Balrog Glowing Flames
Introduction: Balrog Glowing Flames
So i had this 3d printing file of balrog for a while now and i didnt know what kind of project to make with it until i saw the Hot Glue competition. That's when i got the inspiration to make the flames on the back of the balrog glow from flexible LEDs filaments and use silicone glue to shape the flames. The balrog model is holding a flame sword and i modified the file so that the balrog will be holding his glowing flaming whip which we can also use the flexible LED filaments.
In order to power all the LEDs, im going to modified the balrog base and put a powerbank with a switch on it. As usual all modifications was done using Tinkercad and 3d printed. This time i'm using a mix of normal FDM 3d printer and a DLP resin 3d printer. Im using DLP resin printer cause the model is only 18cm-ish and the detail will be lost if im using FDM printer.
Difficulty level:
1. 3D printing - Easy
2. Assembly - Intermediate (we'll be using hot glue gun.. need to be careful of hot silicone glue)
3. Wiring - Easy
4. Painting - Intermediate (we'll be using a mix of airbrushing and normal brush)
P.S. getting the wiring to fit into the model channel is gonna be challenging..
So lets get started..
Supplies
1. LED flexible filaments- 26cm long x 2
2. TP4056, DC-DC buck converter - USB to lithium battery with protection
3. Lithium battery 18650 3.7v
4. Lithium battery 18650 1 cell holder
5. 231
Wires - AWG24
6. Wires - AWG18
7. Rocker switch 2pins - 15x10mm
8. M3 screw - 8mm or 10mm
9. 0.8mm tinned copper wire - 30cm long
10. Silicone glue & glue gun
11. Mini flame torch
12. Soldering iron (to connect the LED & PCB to the wires)
13. Airbrush set with colors
And of course a FDM 3d printer and DLP Resin 3d printer to print all the parts.. all part will be able to fit into a 200x200mm printer..
Step 1: 3D Printing All Parts
I will only share parts of the balrog model that I modified myself for the wiring and LED flames.
* https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5428420
* https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/art/balrog-glowing-flames
the rest of the STL parts can be bought from the original designer here:
* cults3d
* cgtrader
The body i 3d printed using a DLP resin printer (Mono X) while the base is printed on FDM printer (ENDER 5Plus). you can print all the parts using FDM or DLP whichever your preference.
Once all the parts are printed, you'll need to cleanup all the supports.
Step 2: Wiring
In this step we're gonna feed the wires through the channel i made on the body parts.
Before we do that, see the diagram for the wiring of the LEDs to the battery powerbank. Both flexible LEDs will be wired parallel to the USB lithium converter.
There are 3 body parts that will need wiring running throught them
1. Tail & body - AWG24 or AWG18
2. Right hand - AWG24 only
You can use AWG24 wires to run all the channel but you cant use AWG18 since the wire is too big to feed into the right hand.
When you wire the body to tail to powerbank, make sure to have a lot of slack for easy wiring later on.. i added like 15cm extra wire that came out of the tail..
Run a set of wires from the right hand to the back of the body and run another set of wires from the tail to the back of the body. The right hand channel is slightly small so you'll have to wiggle the wires until it runs though the channel
The wire that comes out of the tail needs a lot of slack so it can go thought the base and connect to the powerbank.
Step 3: Base With Powerbank
Making the powerbank is quite straight forward.
Base on the picture you should be able to understand how i wired everything.
Make sure to solder all the wires connected to the USB charger first before anything else.
The rocker switch should be last.
I glued everything down using silicone glue to keep them in place.
Once done.. 996