tom is meanwhile the best youtuber dealing with 3d printing. very sympathetic, very professional and always very informative...so sind sie halt die deutschen ;) beste güsse
Hi Tom, is it possible you could do a toturial to reprogram marlin to use the endstop pins? (I have a GT2560 Board)
Nice work sir! I was just pondering this very topic last night! :D
More videos like this, thank you.
I will do this as my first upgrade.
Also it would be cool to see a video like "the cheapest prosa clone", but "the no doubt about it best prosa clone".
@Thomas Sanladerer can you control the LED strip with the GPIO pins of the raspberry pi (using octaprint / octopi)?
Great video and information. I have started working this mod and noticed that Cura will add the M109/M190 commands as the very first 2 lines in the final gcode file. So no matter what I have in the Start Gcode section, there will always be M190 and M109 as the first two lines. So unless I do a post edit, I can't turn on LED's until the bed and extruder are at temperature. Any thoughts on how to fix this?
Thomas do you recommend Proxxon tools? Is the quality okay for hobby user?
Love it. Thanks.
Hi, great video as usual, you have like from me. Could you please draw a schema for your board? I spent the whole afternoon with one transistor and I did it wrongly (I had two resistors according to the diagram, probably in the wrong place). Thank you very much.
If you want some additional control over your RGB or RGBW LEDs or LED strips, there's a whole new set of options in Marlin 1.1 supporting a few different kinds of LEDs. With `PRINTER_EVENT_LEDS` enabled, during heating the color will gradually change from blue to red before returning to white, and on SD print completion the LED goes green for a second, then turns off. Of course, you can use "M150 R U B W" to set the RGBW components from your G-code, rather than relying on "M42." Enjoy!
+Scott Lahteine great tip! Might be worth covering in another video, for when you do have the option of configuring and modifying your printer's firmware!
Any support for the serial adressable leds ? (I have a shit load, love them :D)
Note that I've also added a command (M43) to report what all the pins on your board are assigned to, and whether they can do PWM. It makes finding available pins for your LEDs and other add-ons much, much easier! This command is enabled with the `PINS_DEBUGGING` option, and should be disabled when not needed.
Great video!
How could we set the RGB to the X,Y or Z value? So the leds will be greener the further head is on Y and bluer the higher up on Z. That would be cool :-).
Cheers
I was checking the channel hoping for the formal review of the CR-10 but this is fun too.
CR-10 is still going to be a bit! Don't want to half-ass what is basically going to be my final take on the machine.
Thanks for the reply and for the educational and entertaining videos.
awesome idea
Points Taken. I think setup in general is always a huge time endeavor and it tends to be more objective and plain speak. I think I'd like to see more videos in general about hot to get certain kinds of complex designs to print whether they be purely mechanical or aesthetic effects. Torture tests can only tell us so much I think.
Thomas, how do you wire up full RGBW LEDs if you don't have a multi-channel mosfet? Your custom board has multiple breakouts, but I have a handful of single channel mosfets, just like the keyes one you showed.
can you use a Rasberry Pi 3 b+ to still get the Status effected RGB. i plan on adding an octoprint and id like to maximize its useful ness without messing much with the MK3s board. i was going to power both standalone NOT using MK3s PSU
Hey, @Thomas Sanladerer is possible to add smart LEDs on the Original Prusa mk2s?
is there a different way you can used g-code control of the led, if you use those pins on ramps for a display
Thomas, how can i do this and keep the LCD panel working?
THIS IS SUPER COOL
It would be cool to use the gcode to mark when a overhang is going to start and then tilt the printer so that supports would not be needed. The Dolly and Prusa MK2 are stiff enough so that you could tilt the printer by 30 degrees which would cut out a ton of supports material for simple parts.
Excellent !!!
Totally cool printer
yeah! modding!
I am trying to figure out how to get a two very small leds that just light up the hotend. I worry that they might come loose during print or become to hot because of the hotend. The led ring is too bulky for my taste. I like some more stealthy led effect. What do you recommend?
Hi, excellent video but I have a problem. I want to do this with my Tevo Little Monster. The motherboard is a MKS SBASE V 1.3 but configured with Smoothieware. I have no idea wich pins I can use and how I have to configure this in the config.txt file. I think I can use pins in EXP1 slot because it's a TFT screen and not a lcd panel but I am absolute not sure. Have you an idea? Thanks. Joseph
Thank you so much! This is an area so poorly documented in the Marlin gcode options.
nice idea
You may connect an input of an Wemos D1 (using level shifter) to a output-pin from the controller. It can send comand to a hue bridge turning all colored lights in the house to green, if print is ready...
Do you have the link to that LED Strip lantern you showed?
Is there a way you can do an update video with the skr mini e3?
Nicely done & informative. On the M42, what S value do you use for a non-PWM output?
+vidznstuff1 if you habe a non-PWM pin, anything from 0-126 will turn it off, anything from 127-255 will turn it off.
Hey Tom, can you give us a schematic for your diy transistor board?
Any way you would want to show us how you made that transistor board?
Pls post the start and end gcodes and how do you connect to the pins ...
thanks for the answ.,
Can you make video on FAN MOD? the hotend cooling fan and power supply fans are always on making noise. can they be turned on when print actually starts?
Is this something that is capable to do with a stock Anet A8 board? I don't think it has any spare pins like the boards you show. The back of the LCD board has a line of pins, but my knowledge of circuit boards is pretty much zero.
Will this work with any printer (Anycubic i3 Mega - Creality CR-10)?
.. another extremely interesting video - thx a lot. is there any pins accessible on the ender 3 mobo to do this mods as described? would love to! ;-)
I would love that too.
Not really. The only one you can really reuse is the beeper pins. You could get rid of the LCD probably and use those pins.. but then no LCD.
You said it was simple!
i do not see on the Prusa MK2 (mini rambo) where i could connect the LEDs? Anyone?
link for the lamp at the beginning of the video, please?
Is there a reason you are suggesting a buck converter to power the lights? Why not just use 24v lights?
What pins do I use on the Rambo 1.1a?
Notepad !?!? You are hardcore my friend : )
Is it not just possible to make it even easier by putting the inputs of some switches parallel to the the heater-outputs and fans?
For example Blue for the heatbed, Red for the hotend-heater, White for the extruder-fan ?
You can thus really easily see the status of the printing without having to do anything in the gcode or slicer. It just always works the same.
Of course you can even see a brighter or dimmer light (red or blue) when the heaters are on and more white light when the extruder-fan runs faster (PWM signals amplified by your mosfet or transistors to your LED's)
Seems like such an easy idea. Any problems to be expected in this aproach?
Is there a way to somehow connect this to octoprint? If my printer is in an enclosure somewhere I don´t want the light to be on the entire time. It would be cool to turn the led on and off when opening octoprint and checking what´s going on through the webcam and then turning it off again...
Rather than using a buck converter to step down from 24v to 12v would it not be easier to cut 2 led strips and wire them in series such that the voltage is split across them and they get 12v each?
Yes, this would work but then again if there should be a difference in forward voltages, the LEDs might be strained quite differently
Is there any need to change anything in firmware? I am running a Marlin 2.0.x on a custom MEGA and RAMPS1.4 board and using a multimeter M42 doesn't change the voltage on any pins I have tried (32,33,47 etc). Is there anything to change in firmware to "enable" this feature?
What transistors are those on that homemade board?
anyone know what pind i would use on the rambo mini for the prusa mk2s printer?