Light Up Picture Frame

This project is a light up picture frame. The frame has 3 parts and was 3D printed with the LEDs and some wire soldered together to create the circuit. Autodesk Inventor was used to create the frame, which can be placed horizontally or vertically. The space to set pictures in is 6.0" x 4.5" with an area of 5.25" x 3.75" visible. To make things easier for you, I've attached all the .stl files so you don't have to design anything. I've also attached the Inventor part files (.ipt) in case you want to make a custom version of this project. There are two versions of the front piece, one for if you want to use glass in front of the picture and one for if you don't.

• 3D printed parts - files are attached in Introduction and Step 1:
• Front piece
• Back piece
• Stand
• Some 3mm LEDs - the project requires 4 of them, but I'd recommend some extra in case something goes wrong - I used white ones from this kit but feel free to use whatever color you want
• Wire - I used some speaker wire that I had lying around - it will make your life easier if you have 2 colors
• Diagonal cutters
• Wire stripper
• Soldering iron
• Solder - thinner is better
• Helping hands - for holding the circuit while you solder and apply heat shrink - I used this one
• Heat gun
• Heat shrink - use the smallest you have that will fit around a solder joint connecting 2 wires and an LED leg
• Battery board with switch- this is the one that I used
• Battery - CR2032 (3V)
• Super glue
• Velcro with adhesive backing
• A photo that will in the frame (see Introduction for dimensions)

This step is simple. Use a 3D printer to print the 3 parts of the frame. You'll notice there are 4 files attached. 2 of them are different versions of the front piece of the frame. One version allows for 1/8" glass to be put in front of the picture, the other does not. Be sure to print the version you want to use. The settings you slice the files with don't really matter. Note that the files attached here and in the Introduction are the full-scale versions. I printed at 90% scale because of the bed size of my printer. I would not recommend scaling it to be any smaller than 90% because then there would not be space for the LEDs.

I painted the front of the picture frame and the stand to make them look better. If you printed in a color you don't want your frame to be or you want to cover up part or all of your frame, this is the time to paint it.

Once you have all the parts printed out and the paint on the stand and back is dry (if you put any on), grab your glue and attach the stand to the back. There is a rectangular hole on the back piece which the corresponding rectangular piece on the stand fits into.

While the paint and glue dries, it's finally time to start working on the circuit. Begin by using a pair of diagonal cutters to shorten the legs of the LED. As pictured, leave the positive leg longer so you can tell the legs apart. Then take 2 wires (ideally different colors) that are both long enough to reach between notches in the channel on the front of the frame, plus a couple extra inches. Strip one end of one of the wires and wrap it around one leg of the LED, then solder it in place. Repeat for the other leg. Then take some heat shrink and put it on one leg. When you apply heat to it, don't apply heat to the top of the heat shrink. The heat can cause the LED to not work anymore. In order to keep the legs from touching, you only need to put heat shrink on one leg, but if you want, you can put it on both. However, be aware that there is not a lot of room for the LED, and heat shrink on both legs takes up more room.

The procedure for attaching the other 3 LEDs is a little different from soldering the first. Instead of just 1 wire for each leg, you're going to need 2. One of those two is going to come from the previous LED, the other one goes to the next LED. On the last LED, make the second wire a couple inches longer that the other wires as that wire will go to the battery instead of another LED. In addition, the heat shrink must be slid onto both wires for a leg before soldering. Once the wires have been soldered, slide the heat shrink up and follow the same procedure as the previous step to put it on. See the pictures for a guide on what your wires should look like before and after soldering and heat shrink. Once you have the LEDs soldered, put them in the channel as pictured. If you put paint on, you will have to wait until it is dry before putting the wires in the channel and proceeding to the next step. If you want glass in your picture frame, put it in first, then place the LEDs in the channel.

To attach the battery board, take some double sided foam tape and put it in the corner of the back of the front piece. Strip back enough of the wires for bare wire to touch the holes in the battery board when it sits in the corner. Slide the positive wire through the upper positive hole on the board and the negative wire through the lower negative hole on the battery board. Place the battery board (with the wires still running through the holes) on the double-sided tape. Before soldering, take a battery and check the LEDs to make sure they all light up. If they don't all light up, you will unfortunately have to start over. If the LEDs all work, solder the wires in place by applying solder to the hole. Now put a battery in the battery board and flip the switch. If all the LEDs light up, you're ready for the next step

Once the glue is dry on the back of the frame, attach Velcro to the front and back pieces as shown in the picture. Do not connect the two pieces yet. Using Velcro to connect the front and back will allow you to change out the photo later if you want.

Simply put your photo in the frame, connect the front and back, then enjoy.