LED Sculpture Lamp

This exercise is proposed by NOD Makerspace as an exercise included in the Makers for Inclusion Erasmus Plus project.

The exercise draws inspiration from here:

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/diy-light-scu...

but it has been tweaked to suit the project's target audience and equipment available in Romania. The exercise consists of building a lamp using plexiglass and LED lights.

This exercise gives children a chance to learn how a laser cutter and CAD software works as well as learn some electronics. Please make sure you are working in a space suitable for minors, with all safety precautions in place.

• plexiglass

• LED lights

• soldering station
• laser cutter
• plexiglass glue
• 3d printer
• computer with appropriate software

The lamp can be divided into two parts

1. The base
2. The plexiglass top

The wooden base

This is where you'll fit in all your electronics.

In our example, we use:

• white LED strip - 6V
• colored plexiglass strips
• power converter (so we can power it using a basic power outlet)

The base has to be big enough to fit all the pieces and allow for all the electronics and ventilation needed. It also has to give the lamp stability. We chose a simple square shape placed horizontally.

The plexiglass top

The top can be as creative as you want it to be. We used 5 pieces of plexiglass but you can use as little as one or as many as you'd like.

Our advice is to choose between 3 and 6.

Their thickness should be between 3 and 8 mm (thicker is better)

The material used for the base can any rigid material. We used plywood.

The base can be any shape you want but we recommend you stick to something simple... like an extruded rectangle, like a box.

Make sure the pieces of plexiglass can fit the slids.

If you want to paint the box, now is the time to give it a new color.

Glue or screw in the power adaptor to the bottom of the base. Then glue the wall, except one.

Glue the color plexiglass pieces to the top of the base and add the LEC strips underneath.

Connect the LEDs to the power adaptor and glue the rest of the pieces of the box.

The top has to be made out of plexiglass. We recommend at least 3mm thick.

Feel free to get creative with the shapes. Make sure the intersection between the base and the top is long enough to allow the light to go through.

Make your design in the CAD software available in the workshop and cut the plexiglass pieces on the laser cutter.

Insert the pieces in the cutouts made in the base and glue them in place.