10 RPi Lighthouses for Dave’s Wedding

Normally when you get married, you leave the technical details to others. The idea is that you show up, and after a whirlwind of vows, friends, and exchanging rings, you leave a few hours later with an official significant other. As seen here, hacker and 3D print master “Lame Dave” instead decided to take a more active role in the decoration process by designing and printing 10 models of the location of his wedding — a lighthouse called Buoy Wharf in London, England.

The lighthouses were first modeled in 3D, then printed as a wide array of components. While there was at least one unintended “ball of filament,” the finished lighthouses look quite good. Control is accomplished via a Raspberry Pi Zero W, and each features a customized 16x2 LCD display, personalized for its intended table.

A 10mm LED that spins around to light the way, under the control of a cheap stepper motor. Power for the rotating LED is provided by a sort of homemade slip ring setup with a rotating nail attached to a washer where the positive lead is soldered. The base of the stepper is connected to ground and connected to the negative lead of the LED to complete the circuit. One of these would have been a good build, but getting 10 of these ready by a certain date is an impressive job that few of us would have the patience to attempt!