Starcraft inspired lexiglass led lamp
I wanted to build a plexiglass led lamp but i had some technical difficulties in the past (either the lack of tools or plexiglass) and my luck changed for a bit and i've found one piece of 8mm plexiglass.
As i've said before i found a piece of 8mm plexiglass that still had the protected film on one side and on the other double sided tape. I've tried to peel it off but without success...then i've asked google how i can remove double sided tape without sticky residue... i've received several answers regarding this topic and i've tried several of them but the most impressive / efficient was WD-40.
With several paper towels soaked in wd-40 laid over the double sided tape and with an waiting time of 30-40 minutes miracle happen: i was able to take out the tape without any sticky residue. If you want you can check the video below to see how it went.
The other aspect - lack of tools - i've cover it over time ;)). So all the aspects were covered - so i haven`t had a reason not to do it anymore.
The build was a mix of cutting and sanding mdf and plexiglass with some soldering at the end. But to reach the end first i had to make a small box from mdf (i had a piece big enough for this project).
Cutting the pieces (mdf, plexiglass) went smoothly using the table saw because i've made a rough sketch how the lamp should look like. But i didn't imagine how much sanding will imply... you can see from the build video that i had different clothes when sanding.
With the box made and the pieces of plexiglass sanded i was time to choose the graphics for the lamp - and lately i've heard several discussion about starcraft and the fact that starcraft was / is one of my favorite computer games of all times.
I've choosen some drawings that i liked and started to engrave them on plexiglass. There are several techniques how to put your design for engraving purposes but for me it was easier to put it below the plexiglass and trace the lines with my dremel tool (with a diamond tip).
The electronics part was really straight forward using rgb led strips (6 leds for each
plexiglass piece) and one controller.
There are several things that i've done differently from what i have seen online:
- i`ve removed the IR diode from the controller and passed through the mdf top ( let`s say that it is easier with only one hole and pass the IR diode rather than 3 smaller ones and extend the leads - but i think it looks better)
-i`ve secured the led strips using electrical tape (over the contact / cutting points) and some aluminium tape between them for better lighting.
- to secure the controller i've used double sided tape
The build video for this project it's available below:
Thanks for reading.
