Jun 9, 2017 | By Benedict

An Instructables user going by the name “Gelstronic” has used 3D printing to make “PropHelix,” a 3D POV holographic display that can be used to play games and project animations. The display consists of a spinning helix of LED strips, producing an amazing 3D image with 144 LEDs.

Interest in clunky and ill-prepared 3D movies might be waning, but that doesn’t mean that we, the entertainment-guzzling public, aren’t still super psyched whenever we get to see cool 3D representations of things we usually see in 2D.

But while big Hollywood execs are ramming 3D down our throats just to make us pay more, caring and sharing makers like Gelstronic just want you to enjoy the visual treat of 3D.

The maker, whose real name we don’t know, has put together an Instructables tutorial for a cool 3D POV display made up of a 144-LED spinning helix. You might not be able to watch TV on it, but its light effects are certainly a sight to behold.

“People have always been fascinated by holographic representations,” Gelstronic says. He’s right.

For his project, the maker uses a spinning helix of LED strips, with a total of 144 LEDs precisely positioned across 12 strips. These strips are spun around at fast speeds by a P8XBlade2 propeller, producing a stunning display that consists of 17,280 voxels with 16 colors.

Because Gelstronic used APA102 LEDs, he says he needed no additional drivers or transistors beyond a single microcontroller, something which supposedly made the electronics sections easier to build.

The cool 3D display also uses a wireless electrical supply, with no need for brushes and no friction loss.

Luckily for makers, the holographic display also uses 3D printed parts, which Gelstronic printed in PLA filament. There are three 3D printed sections in total.

At this point, you might be wondering what exactly the display can be used for, besides functioning as a pleasant visual distraction. Well, if that’s not good enough for you, Gelstronic has devised a 3D version of Snake which gamers can play on the display. The open source nature of the project also allows coders to come up with their own 3D games, videos, and other uses for the display.

Gelstronic is quick to point out that helix-based 3D displays existed long before his project. But with a full Instructables guide and spectacular visual results, the maker’s holographic display can claim to be one of the best on the internet.

“Of course the rotating helix is not my invention, but those projects are very rare,” Gelstronic says. “I've found only two projects in the whole net: one is closed source, the other one…has much more driver stuff, less colors, and no more resources for animation/game stuff.”

 

 

Posted in Fun with 3D Printing

 

 

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Askii wrote at 6/9/2017 4:42:05 PM:

Guess one just has to swap out the leds for alphanumeric LEDs and modify the movie to ascii converter to be able to use 3d movies instead of 2d for the 'true' diy 3d experience.



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