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TR-011 / Light & Motion

Animated Wooden Fountain

Twenty-four pumps borrow WLED animations and turn pixel brightness into programmable streams of water.

WOODELECTRONICSLIGHTMOTIONESP32
Animated fountain running a full-colour water sequence
FEATURED BUILD33 PHOTOS

THE CONTROL TRICK / 24 CHANNELS

WLED, but make it wet.

Twenty-four pumps mirror the brightness of twenty-four WLED pixels. Bright pixel: more water. Dark pixel: less water. That turns ordinary LED animations into moving water patterns without inventing a second animation system. The basin is built from old pine, the central harp is walnut, and an ESP32 coordinates the unreasonable number of pumps. The finished fountain also has Wi-Fi and smart-home integration, because apparently a garden fountain needed firmware updates. The result is part water feature, part light sculpture and part plumbing test that became considerably harder to switch off once it started working.

Category
Light & Motion
Project ID
TR-011
Source files
Available
Photographs
33

BUILD GALLERY / 33

Animated Wooden Fountain: animated fountain running a full-colour water sequence
01Animated fountain running a full-colour water sequence
Animated Wooden Fountain: finished fountain in daylight
02Finished fountain in daylight
Animated Wooden Fountain: fountain installed in the garden
03Fountain installed in the garden
Animated Wooden Fountain: red water-and-light sequence
04Red water-and-light sequence
Animated Wooden Fountain: purple water-and-light sequence
05Purple water-and-light sequence
Animated Wooden Fountain: twenty-four streams viewed from above
06Twenty-four streams viewed from above
Animated Wooden Fountain: blue sequence across the harp and basin
07Blue sequence across the harp and basin
Animated Wooden Fountain: green sequence across the harp and basin
08Green sequence across the harp and basin
Animated Wooden Fountain: full fountain running beside the workshop
09Full fountain running beside the workshop
Animated Wooden Fountain: wooden fountain before the lights switch on
10Wooden fountain before the lights switch on
Animated Wooden Fountain: circular basin and harp viewed from above
11Circular basin and harp viewed from above
Animated Wooden Fountain: finished walnut harp in the pine basin
12Finished walnut harp in the pine basin
Animated Wooden Fountain: walnut harp and its twenty-four outlets
13Walnut harp and its twenty-four outlets
Animated Wooden Fountain: wLED control screen beside the running fountain
14WLED control screen beside the running fountain
Animated Wooden Fountain: preparing the old pine basin stock
15Preparing the old pine basin stock
Animated Wooden Fountain: marking the pine wall sections
16Marking the pine wall sections
Animated Wooden Fountain: cutting the circular basin panels
17Cutting the circular basin panels
Animated Wooden Fountain: routing the base with a circle jig
18Routing the base with a circle jig
Animated Wooden Fountain: gluing the segmented outer wall
19Gluing the segmented outer wall
Animated Wooden Fountain: fastening the basin wall to the base
20Fastening the basin wall to the base
Animated Wooden Fountain: trimming the completed wooden basin
21Trimming the completed wooden basin
Animated Wooden Fountain: sealing the inside of the reservoir
22Sealing the inside of the reservoir
Animated Wooden Fountain: mixing the waterproof coating
23Mixing the waterproof coating
Animated Wooden Fountain: reservoir ready for pumps and plumbing
24Reservoir ready for pumps and plumbing
Animated Wooden Fountain: positioning the twenty-four mini pumps
25Positioning the twenty-four mini pumps
Animated Wooden Fountain: water test with temporary containers
26Water test with temporary containers
Animated Wooden Fountain: pump housings and tubing prepared for assembly
27Pump housings and tubing prepared for assembly
Animated Wooden Fountain: dry fitting the walnut harp frame
28Dry fitting the walnut harp frame
Animated Wooden Fountain: applying finish to the walnut harp
29Applying finish to the walnut harp
Animated Wooden Fountain: pump controller and power hardware
30Pump controller and power hardware
Animated Wooden Fountain: sanding the harp frame before final assembly
31Sanding the harp frame before final assembly
Animated Wooden Fountain: twenty-four outlet nozzles installed in the harp
32Twenty-four outlet nozzles installed in the harp
Animated Wooden Fountain: plumbing ring connected inside the basin
33Plumbing ring connected inside the basin

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