Beam Light

Overview

This project was a decorative walnut beam to serve as a visual divider between our apartments living and dining room.

Challenges & Solutions

This beam is a 3x4 inch beam made from solid walnut. The main concern with this construction is the warping of the wood with the seasonal changes in humidity. To combat this, the beam was constructed from two 1.5x4-inch planks of walnut that were cut from the same larger plank. These two pieces were then glued together face to face to form the final beam. Gluing the pieces face to face means that natural tendencies to warp in one plank counteract the same tendencies in the other plank, meaning the beam stays straight over time.

To mount the LEDs to the beam, two channels were routed along the length of the beam. These channels provide a recess for the LEDs to sit in, ensuring no hot spots can be seen while the beam is viewed from the side. The light is only visible after being reflected off the wall to ensure proper diffusion.

The control interface needed to be very subtle to blend in with the simple aesthetic of the beam. A walnut knob was mounted on the side of the beam to act as the only input. It is mounted on a rotary encoder with pushbutton functionality. A single press of the pushbutton toggles the light on and off. A long press of the button changes the lighting pattern. Turning the knob adjusts the brightness.

Technical Details

The following are a list of the components used in this project:

• ESP32 with over the air updates
• 322 WS2812B RGB LEDs from a strip controlled with the FastLED library
• Rotary encoder for user input