The Orion Lumia - Completed

[WillRockwell]

Welcome to the WIP thread for the Orion Lumia, my new long-term project. This idea began with the urge to build a bigger and better Orion Sphere, with better optics inside. Lumia is a term used by the 20th century light artist Thomas Wilfred, who created a series of Lumia displays featuring amazing lighting effects. Here is a rare video of one of his devices

Opus 147 "Multidimensional" (1957) by Thomas Wilfred [HD]	DQ

The Orion Sphere is a device I made two years ago which has proven too delicate to offer for sale because it is unshippable. It is based on a 14" frosted globe, here is a video describing it

Will Rockwell's Orion Sphere	DQ

The new device will have an 18" globe, and the clockworks will be in the base rather than the globe itself. It will have a more robust construction, so I might be able to sell it. The optics will be more complex, trying to achieve some of the light effects found in a Wilfred Lumia.
Here is the first picture, the result of my shopping trip to Canal Rubber and Industrial Plastics. The globe will have to be plexiglass, an 18" glass globe would cost almost $1000. I have a large brass base that will hold a lot of hardware, and a number of motors and filter wheels set aside just for this project.

[Joeynana]

Now may I start by saying, awesome music.  I think this is just beautiful.  The organic flow of pattern is entrancing.

If I may be so bold as to even suggest an idea to a craftsman such as yourself it would be that as the viewer it would be more comfortable to watch if the rotational speed was slower.

I wonder if there is a way to make the colours change (how would it look illuminated by led?)

This has to be my favorite "constuction" I've found on BG yet.

[WillRockwell]

Now may I start by saying, awesome music.  I think this is just beautiful.  The organic flow of pattern is entrancing.

If I may be so bold as to even suggest an idea to a craftsman such as yourself it would be that as the viewer it would be more comfortable to watch if the rotational speed was slower.

I wonder if there is a way to make the colours change (how would it look illuminated by led?)

This has to be my favorite "constuction" I've found on BG yet.

Your suggestions are the very ones I hope to address. The rotational speed should be not only slower, but a combination of different speeds. One thing I noticed making the Orion Sphere, which Wilfred documented in this sketch, is that multiple light sources create overlapping and organic displays. Also, the heat of the lighting in the Orion Sphere was a limiting factor, with no cooling through the sphere I had to use 6 watt bulbs. This time I'm going with LED's, as you suggested.

[Capt. Dirigible]

The new device will have an 18" globe, and the clockworks will be in the base rather than the globe itself. It will have a more robust construction, so I might be able to sell it. The optics will be more complex, trying to achieve some of the light effects found in a Wilfred Lumia.
Here is the first picture, the result of my shopping trip to Canal Rubber and Industrial Plastics. The globe will have to be plexiglass, an 18" glass globe would cost almost $1000. I have a large brass base that will hold a lot of hardware, and a number of motors and filter wheels set aside just for this project.

That sounds great, Will. I'm curious..how exactly does the cat fit into the design?

[WillRockwell]

That sounds great, Will. I'm curious..how exactly does the cat fit into the design?

Kimmy was included for scale, but he usually insists in participating in every stage of the construction process

[Angus A Fitziron]

That sounds great, Will. I'm curious..how exactly does the cat fit into the design?

Kimmy was included for scale, but he usually insists in participating in every stage of the construction process

now I'm disappointed - cats and bright moving lights plus high voltage electricity has a potential joy hard to suppress.

[Drew P]

Very interresting. I noticed the translucent ribbed hose-will you go all out & possibly use some fiber optic wire in the hose to act as a passage way for the 'captured ether' ?  Just a half-thought    It could be intertwined on itself and wrapped in tissue so the light would transmit out where the fiber touches the tissue-wondering if that would work......   I've seen fiber kits for ponds at HomeDepot in the past and it seemed fairly cheap just for the fiber. If I only had the time...

[WillRockwell]

Very interresting. I noticed the translucent ribbed hose-will you go all out & possibly use some fiber optic wire in the hose to act as a passage way for the 'captured ether' ?  Just a half-thought    It could be intertwined on itself and wrapped in tissue so the light would transmit out where the fiber touches the tissue-wondering if that would work......   I've seen fiber kits for ponds at HomeDepot in the past and it seemed fairly cheap just for the fiber. If I only had the time...

Interesting thought, of course light doesn't leak from a fiber optic thread except where it is cut, so you wouldn't see much

[Drew P]

I think the fiber thread that I saw from the pond kits was actually a type of plastic-if so it could be bundled to form a 'rope' then lightly sanded and it should 'glow'. Kinda like the side of piece of clear acrylic that is sanded rough on the sides & light it shown from one edge and the others glow. Again,just a thought-nothing I've tried yet.

 Or have varying lengths of fiber?

Just had another thought-use a piece of clear plastic,sand it all around,then curve it and slide the hose over it....maybe,maybe. You could experiment with a Vertical Blind wand,also sold at H.Depot in clear. It's not very larger in dia.,though.

[WillRockwell]

I think the fiber thread that I saw from the pond kits was actually a type of plastic-if so it could be bundled to form a 'rope' then lightly sanded and it should 'glow'. Kinda like the side of piece of clear acrylic that is sanded rough on the sides & light it shown from one edge and the others glow. Again,just a thought-nothing I've tried yet.

 Or have varying lengths of fiber?

Just had another thought-use a piece of clear plastic,sand it all around,then curve it and slide the hose over it....maybe,maybe. You could experiment with a Vertical Blind wand,also sold at H.Depot in clear. It's not very larger in dia.,though.

I was actually thinking of having colored water pumped through clear tubes, but getting the lights right will be the first priority

[Dr cornelius quack]

I think it's possible to get hold of fibre that is pre-treated to 'leak' light at intervals along its length to give a sparkling effect.
Alterntively, a light scrape with a triangular jeweler's file will produce the same result. Allowing some control  over where and how much spill you get.

[Mr. Boltneck]

There's a type of optical fiber that is made to transmit light out of the sides. It's commonly used in illuminated signs, and goes by "side-emitting fiber." Boring name by steampunk standards, I know. For an example: http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/Sideglow.htm
Electroluminescent wire may also have some useful properties.

[WillRockwell]

I'm actually thinking of making the clockwork drive system for the filter wheels out of a K'nex set. Properly fastened and glued, a K'nex clockwork drive can be very durable with shafts moving at different speeds. I need a clockwork drive, but am unable to make one with brass gears.

[WillRockwell]

The Museum of Modern Art has three Wilfred lumia constructions. I'm asking for permission to see inside them and, if possible, take pictures.

[bicyclebuilder]

I am wondering how the construction works. I googled it, but couldn't find any pictures.

[WillRockwell]

I am wondering how the construction works. I googled it, but couldn't find any pictures.

Wilfred was very secretive, and didn't even allow films of the lumias in motion, there are only a couple of examples existing. I found some sketches and photos, but would love to see inside one.

 

[DrArclight]

Have you considered using diode lasers and shower glass inside the spheres?  You can make some incredible projected lumias by mixing laser and regular LED's inside the done.

[bicyclebuilder]

The pictures don't reveil much information. But I've seen something like this before.
http://dvice.com/archives/2006/11/thinkgeek-nightlight-feel-the.php
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2008/02/inight_before_christmasi_mobile_light_comes_out_299_days_early-2/

Not as fancy as a globe Lumia, but I guess that is the idea.

[WillRockwell]

the ThinkGeek light is pretty cool for the price, too repetitive and non-adjustable for my use. Here's a video of it in action

My 4 dollar night light from Wal-Mart	DQ

I have an appointment at the Museum of Modern Art library on Wednesday to go through Thomas Wilfdred's papers, I can take pictures. They won't let me look inside a Lumia, though.

[k-9]

heres a cool way to use a lumia wheel i used a BBQ rotisserie motor and textured glass from a stain glass  shop and lasers. this might give you some ideas  you can change the speed and direction too

[barb dwyer]

When viewing the first pictured, I felt
that I'd also seen that somewhere before.

Then it occurred to me that
the effect was very similar
to the reflection
on the light used at the dentist's office.

SO I was (nt) surprised to see
that in his diagram
the glass (lens) he's using
is drawn as somewhat convex.

Forgive my deficient vocabulary
but I'm wondering if that glass
is convex on one side
but flat on the other?

Like a binocular lens?
Or a magnifying glass?

That would (in my mind's eye at least)
give it that effect of the light
softening at the edges and intensifying
in the center (thickest part) of the lens?

The point being -
to use in a globe
would the globe need to be thicker in the middle as well?

Say, globe shaped on the outside
but more a columnular (is that even a word?)
shape on the inside?

[Prof. Postrophe]

When viewing the first pictured, I felt
that I'd also seen that somewhere before.
Then it occurred to me that
the effect was very similar
to the reflection
on the light used at the dentist's office.
SO I was (nt) surprised to see
that in his diagram
the glass (lens) he's using
is drawn as somewhat convex.
Forgive my deficient vocabulary
but I'm wondering if that glass
is convex on one side
but flat on the other?
Like a binocular lens?
Or a magnifying glass?
That would (in my mind's eye at least)
give it that effect of the light
softening at the edges and intensifying
in the center (thickest part) of the lens?
The point being -
to use in a globe
would the globe need to be thicker in the middle as well?
Say, globe shaped on the outside
but more a columnular (is that even a word?)
shape on the inside?

There's no reason why the interior surface of the sphere need be also spherical. The effect could be achieved with separate transparent lens-like elements arranged around its inner surface if the sphere itself cannot be machined as such... or imagine a separate carousel of transparent elements, just inside the sphere and rotating on its own..

[WillRockwell]

heres a cool way to use a lumia wheel i used a BBQ rotisserie motor and textured glass from a stain glass  shop and lasers. this might give you some ideas  you can change the speed and direction too

What was this project, do you have pictures of the device? I also have a barbecue motor that may be the main driving source for the gear train.

Barb, you are spot on about the lenses. The crisp edges and bright centers of Lumia films has to be the result of lens focus.

[barb dwyer]

WOOT!

Thanks - all those years staring at a dentist's light
(trying to go to a 'happy place')
paid off!

[DrArclight]

heres a cool way to use a lumia wheel i used a BBQ rotisserie motor and textured glass from a stain glass  shop and lasers. this might give you some ideas  you can change the speed and direction too

What was this project, do you have pictures of the device? I also have a barbecue motor that may be the main driving source for the gear train.

Barb, you are spot on about the lenses. The crisp edges and bright centers of Lumia films has to be the result of lens focus.

Laser Lumias are super easy.  You get slow-turning motor, drill a hole through a piece of textured glass or plastic then mount a laser so it shines through the glass as it turns.  The result is a wonderful spiderweb like pattern of light projected on whatever surface is in front of the disc.  Sometimes while I'm sitting in my living room watching TV with the lights off I like to take my green & blue laser pointers and shine them through the candy dish sitting on my coffee table and watch the patterns they make on the wall.  Same basic effect.

For the glass in a Laser Lumia Wheel you can use the frosted shower glass type thing or the textured glass/plastic from a flourescent light fixture.  Another option is to take a heat gun and warp/blister a piece of acrylic plexiglass and use that.