For my final project I will be making a modern / futuristic lamp. I decided on this for my final project because I constantly find myself needing more light when I am working on projects after the sun sets. My initial ideas for the lamp are: sleek modern looking design, capable of extending and articulating in any orientation that need, uses a battery for power and contains LED lights. My initial design of the base of the lamp and joints are in the following picture.
Figure 1: Initial Design
The joints for the middle pieces of the lamp will slide over one another and be tightened by threaded rods that are inserted into the plastic and tightened by a nut or wing nut on the outside of the part. The base of the lamp will be hollow to allow for the storage of the electronics and battery as well as weights that will keep the lamp from tipping over when fully extended. To connect the first piece of the lamp arm I will be using two pillow blocks that will allow for 180 degree rotation while keeping the lamp from moving in a linear motion. For the joint that connects the LED housing of the lamp I want to make a ball joint that will allow the housing to articulate in any direction. This can be seen in the following picture.
Figure 2: Initial CAD Model
Following the Design Preview presentation a great idea was brought up to use a part of a broken lamp that I already have. The part is a bendable metal tube that can be used in place of a ball joint and will also allow the lamp to be oriented in any direction and may also give more freedom in how far the housing can be moved without the constraint of the ball joint.
Figure 3: 3D Printer
All of the main parts of the lamp will be 3D printed on my printer except for the threaded rods and nuts used for attaching all of the lamp pieces together. All of the pieces will be hollow to allow for the wiring to pass through and not be seen on the outside of the lamp.
I plan on using a spare Arduino board that I have so that I can program the LEDs to any color that I want and this will also allow a way to the LEDs to run off of a battery.
Presentation Link: https://youtu.be/PxDuRz6VXmM
Sources:
Figure 1: Original Image
Figure 2: Original Image
Figure 3: Original Image
2 Comments. Leave new
Hi Ryan, I think making a desk lamp is a super practical project because it seems like you will actually be using it a lot. I really like the slender design of the lamp, and I also like that you are using an Arduino board to change the LED colors. I’m wondering if you’re planning to build in something to control the brightness of the lamb?
Hey Ryan, I was lucky enough to be in your live presentation of this project and I think it will be really cool when you get it all completed. I was washing dishes in my kitchen the other day and I thought of something you could use for your ball joint connection. My sink has this small double ball joint that I think would work very well for your project because it would give a lot of flexibility, but it also allows water to flow so you likely wouldn’t have any issues running your wiring through this device. It would also be an easy thing to find at Home Depot. It is just a thought for you but I am excited to see the final outcome of this project!