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Tiny motor for a LED Projection

Jmac

Mar 22, 2017
1
Joined
Mar 22, 2017
Messages
1
Hi Everyone,

I am brand new to this site and so thankful these forums exist!

I want to create a small, one LED bulb, projection. Do you remember as a kid, when you used to put a stencil over a flashlight, and it created a projection of a ghost or what not on the wall. Well I want to do the same thing, just more tiny. I want to project the batman symbol by using one led bulb, putting some foil or reflective tape behind it to direct the light forward (even though the led bulbs I bought say focused), and the bat stencil in front. Not too hard I suppose. I was going to place all this in a 1/4" or 1/2" pvc pipe housing. When the bulbs come in, I will have more time for experimentation.

I am not too familiar with motors, but i wanted to take it to the next level, and see if i can find or make a small motor that will make my small light move 45 degrees from left to right like it is shining over a cityscape. I need this motor to be small and possibly fit under a 1/4" 45 degree elbow pvc joint. That is the angle the light will shine up from. If anyone can point me in the direction of this component or a tutorial on how to make it and find the parts, that would be great. I am definitely a newbie but have been doing simple series work since my days in the air force.

Also, if you have any recommendations for the first part of the project, I will gladly take them!

Thanks for all the help!
 

Alec_t

Jul 7, 2015
3,587
Joined
Jul 7, 2015
Messages
3,587
Welcome to EP.
Waste of time putting foil/reflector behind the LED: all light is emitted forward.
You will need a lens in front of the LED to project the image.
The smallest readily/cheaply obtainable motor is probably one as used to vibrate a phone. But it would require a lot of gearing down if you want to scan the light left/right slowly. A possible alternative might be a short length of bi-metal strip with a small heating coil around it. As the strip heats/cools it bends.
 

Bluejets

Oct 5, 2014
6,901
Joined
Oct 5, 2014
Messages
6,901
Mount a mini servo external to the pipe and operate led mount mechanism via a flex cable similar to a bicycle brake inner cable or r/c aircraft controls. Servo can be driven by a $2 controller off ebay. Other micro motors can be sourced from micro heli tail rotor drive but gearing down would be a massive task.
 
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