Engraved Night Light: Anime

This theme light consists of a wodden base (in my case it is cherry wood) with an integrated LED strip with light control and the engraved glass panel. The light control is self build and has four modes:

1. Fading (fades through all colors within 15 minutes)

2. Fast Fading (fades through all colors within 30 seconds)

3. static mode (stop by the last shown color)

4. OFF (switch off the LED strip)

The best part is that you can exchange the glass panel though a other engraved glass panel. You can engrave every motive you like and light it with this.

What you need:

-wood: 230mm x 120mm x 40mm (width x length x height); you could use any kind. I coul recommend cherry wood, because it has a nice color and it is hardwood so it does not get scratches easy

-wood: 200mm x 30mm x 4mm (width x length x height)

-glass panel: 230mm x 160mm x 5mm (width x length x height)

-LED strip 12V: 2 segments of a 30 LED/meter strip (about 200mm)

-12V power supply

Tools:

-dremel with engraving attachment

-circular saw

-router

-sanding paper

-forstner drill bits: diameters - 35mm, 15mm

-drill bit: diameter 3mm

-chisel

Optional if you want build your own light controll PCB:

-microcontroller programmer

-single layer PCB 35mm x 40mm

-AtTiny13a Sop8 (ebay.com)

-AMS1117-5.0V (ebay.com)

-3x IRLML2502 (ebay.com) or any other N mosfet with the same pinout and size which can handle a minimum of 100mA

-3x 2,2k resistor 0805 (ebay.com)

-10k resistor 0805 (ebay.com)

-push button (ebay.com)

LED slot:

1. Cut the wood to the right size 230mm x 120mm x 40mm
2. Cut the slot like you can see on the second, third and fourth pictures with a circular saw. The ancle is about 70° and the cutting depth is around 15mm. The has to be wide enough for the glass panel so fit, but not to wide.
3. Drill with the 35mm forstner drill a row of holes with a depth of 5mm and a length of 200mm like in the fifth picture. This row is later for the black wood piece on the picture to be flush mountet on the base. The position of the row should be at the same high as the fist cut slot. !!Do not drill to near at the edges. Let a gap of 15mm at th beginning and the end of the row. Same applies for the next step. If you do not let a gap your base will probably break appart.
4. Now drill with the 15mm forstner drill a row of holes which connect with the in the first step cut slot.
5. Smoth now the edges of the holes with a chisel
6. Take now a router to apply a 45° to the outer edges
7. If you do not want the PCB light control you will sand the now OTHERWISE you should do the following steps first.

PCB Hole:

Drill with the 35mm forstner bit a area of a depth of 5mm for the PCB to fit in. Now drill a hole for the button to fit too (not with the 35mm drill). I used at first a 4mm drill so a nail could slip through (only the body not the head). Then I had counterbored the hole as deep as it takes for the button and the nail head to fit in. Now the nailbody stick out the top of the base and you can activate the button with the nail. Now cut the nail down till about 3mm stick out of the top. After that you can also sand the base.

1. Draw a template. I used this picture (original) and traced the outlines on an overhead transparency (second picture)
2. Now lay the glass panel on the transperency and trace the lines with a thin permant marker
3. You trace these lines now with the engraving attachement and the dremel. If now never done something like this before practice on an other glass for example a bottle. (For comparison: It took me 4h for this complete engraving)

The PCB is designed with KiCad and made with the toner transfer methode. In the picture you can see where the components have to be.

After the base is sanded and the surface is smoth you could finish it linseed oil. You will need about 3 layers. For the first layer reduce the oil with cleaner's naphtha (you could also use the lighter fuel of zippos) so the wood can better absorb it.

Now glue the LED strip to the smal piece of wood and screw it on the bottom in the slot you drilled.