Desk Robot Showpiece Made Using a Bulb and a Battery!

This project combines my love of crafting with basic electronics to create a cool reading robot sitting on a wooden log with a glowing bulb on its head. It is primarily made from cardboard and with few easily available materials to add detail. It contains a simple circuit connecting a bulb to battery through a wire. It's a great way to learn to be creative with the simplest circuits and recycled materials. First I drew my rough idea on paper then gathered the materials required for it. The materials I used were available at my home already so I used them mostly.

Electronics:

1. DC E10 light bulb (mini screw 10mm base) (LED can also be used)
2. AA 1.5-volt battery
3. Connecting wires
4. Soldering iron & wire
5. Electrical tape or heat shrink tube

Crafting Supplies:

1. Cardboard
2. Glue
3. Masking tape
4. Paints (acrylic recommended)
5. Air-dry clay (optional, only for adding texture)

Decorative elements:

1. Paper springs or springs from old spring pens
2. Small screws
3. Small book made from paper

Tools:

1. Scissors or craft knife
2. Pliers
3. Ruler or measuring tape
4. Soldering iron

The bulb will be connected to the battery inside the robot. We will start making it accordingly.

Before we start building our robot, we need a battery holder. Instead of buying one we'll make our own using cardboard! Refer to the images for the dimensions.

Now that we have our battery holder, it's time to create the robot's body and head. We'll follow the dimensions from the images to cut out the necessary shapes from cardboard, then glue them together.

To connect the battery holder to the E10 bulb, we need to bend a wire into a desired shape. I had a hard aluminum wire at my home but aluminium foil strips, copper tapes or copper wire can be used as alternatives. To bend a hard aluminium wire we can follow these steps:

1. Use pliers to create a groove in wire at the desired bend point.
2. Then hold the wire through plier's tip and bend it carefully into the desired shape.

We'll attach one end of the the bent wire to the battery holder using electrical tape or glue, ensuring that the connection is secure and won't come loose.

Now air dry clay will be used to cover the cardboard parts, including log, body and head. Texture can be added using clay to make the pieces more live. Let the clay dry completely before moving to the next step. Instead of clay paper mache can also be used. Along with these I made the book cover too that the robot is reading.

We'll paint each part of the robot with the desired colors. Let the paint dry completely then the robots's body, head and log will be glued with each other.

Now the bulb is soldered to the wires. Then from a 9 volts battery I took some parts carefully and the robot's face was formed. I also added some waste screws and made its ears. Then I made hands and legs using paper and attached it to the robot and was finally done!! (sadly I couldn't take more pics of my buddy because it got sold the next day I made it at my college festival at my stall)