I Replicated a Warp Core With Lights and Sounds; It's Warp Time!

For my first exploration into DIY "Electronics with Coding" projects, I enterprised to engineer a warp core worthy of a 5 year mission.

Behold, a USS Enterprise warp core; materialized through the magic of 3D printing, and infused with ingenuity.

Channeling my inner Rutherford, I adorned it with the pulsating glow of Addressable RGB lights and the harmonious hum of a sound card. Thus, a Defiantly large table lamp was born, ready to hum in sync with my home automation and to illuminate my quarters with the splendor of a protostar.

This video is a stop motion of the whole creation process

PLA Filiment black

PLA Filiment Clear

wood dowels

Adafruit sound board

300 5V WS2812B Addressable RGB LEDs

an ESP32 with a breakout board

a 1000uF Capacitor on the power line

a 68 ohm resistor on the data line

a 3-pin connector

a 5V power adaptor and tip

some heat shrink and wire.

2 watt speakers

Here you can see the size of it better. Not thinking of where I would display it... I scaled it to the Playmates toy size, which made for a big warp core table lamp. It sits at 81 CM Tall (7.8 Geordi La Forge's), 37 CM Wide (3.24 Geordi La Forge's), and 23 CM Deep (2.01 Geordi La Forge's).

Sound 1

The power-up sound activates when the Warp Core is plugged into the wall. I regret not making a spot for a power button

Sound 2

A single click on the button will activate a conversation between, Lower Deck, warp core experts as well as a series of warp engine LED styles.

Our whole house loves Lower Decks, we had to include the engine sound clip.

Sound 3

A Double Click activates the Red Alert sound. The Warp core has also been integrated into Home Assistant. For now, when my garage door is left open it signals this Red Alert setting in my office.

Sound 4

A long press on the button will activate a Engine core running nominal sound setting.

Before sound comes light, I arranged the components within the housing staring with the ESP32. Then I endeavored with some wire management. The sound board took its place alongside the ESP32, I crafted a symphony of wire management, ensuring that chaos would not disrupt the cosmic melody. With the core housed, I turned my attention to the speakers, positioning them strategically to channel their sonic waves up the coil, like transmissions traveling through the fabric of subspace. Unfortunately, they were not as loud as I hoped. In a stroke of clandestine genius, I concealed a third 1-watt speaker atop the coil, it enhances the volume levels and adding an extra layer of depth.

Inserting the LEDs was a systematic process. I began by placing the 54 LEDs for the Power Transfer Conduits (protruding from the left and right sides), then proceeded to run LEDs along the front and back of the Reaction Chamber interior while managing excess wire. Next, I wound the 300 LED strand around the center baffle and cautiously inserted it into the top half of the core. Subsequently, I guided the 54 LED strand's cable down the rear of the core baffle and inserted the baffle into the bottom half of the core with care. Finally, I pulled out the data and power cables from the bottom, preparing it for the integration of control circuitry.

I voyaged into 3D designing my warp core by engaging with the creation of the clear pressure vessel toroid's. Printing four of them consumed 50 ish hours of print time.

My proficiency in 3D modeling was lacking and time was not on my side, my detail oriented obsession led me to seek out a superior model. Through meticulous adaptation, I merged elements from the linked design with my own creation, resulting in a hybrid of unparalleled complexity. Ironically, the fusion of the two models demanded more time than the reprinting of the Toroid's themselves, which is what I was trying to avoid... “I am pleased to see that we have differences. May we together become greater than the sum of both of us.” — Surak

I won't post my file, If you want to make a warp core I recommend CrazyJ's file. https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6272909

Starting with the Toroid's, I printed each one using Clear PLA+ filament, attempting to capture the essence of the celestial glow of the warp core's power.

For the remaining components, I opted for black PLA+ filament, meticulously sanding and painting each piece with a coat of Dark Iron spray paint to achieve a regal finish.

For the thin vertical tension members, I utilized wooden Dowels painted black, lending a touch of stability and sophistication to the structure. Though, I must confess, I would have preferred piano wire if it had been available.

With the finesse of a Starfleet engineer, I assembled the core using cyanoacrylate adhesive (instant glue), separating it into two primary sections. The upper section houses the Reaction Chamber and Power Transfer Conduit, while the lower section cradles the base and the lower half of the Toroid's.

At the heart of the warp core assembly, I fused together an array of components, invoking the power of 300 5V WS2812B Addressable RGB LEDs, an ESP32 with a breakout board, a 1000uF Capacitor on the power line, a 68 ohm resistor on the data line, a 3-pin connector, a 5V power adaptor tip, along with some heat shrink and wire.

To control this intricate setup, I flashed WLED onto the ESP32 board. WLED is "a fast and feature-rich implementation of an ESP32 webserver to control WS2812B LEDs." Accessible through an IP address, its integration with Home Assistant elevates the core's functionality within my home automation system. It was easy to install and set up quickly, and it was feature rich enough to allow me to repurpose some pins into relays to act as button presses on the sound card.

For more info on WLED https://kno.wled.ge/

I made a more detailed post about this part of the build here. https://imgur.com/gallery/H9j4OE7

I crafted two LED strips, this one was composed of 54 5V WS2812B Addressable RGB LEDs, a 1000uF Capacitor on the power line, a 68 ohm resistor on the data line, a 3-pin connector, a selection of heat shrink tubing, and a generous length of approximately 30 cm three-wire cable.

As a cadet in coding and soldering, I sought a sound card with minimal potential points of failure. After diligent research, I discovered the Adafruit sound board. Its user-friendly interface allows for the customization of .wav files, while its multiple trigger pins offered the possibility of activation via relay pins on the ESP32 within the WLED framework.

Within the heart of the warp core lies a meticulously crafted array of baffles. These ingenious components serve to mitigate light bleed as the illuminated LEDs traverse down the coil towards the Reaction Chamber, providing a better immersive visual experience.

The Toroid's emerged from my 3D printer, crafted in clear PLA+, ready to embrace their cosmic destiny. To elevate their luminous presence, I embarked on a process. I defiantly scrubbed each toroid inside and out using a cotton cloth soaked in acetone.

This transformative technique enveloped the toroid's in a fog, serving as a better light diffuser for the LED's.

I resorted to chicken skewers painted black as my vertical tension members, though in a prime universe, I would have swapped them out for piano wire faster than you can say "Kapla"

The trigger button, fashioned in the iconic shape of a communicator, received a striking makeover. Initially printed in Black PLA+, then coated with Liquid Chrome and Liquid Gold paint.

I soon realized that frequent use would quickly wear down its lustrous finish. In a stroke of resourcefulness, I sought a solution. Enter Tin tape, typically reserved for ductwork, which I carefully affixed over the silver paint, ensuring durability without sacrificing style. Thus, the communicator trigger button retained its gleaming appearance, ready to withstand the rigors of countless voyages of finger activations.

In my pursuit of the perfect warp core light design, I embarked on a journey filled with experimentation and discovery. Along the way, I made numerous variations, each a testament to the verstility of WLED. Some of these designs I preserved as presets, ready to be engaged at a moment's notice by the app or through Home Automation.

Embarking on this project felt like I was a voyager into uncharted space, but to my surprise, the learning curve wasn't as daunting as I had anticipated. I owe a debt of gratitude to my family for boldly pushing me into the wondrous world of DIY electronics and coding. Without my brother's guidance, navigating the complexities of this endeavor would have felt like traversing the Gamma Quadrant without a star chart.