Spiral helix Tree with Embedded LED Slot

This was one of those models that are pretty quick to design in CAD and something else entirely to build in real life. I printed the parts on my Prusa Mini so they had to be cut up into quite a few pieces. I used drywall spackle to fill gaps and cover seams, sanded, filler primed, sanded… you know the drill. Painted and clear coated. I used super glue and a contact adhesive to bond the parts together which had a square peg as the joining method. Here are some learnings if you are looking to try this too.

Tips I didn't do:

• use 2 dowels from cut tool to join each piece (I used one)
• don't trust the pegs that prusaslicer generates with the cut tool and doesn't let you scale (or at least I couldn't figure out how) - ended up making new ones about 2% smaller
• Design the cuts in such a way you can remove the bottom pieces enough to get the controller out of the tree and put it back (I didn't have enough room to remove the controller or really fit my hands in there)
• The track is 15mm wide, I had a wide WS2811 bright strip with silicone jacket (from another project) - at the top of the helix it didn't fit perfectly in the channel due to the slope angle
• When cutting, label the pieces somehow (which end matches which) - my tree is not 100% representative of the model, not sure which piece got mixed up though (worked out anyway).