How to make an LED tree with your own hands. DIY LED Trees

Currently, there is a huge range of decorative lighting products that are successfully used for decorating rooms and streets. LED trees are becoming especially popular. various types, which serve not only as a decoration, but also perfectly complement the illumination of buildings with adjacent territories. Due to their qualities, they fit perfectly into almost any interior. In the daytime, artificial trees look quite natural, and with the onset of darkness they begin to delight others with all the colors and shades.

There are many for sale finished products, however, if you wish, you can make an LED tree with your own hands. An important positive factor is low energy consumption, so such trees are increasingly used for decoration in offices, shops and restaurants, attracting the attention of potential customers.

LED tree for house or apartment

Most often when self-manufacturing Indoor LED trees use two main methods.

Tree with LED garland

The manufacturing process begins with the frame, for which the best way fits aluminum wire. It can be easily bent at any angle, giving the future design any configuration. A more realistic color is obtained by wrapping the white insulation of the wire with black electrical tape.

Then, the finished frame is evenly wrapped with a garland, fixed to the wire with black electrical tape. If desired, you can create additional decorations for LEDs in the form of decorative nozzles made of transparent plastic. Upon completion of the work, the manufactured tree just needs to be connected to electrical network and believe it works. Thus, the question of how to make an LED tree with your own hands can be considered resolved.

The main advantage of this method is the ease of manufacture. The main disadvantage is the impossibility of manufacturing a large tree. This is related to standard length garland, which is not enough to place on the whole tree. Therefore, this method is most suitable for the manufacture of miniature products, which are also very popular.

LED tree

Making a tree from individual LEDs is considered a more labor intensive process. However, this method does not have the disadvantages inherent in ready-made garlands, which makes it possible to manufacture structures of any shape and size. The main material is 5mm LEDs. Resistors are needed to equalize the voltage.

Direct manufacturing begins with soldering. The LED contacts have different lengths, so the legs of the resistors are pre-shortened on one side. You need to solder the contacts of both elements very quickly so as not to damage the LED.

Heat shrink tubing is then cut for the wires to cover solder points and resistors. It is necessary to leave a place for soldering the power wire. The tube is inserted onto the leg of the resistor and warmed up a little with a lighter to give the insulation the necessary shape. This operation is performed for each LED.

After that, you can start making the tree itself. Most often, the trunk is made of thin plumbing pipes, and the branches are made of wire, about 50 cm long. 45 cm is left for the main part of the branch, and 5 cm remains for attaching it to the trunk. Small branches are cut up to 10 cm in size. The number of LEDs on one branch must be calculated in advance.

At the next stage, small branches are taped to large branches with electrical tape. The number of LEDs on each small branch is recommended to be equal to the number of LEDs on the large branch. Each LED is fastened with electrical tape.

The wires must be stretched along the entire length of the main branches, after which they are cut off taking into account the bends of small branches. The ends are wound to the trunk, after which all the pluses and minuses are connected on each branch. Their number must match the total number of branches. The wire connections are insulated. It remains only to evenly hang decorative ornaments and connect the finished tree to the electrical network.

Outdoor LED Trees

Artificial trees with LEDs can be installed in any place as a decoration of the landscape and surrounding areas. The attractive power of beauty actively attracts visitors to restaurants and cafes, shopping centers and boutiques, offices and other public places. Each luminous tree in its configuration largely resembles real plants, and sometimes completely imitates them. Artificial bark is used to cover metal branches. The maximum similarity can be achieved thanks to life-size silicone or plastic leaves and flowers.

The entire structure of the artificial tree is decorated with multi-colored LEDs. Most often, they operate from the mains, but in some cases, autonomous power can be used, which leads to some increase in the cost of the design. Sometimes LED garlands are used, but they do not give the same effect as LEDs used separately.

Advantages of artificial trees with LEDs:

• Long service life of at least 5 years.
• Artificial structures do not require the maintenance required by real trees.
• Low power consumption. Even the largest trees consume electricity in an amount not exceeding 700 watts.
• The simplicity of the design allows you to install it yourself, without involving specialists.
• Design resistance to low temperatures, dust, high humidity and other negative impacts.
• In the event of a burnout of one or more LEDs, the rest of the chain will continue to work, and faulty elements are easily replaced by others.
• Right choice artificial trees and bushes allows you to emphasize and complement the elements.

Sakura is especially popular among LED plants. These trees are particularly beautiful due to the highly durable plastic or aluminum alloy. Them appearance as close as possible to the present. Despite its relatively small size, this tree gives as much light as taller structures. Sakura has a soft and delicate light range, predominantly white, pink and golden tones.

Self-made tree for the street

When making a tree with LEDs for outdoor use, it is imperative to take into account the aggressive influence environment. Therefore, before you start making a do-it-yourself LED tree for the street, you need to determine in advance the entire procedure.

The general scheme of work will be approximately the same as for conventional structures intended for premises. In the outdoor version, it is recommended to pay attention to a more thorough covering of the trunk and branches with quality materials.

It is also necessary to take care of good insulation of the LEDs after soldering them with resistors. Heat shrink tubing must completely hide each pair. If necessary, all unreliable places can be additionally insulated with black electrical tape. The same goes for wire connections at the plus and minus points. Decor items should be fixed more efficiently so that they are not torn off by strong gusts of wind.

Master class: do-it-yourself luminous tree

Glow in the dark bushes and trees are a new fashion trend in lighting technology. Such lamps not only perform their main function - they illuminate the streets in dark time days, but also decorate the city, emphasizing the features of the general atmosphere and setting the necessary accents.

Luminous trees for the street - "useful" splendor
LED trees can be installed almost everywhere, but most often such unusual lamps flaunt at the entrance to a cafe, shopping center, restaurant, cinema, boutique, etc. So they become the very attractive highlight that lures visitors to these cultural places. Luminous shrubs and trees are very similar to real ones, they completely imitate the shape of their prototype plant. The metal branches of the LED miracle are covered with artificial bark, life-sized plastic or silicone leaves and flowers are attached to them. Small single-color or colored LEDs crown the whole structure. Such ornamental trees they can work from the network, but more often they are equipped with an autonomous power supply, which somewhat increases the cost of the design. You can, of course, just decorate an ordinary tree with an LED garland (for example, you can use solar-powered street garlands), but the effect will not be good enough. What are the benefits of using LED trees?

Pros: Durability lighting serve at least five years; Artificial trees do not require maintenance, which is so necessary for real ones; A small amount of electricity consumed, even to illuminate the largest giants, a maximum of 700 W of energy is required; Easy to install, here you can easily do without the help of specialists; Impact resistant design low temperatures, high humidity and dust; If one or more LEDs burn out, the rest of the lamp continues to burn, while the LEDs are easily replaced with new ones; Properly selected bushes and trees can favorably emphasize the design of the landscape, become part of the overall decor.

These exotic trees are usually made at least 2 meters high and can be painted in any color. More simple models are made in such a way that the trunk smoothly passes into sprawling branches and its structure and color is identical to the crown. For more expensive palms, the texture and color of the pillar is close to natural wood, and the leaves completely repeat the shape of the real ones. Among themselves, such lamps can also differ in the number of branches, the thickness of the trunk, the presence or absence of artificial nuts or fruits. Palm trees are most popular in sanatoriums, boarding houses, hotels and other recreational areas, because they successfully create an atmosphere of sultry fun and freshness of the sea breeze. The average price of luminous palm trees is 50-160 thousand rubles.

Willow
Weeping willow, glowing in the dark, gives lovers the opportunity to enjoy a date under a spreading tree at any time of the day, without taking their eyes off each other. This wonderful lantern is able to give a park or square an extraordinary romantic atmosphere, illuminating long alleys and cozy benches. Here, flexible long branches are attached to the massive trunk, dotted with small leaves-plafonds, glowing white or any other color of the rainbow. Prices for willows range from 16,000 to 50,000 rubles.

Fruit trees
For spring to bloom 24 hours a day and 365 days a year, it is enough to install street LED lights in the garden, in the country house or just somewhere on the street. fruit trees. Peaches, apple trees, cherries, apricots, pears will delight those around them with their lush bloom shades of lilac, white or pink. On such trees, flowers and fruits are made in full size and look like inflorescences and fruits of real plants, like twin brothers. The cost of such lamps depends on the selected tree, its size and number of branches. This is 12-80 thousand rubles.

Glowing Maple
Maple Stars glowing in the dark can be found not only in the sky, but also on the LED maple, illuminating the square or park. Five-pointed silicone or plastic leaves different size on mighty branches good decision for decoration public place, and the paths are visible, and the view is pleasant. The price range of maples is 15-50 thousand rubles.

Sakura
This tree can be placed in a special category, since it is sakura that is especially popular. Such trees are especially beautiful, they are able to turn a simple everyday environment into a fairy-tale kingdom. The branches of these trees are covered with either special high-strength plastic or aluminum alloy, and are designed in such a way that they are very reminiscent of the real ones. The lantern is strewn with large silicone flowers and leaves, while their density and shape seem to be copied from real Japanese sakura. Although such trees are made in small sizes, they give no less light than tall palm trees and branchy willows. The color scheme of the cherry blossom LEDs is very soft and delicate in gold, white, pink and purple tones. Such oriental beauties cost from 5 to 80 thousand rubles. Fairly high prices for luminous trees are largely due to the price of LED lamp street lighting(more details here), which are used in their manufacture.

How to make a glowing tree for the street with your own hands

1) Draw detailed diagram. On a sheet of paper, draw a sketch of the future tree on a scale, marking its height, the length of the branches, the number of luminous elements on each of them, and other necessary dimensions with numbers.

2) We measure the trunk. Cut off a part of the required height from a metal-plastic plumbing or any other pipe - this will be a tree trunk.

3) We make a frame. Cut from wire required amount medium branches and many smaller branches. Bend them into an "L" shape so they can be easily taped to the base. With black tape or Brown color fasten small branches to medium ones, then attach the latter to the trunk with the same adhesive material.

4) Let's move on to the LEDs. Using a soldering iron, solder the resistors to the LED. Keep in mind that the latter have two legs - one is longer, the other is shorter. Make sure that all LEDs are soldered either only to the extended, or only to the shortened contacts of the resistor.

5) Isolate the LEDs. Take an insulating tube, the color of which matches the shade of the electrical tape, and the diameter is sufficient for the LED to easily fit inside it. Cut the tube, taking into account that the soldering point and the resistor itself should be hidden from the observer, but at the same time it is necessary to leave a place for connecting to the power wire. Put the tubes on the LED bulbs and lightly heat with a lighter so that the insulation completely wraps around the parts.

6) We fix the LEDs. Attach each of the LEDs on small branches to the wires, respectively, of polarity and wrap with insulating tape. Now connect the wiring from small branches to the wires of medium ones, one wire per branch. We connect the bundle of wires received again so that all the pluses are together, and the minuses, respectively, are connected exclusively to each other. The resulting bundles can be immediately soldered to the main wire and run along the trunk, or you can first thread the wires from each branch into holes pre-drilled in the pipe, connect them together and solder to the main wire so that it is subsequently located inside the pipe. Do not forget to observe the polarity, and then insulate all bare conductors.

7) We decorate the branches. With the help of leaves and flowers cut out of plastic, decorate the resulting tree, carefully wrap all the branches with electrical tape, bringing the appearance of the lamp tree as close as possible to the natural one.

8) Install. The basis for the resulting tree is a barrel, a large pot, a container hidden in the ground, etc. Install your luminous structure in it and connect it to a power source

Such a tree will delight you especially, like everything that is done with your own hands. You can make a lot of useful things for your site, such as DIY birdhouses.

A DIY LED tree is a great opportunity to create a fairy forest yourself, guided only by your own imagination and imagination. At the same time, it also saves money. But if you are not very “friends” with a soldering iron or do not have free time, the best way out is to purchase a ready-made representative of the LED flora.

Tree lighting is one of the most popular landscape design techniques. It simultaneously brings aesthetic pleasure and allows you to illuminate household territory during the dark hours of the day. There are several methods for lighting vegetation: using lamps and spotlights located on the ground, fixing LED garlands on trunks, and creating LED trees. How to make an LED tree with your own hands, and we'll talk further.

How to use the backlight correctly?

Depending on what result you want to get from illuminating trees, one or another method of illumination is chosen. In order for the luminous trees for the street to look beautiful, you must follow a few basic rules:

spotlights are best placed on the ground at some distance from the tree under a slight slope;

Multiple spotlights can be used at the same time different kind lighting: halogen and LED;

for not too tall trees and bushes, lamps screwed into the ground are perfect, which can also be moved from place to place;

lamps can also be installed on a tree trunk, directing the light upwards - this will allow the light to scatter between the foliage;

creating a luminous tree with your own hands, you need to take into account the density of foliage, the height and diameter of the plant, as well as its shape;

for top lighting, halogen or LED lights installed on nearby buildings;

in order for the plantings to cast a shadow on a vertical surface, the spotlights behind them are installed at a great distance.

The use of LED garlands

If you want to create an LED tree with your own hands from an existing plant, then you just need to attach LED garlands to it, which are connected to the electrical network. Such garlands are divided into fruits that look like large lanterns, which are located far from each other, and leaves - small bulbs, located very densely (see photo). Presented LED lights trees has many advantages, which include cost-effectiveness, long service life, resistance to low and high temperatures, precipitation. Trees with its help can be made both monophonic and multi-colored.

Self-creation

And now let's look at how to make street LED trees from scratch. First of all, I would like to note that luminous plants can be very diverse. This is an LED sakura tree, palm tree, maple, and a variety of spruce and pine trees. So, the stages of work on the creation glowing tree look like this:

tree diagram

First of all, the future plant must be drawn on a piece of paper, where you also need to indicate its height, diameter, length and number of branches.

Creation of the trunk

The tree trunk is created very simply - just take a metal-plastic pipe and cut it into pieces. desired height(see photo).

Frame erection

From wire different thickness must be cut right amount thick, medium and thin branches, and the latter should be as large as possible. All branches for ease of installation are bent in the shape of the letter "L" and attached to the trunk.

Working with LEDs

Resistors are soldered to the LEDs, after which they are isolated. For this, electrical tape and a tube of approximately the same shade are taken. The diameter of the tube should be such that the LEDs fit into it without problems. Each such element is attached electrical wire. Next, the LEDs are attached to the branches of the tree. In this case, the wires from smaller branches should be connected into a bundle and connected to the wires of thicker branches. As a result, all available wires are soldered in the main wire and run inside metal-plastic pipe. And don't forget to isolate them.

Twig decoration

In order for the luminous LED trees to look as natural as possible, leaves and flowers are cut out of plastic and taped to the branches with electrical tape, and the tree trunk is completely wrapped with brown electrical tape, as, for example, in the photo.

Tree installation

In order for the luminous plants to be stable, they are placed in a barrel, a beautiful pot or any other container hidden in the ground. And in order for them to begin to please the eye, it is enough to connect them to the electrical network.

More detailed information how to make LED trees with your own hands, you can see on the presented video.

You can add unusual lighting to your home or festively decorate a hall for a celebration with the help of LED trees and bushes. Such unusual decoration will be a worthy replacement for the usual artificial flowers and other decorations. Moreover, it will become additional source lighting and will look good both in the daytime and in the evening.

LED trees will delight everyone with their radiance and transform the space. These trees can be used both outdoors and indoors. These trees are often used in landscape designs as decoration and additional lighting.

Of course, the LED tree, designed by professional designers and mass-produced in the factory, looks very different. And you can install it on the day of purchase. But after all, this time the main thing for us is to realize our creative impulse and make such a lamp with our own hands.

Making an LED Tree

This article is intended for those who are thinking about testing themselves and devoting a few weeks to the mystery of scientific and technical creativity. Creating an LED sakura tree is a difficult process that involves working through every detail. The luminous crown of a tree is created from a set of LED petals, which are securely attached to the wires of the tree, and the frame is made of metal.

The whole process of creating a luminous tree with your own hands can be divided into stages:

• We draw a diagram. We make a sketch of the future tree on a piece of paper and designate its height, the number of branches, diodes.
• We make a stem. To create it, you can use a metal-plastic plumbing or other pipe. We measure and cut the required length.
• We create a framework. From the wire we cut the required number of branches of different sizes. We bend them with the letter "G" to make it more convenient to attach them to the trunk. We fasten small branches to large ones with black or brown electrical tape, and then tightly fasten the resulting branches to the trunk with adhesive material.
• Let's take LEDs. At this point, we will need a soldering iron to solder the resistors to the LED. Make sure that all diodes are soldered only to the long one, or only to the short leg resistor.
• Insulation. Coinciding in color with electrical tape, the insulating tube must have a diameter sufficient for the passage of the diode. This tube must be cut in such a way that the soldering point and the resistor itself are hidden from the audience, but at the same time leave a place for connecting to the power wire. Put the tubes on the diode bulbs and heat with a lighter so that the insulation braids the parts.
• Mounting LEDs. Tape each LED on small twigs to wires of the appropriate polarity and wrap with electrical tape. Wiring from small branches must be connected to the wiring of large ones (one wire per branch). As a result, the resulting bundle of wires should be divided into plus and minus. Ready bundles of wires can be immediately put along the trunk and soldered to the main wire.
• Branch decoration. You can decorate the branches with leaves and flowers cut out of plastic. All branches of the tree must be wrapped with electrical tape, bringing its appearance closer to natural.
• Installation. For the base for the LED tree, you can use a large pot or other container. After choosing the base and installing the tree, it can be connected to a power source.

The main advantage of such trees is the economical consumption of electricity. In addition, this design has a long service life and is quite easy to install, and small diode bulbs are not afraid of moisture and direct sunlight.

This creation was inspired by watching the movie Avatar. Remember the fluorescent trees that filled the night with colorful light, an indescribable beauty.

Surely you have seen beaded trees, a man-made creation of an analogue of natural beauty, less affected by time. The advantage of such trees in more " rapid growth”and the ability to set a unique shape, accurately recreating a mental image.

Not so long ago, “eternal flashlights” appeared on the market, in particular, devices with LEDs and solar panels.

We combine the above, and coupled with diligence, we can get a glowing beaded bonsai that looks like this:

In the dark,

at night.

Manufacturing technology

The collection of energy for recharging can be done in one of two ways:
1) Placement of photodiodes in the branches of a tree;
2) Installation of one solar cell next to the tree.

Tree creation.

It all depends on your imagination, skill and diligence. For the above example, it took to purchase about 60 meters copper wire with a diameter of 0.3 mm and 2160 beads with a diameter of 3 mm. Beads can be any, but in my desire to recreate the effect of leaves, I used transparent green, 80 grams.

The very first stage, we make branches with leaves.

Next, you need to create a strong wire frame with a diameter of about 2 mm, this will be a tree trunk. When placing the LEDs on the branches, leave a margin of length, as shown in the photo. So it will be more convenient for further assembly. You also need a margin at the roots to assemble the circuit.

Mounting the LED on the branch frame:

If you want to use the placement of photodiodes on the branches, then the design will look like this:

I used branches with photo and LEDs and five branches of leaves. To create a natural effect, we place dark photodiodes in the center, and the LED at the beginning of the points with leaves, this will allow them to illuminate the entire branch.

One finished branch:

Wood half finished

Same thing, in the dark:

Now you need to hide the electronic filling, there are many options: solder the roots, thread through the holes, press down, etc. In this case, holes were made in the bottom of the pot, roots were passed through them, and after placing the electronics, the container was filled with decorative stones.

Pot of pebbles:

The electronic side of the issue
BPW34 photodiodes were used, if you decide to use this direction of providing energy, then you need to use about 10 pieces together to ensure that the lithium-ion battery is charged. We place them in the branches and bring the wires to the roots.
Due to the location "in the foliage" photodiodes cannot work at full power due to the light flux reduced by the leaves.

Consider another solution to the problem of energy supply. Key chains with solar batteries have been sold in stores for a long time, their price is not high.

LED keychain flashlight with solar battery:

At the first stages of the calculation, it was assumed to use a capacitor as the main battery. But when I used solar cell From the key fob, I felt sorry for leaving the remaining parts of the key fob out of work, including a 3.7V and 40 mAh lithium-ion battery. The use of these details made it easier to recreate the circuit.

Scheme:

If you use BPW34 photodiodes, then you need to use blocks of 10 photodiodes connected in series, assembled in parallel.

The solar array is connected via diode D1 and resistor R9, which allows transistor Q1 to act as a dimmer for the LEDs based on light information from the solar cell. Thus, the backlight turns on only in the dark and does not take power during the day, allowing the battery to charge. It remains only to assemble the LEDs and the resistors connected to them in series.

When hiding electronics with stones, leave the solar cell uncovered, otherwise it will not work.

The list of materials required to create:
2160 beads (about 80 g)
60 m of copper wire with a diameter of 0.3 mm
1 bonsai pot
8 super bright green LEDs 3mm 8000mcd
1 the solar panel(or 10 BPW34)
1 Li-ion battery 3.7V 40mAh
2 m copper wire with a diameter of about 2 mm
8 resistors 1 kΩ
1 resistor 1MΩ
1 diode 1N4148
1 transistor BC327

P.S.:
Such luminous trees will be a great decoration for your windows and interior, bringing a little magic into your life.