From the Loftsmith Workshop

GC9A01 digital snow globe case for 60-100 mm baubles

Turns a clear Christmas bauble into a little glowing snow globe. The round screen sits behind a ring that grips the rim of the bauble, and the whole thing stands on a small curved foot. Change the bauble size and it fits yours.

2 parts · 77 g · 94 × 41 × 110 mm

by Loftsmith Workshop

Round red case with a dark circular screen opening, ringed in white, standing on a curved foot
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No adjustable sizes

Ask for the sizes you want to tweak, e.g. “make the width adjustable”.

Change it in the Studio

Parts

  • housing · PLA · Front face down on the bed (the face with the bauble groove); every cavity opens upward, so no supports

    94 x 110 x 38 mm at the defaults, about 51 g and 73 min at 2 walls / 15% infill. Cranberry red. PLA is fine because the display and ESP32 run only slightly warm; keep it out of direct sun and away from heaters (PLA softens around 55 °C).

  • collar-ring · PLA · Printed in place within the housing: it fills the first 0.8 mm of the housing's front face

    Snow-white ring, about 1 g on the second filament slot, just outside the bauble groove. On a single-filament printer, print it in the housing colour.

  • back-cover · PLA · Outer face down; the clamp ribs, locating lip and IMU holder stand up

    About 25 g and 40 min at 2 walls / 15% infill. Snow white. Carries the two display clamp ribs, the ESP32 hold-down fingers, the USB-C plug opening and the optional IMU holder.

Print settings

Layer height
0.2 mm
Walls
2
Infill
15%
Supports
None
Notes
At default settings (2 walls, 15% infill) all parts take about 82 g and 2 h 3 min at the default sliders, including the estimated purge for the white collar ring's filament changes. That splits as housing about 51 g / 73 min, back cover 25 g / 40 min, and collar ring about 1 g on filament slot 2. Wi

Hardware

  • Clear split fillable bauble (plastic ornament ball) · 60 to 100 mm; use the half without the inner lip. Measure the outside diameter at the seam and set the Bauble diameter slider to match.
  • GC9A01 1.28 in round display module · Board presets 37.5 x 40.4, 36 x 44, 36 x 50 and 38 x 45.5 mm, or custom sizes; the glass is 35.5 mm across. Solder wires straight to the pads rather than fitting a pin header, so the back of the board
  • Small ESP32 board, 18 mm wide with USB-C on one end (for example ESP32-C3 SuperMini or XIAO ESP32-C3) · Set the ESP32 length slider to the board's length (20-26 mm).
  • GY-521 (MPU6050) IMU board, 21.2 x 16.4 mm · Optional, for shake-to-stir; sits in the holder on the back cover.
  • 3 × M2.5 heat-set inserts · 3.6 mm hole, about 4.5 mm long.
  • 3 × M2.5 x 6 mm countersunk screws · Hold the back cover on.
  • USB-C cable · Plug bodies up to 12.2 x 6.5 mm fit the opening in the back cover.
  • Thin hookup wire · Short leads from the display (and IMU) to the ESP32.

Assembly

  1. Print the housing front face down, with the white collar ring on a second filament if you have one, and print the back cover outer face down. Both in PLA, no supports.
  2. Heat-set the three M2.5 inserts into the bosses inside the back of the housing.
  3. Solder short wires from the display (and the IMU if you use one) to the ESP32. Skip the pin header on the display so its back stays flat.
  4. From the back, drop the display in glass first so the round screen sits in the front window.
  5. Slide the ESP32 in from the back, component side up, USB-C end facing out, with its front edge under the small lip at the front of the cradle.
  6. If you use the IMU, press it into the holder on the inside of the back cover; a dab of hot glue keeps it from rattling.
  7. Fit the back cover. The two ribs press on the display's corners and two small fingers hold down the back of the ESP32. Fix it with three M2.5 countersunk screws.
  8. Press the clear bauble half (the half without the inner lip) into the groove inside the white ring until its rim bottoms out.
  9. Plug the USB-C lead in at the back. It leaves low at the back and runs off across the desk.

Good to know

  • Bauble rims vary by supplier. The groove assumes the rim of the half has a short straight band at the seam and a wall of about 1 mm. Measure your bauble and set the Bauble diameter and Bauble wall sliders. If you are unsure, pause the housing print about 8 mm up and test the rim in the groove before
  • Rim grip is a press fit. The engine estimate is about 57 N of hold at the defaults against a 13 g dome, but that assumes the rim matches the sliders. If the dome is loose, raise Rim grip; if it is very tight, lower it. The rim strain is kept under 1 %.
  • 60 mm baubles suit only the smaller boards (37.5 x 40.4 and 36 x 44 mm). Larger boards need a 70 mm or bigger bauble, and the board-clearance check fails when a combination will not fit.
  • Screen position on the board differs between modules. If your round glass is not centred on the PCB, measure the offset and set Screen centre above board centre so the screen stays on the dome axis.
  • The display stack (2.2 mm glass on a 1.6 mm PCB) and the parts on the back of the boards are assumed. The clamp pads stop 0.2 mm behind the PCB, so add a small foam pad if your board rattles.
  • Tipping is a static estimate: about 12.3 degrees before it tips forward at the defaults. It is a desk ornament, so don't shake it near the edge of a shelf.
  • PLA softens around 55 °C. Keep the globe out of sunny windows and off radiators.
  • Firmware is not included.
  • Checked in the Loftsmith engine only; this design has not been printed or tested on a real printer.
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