Glowing Lightning Bolt

In this tutorial, I will be giving a step by step on how to make a 3D printed glowing lighting bolt out of simple supplies. This is intended for late high school/college students but anyone with some free time will enjoy this project!

Objectives

• Participants will be able to 3D print their own model in SolidWorks
• Participants will be able to strip and solder wires
• Participants will be able to secure the light strip to the 3D printed material

STELS

• STEL-1C: By creating and completing this project, it will prove that it can be done by anyone who has an interest in doing it with some effort put forward

• TEP-3: Participants will build and model their own lightning bolt as well as solder the wires necessary for powering the LED strips

• TEC-1: Participants will use a from of CAD to design the lighting bolt and then utilize a 3D printer and program

• 3D Printer
• 5 Volt LED Strip
• Solder
• Soldering Iron
• Micro USB cable
• Hot glue
• Wire Strippers (not necessary but will make your life easier)
• Scissors

Cost for materials used: about $15

Using SolidWorks, begin a new sketch on the top plane using IPS (inches). Create the lighting bolt that is shown using the dimensions given. Once the sketch is made, extrude this sketch to .25 of an inch. This will be the base of the lightning bolt.

Note* If you would like to change the dimensions, feel free!

Begin a sketch on the bottom view of the bolt. Using the Offset Entities command, offset the outer edge to the dimensions you see here. This will be where the LED strip connects to the bolt.

Extrude these offset lines to .75 of an inch using the dimensions that were given in step 2.

Next, using the fillet command, fillet the hard edges that were just made from the extrusion to the radius of .05 of an inch.

Finally, click File, save as, SLDPRT, and then for the file used for 3D printing save it as a STL file. I put the files below, feel free to use them!

Using the STL file that was just saved, print the bolt in whatever printing program that you would like to use. The size can be altered to fit the bed you are using. Either bigger or smaller.

Cut your 5 Volt cable to whatever length suits you best.

After cutting, carefully cut into the first layer of the chord (the black rubberish material).

Once this is done, cut out the white and green wire. Those are used for data transfer which will not be needed.

Next, carefully cut the red and black wire sleeves off, exposing the actual wire. Be careful not to cut through the wire itself.

Cut lower and repeat if a mistake is made. This can be tricky based on what tools you have at your disposal.

Watch this video if you are new to soldering or just want a refresher!

Estimate the length of LED strip that will you need for the lighting bolt. This can be trimmed later and will very based on the size of bolt you choose to print. Just use scissors and cut to your desired length!

Prep both surfaces with solder so it will be easier to get solid contacts.

Use the iron to place solder on the connections you will be using so when it is time to connect them you will have preexisting material making it easier to manage.

Be careful not to burn through the material of the LED strip when soldering.

Note* on the LED strips that are provided prep the positive terminal (+) and the white ground (W).

Using the soldering iron connect the red wire to the positive terminal (+) of the LED strip to the red wire and the negative terminal (-) to the black wire.

Now plug the usb into a power strip and test for power. If it doesn't work, these soldering steps may need to be repeated.

Note* on the LED strips that are provided, connect the black wire to the white (W) terminal of the LED strip.

Using electrical tape, secure the two new connections that you have made. You may want to place some tape in between the two wires before wrapping the entire thing to ensure the connections do not interfere with each other.

Using hot glue and the sticky side of the LED strip, glue down the led to the back lip of the bolt. It doesn't have to be too pretty because it will be hidden.

Trim the excess of the LED strip as needed.

Plug in and place where you'd like!