Putting Together the LED Laser Array

Supplies

• 4 or 5 meters of WS2812B (AKA NeoPixel) LED strips with 60 LEDs per meter
• Solder, preferably lead free
• Lighter gauge wire for data connections
• Heavier gauge wire for power
• Heat shrink wrap and/or electrical tape
• Male and female headers
• FadeCandy LED controller
• Mini USB cable
• Power supply capable of supplying 90 Watts/18 Amps (I used an old ATX power supply from a previous computer)
• Connectors to connect up to the power supply (e.g. for ATX, 4 pin molex connectors)
• 3 lengths of .25" wide, 1 yard long light-weight wood, such as balsa
• Something to support the LED strips and hold them in the correct configuration
• Fishing line
• Something to attach the fishing line to your ceiling (e.g. pushpins, thumbtacks, or for some kinds of office ceilings, paperclips)

Optional, if you want a button to start the animation

• Giant button
• Arduino
• Resistor
• Wires
• A second mini USB cable

Tools

• Soldering iron
• Soldering mat
• Helping hands for soldering
• Hobby knife
• Wire cutters
• Wire strippers

Options for supports

• Access to a 3D printer
• PCL, a hand-moldable plastic that melts in hot water and solidifies at room temp
• Polymer or air dry clay
• Wood
• Something else... Seriously you do need something otherwise it'll be much more difficult to put together

Instructions

It was about this point where I got tired of writing up the directions... Hopefully one of these days I'll finish because it was an epic adventure deserving of documentation.