Working, in that you can set the dials to rotate as you choose — not in that it will help you jump across the solar system. (Yet.)


The project was submitted by commenter Cara to our show-and-tell thread today. To make the model, she explains, she 3D printed the parts and then added a motor and a programmed Arduino to set the whole thing in motion:

The entire thing was made on my Printrbot Simple Metal 3D printer with Gray ( and some transparent ) PLA material. It also has a NEMA 17 stepper motor to drive the inner ring, and 5mm NeoPixels to light up the chevrons. The whole thing is driven by an Arduino Uno with an Adafruit motor shield using an Arduino sketch I wrote ( and am still tweaking )


Here's the whole thing slightly improved with a Photoshopped center, though Cara tells us that she hopes to approximate that look in person with some warped blue plastic:

The whole thing measures just over 16 inches across, making it ideal for thematic room decoration — or, if you just have housecats with quick and easy intergalactic travel ambitions.

You can see instructions — complete with specs in case you want to assemble your own — for how Cara made her Stargate here. Plus, the specs for the model made by Glitch that inspired her electronic version.


Check it out in action below!