Lamp Base

The final design had heavy influence from "Things Fall Together "by Skylar Tibbits and the chapter "Build from the Bottom Up" I started out thinking I would make a simple design with inspiration from the Ikea SAXHYTTAN Lamp. I measured the diameter and height of the lamp and modeled my own lamp base after its lamp base. However, after some impatience with the Makerspace closed over the weekend I started prototyping using a 3D printer. After 3D printing and sitting on the reading for a couple of days I wanted to create a lamp base that changed, adapted, and was organic like the chapter highlighted. By the end I had to "Let go of agency and allow solutions to emerge over time". Since I wanted to make a lamp base based on my previous project I had to figure out how to make that lampshade work with the base. I believe it shows with the organic design that both holds its nicely and comfortably holds up the lampshade.

Laser Cutter

Plywood 1/8 inch

Optional: 3D Printer & PLA FIlament

Version 1

I started out with a very simple design, that just copied the base from the SAXHYTTAN lamp base. However after doing some basic design, I felt that it was too basic and wouldn't hold up the lampshade that I made.

Version 2 & 3

Not knowing how to make the frame that would both hold the bulb and the legs all work together I looked for something more interesting and organic. That's when I found a design on instructables "Laser Cut Hanging "Living" Hinge Lamp With Snaps" by Make Studio JUMP. With some help from the Makerspace staff I created the frame piece a direct inspiration from this instructables. From there I made simple legs that had a piece plug into the frame and another adding stability to the legs on the xy-plane. I then had some trouble with the CAD and couldn't laser cut it out a blessing in disguise. I 3D printed the design out and realized that I didn't properly extrude the inner circle that held the lightbulb. I also realized how uninteresting and boring the design was as well as how it wouldn't be able to hold up the massive lampshade I made.

Version 4

This design was the same as I wanted to see how it would look like with the lightbulb in place and from here I knew I had to change my design.

Version 5

I redid the way that the pieces locked together using finger joints as they looked more clean and held the pieces better. I made it so that the yz-plane leg pinched the frame and was locked by the xz piece that made it more stable. Once I printed it however I realized how ugly the pinching leg looked

Version 6

I redesigned the yz-plane leg and made it so it was a half circle that created a more organic look on the base and also served as a way to hold the lampshade. The rest of the pieces looked correct together. However when I went to get the pattern onto a 8x6inch frame I realized it was way to big for my design constraints

Version 7

I redesigned the yz-plane leg again and made it simple. It worked and fit on the 8x6 inch frame but looked very boring

Final Version

After getting permission from my instructors I went with Version 6 as I could cut on a larger frame and had all the features I wanted.

CAM Design was the worst part of my workflow as it gave me the most frustration. 3D printing the design was simple as I was familiar with it and was intuitive, however laser cutting the design with Kerfs and the workflow to create a cut on Fusion was frustrating to say the least. 3D printing was simple as all I had to do was press Utilities > Make > Export MF. From there I just imported it into Bambu Studio and hit print and tested the pieces. When it came to laser-cutting however the process was absolutely painful. After trying to figure out how to assemble on Fusion and Manufacturing Models for an hour, I asked the Makerspace staff to help me. After staying until closing, and not being able to cut my pieces,I understood how to assemble and cut the pieces on Fusion and export a DXF file. A problem we weren't able to solve though was that the DXF was not importing correctly. After emailing my professors and having a failed cut of wood, I saw that I did not import it into Illustrator as 1:1 millimeter settings rather 1 millimeter : 1 point. But then I ran into another issue: the assigned Kerf was 0.5mm and after printing out Version 7, my professors and myself saw how tight the squeeze on the finger joints were. Consulting with my instructors and designing a small 1cm finger joint I tested 0.4mm and then 0.25mm, settling on 0.25mm as the correct Kerf setting. With permission I cut Version 6 and all the pieces assembled with the right amount of squeeze.

Assembly was relatively simple with the Kerf setting correct as they slid into place and just needed a little more force to correctly intersect properly. To put in the lightbulb I slid the cord through until the lightbulb met the frame. Without going into detail about the lampshade, I just placed it on top of the frame with the legs supporting its weight and holding its shape. Assembly for 3D printing and lasercut wood was basically the same.

I think I succeeded on making the lamp base for a lot of different types of lamps. However, if I were to do this project gain I would probably incorporate more thought on how to make the lamp base worked with the lampshade more, as the lampshade dosen't stay correctly. Also I would test the design over prolonged periods of time with the lightbulb being on to make sure that the wood and lampshade wouldn't catch on fire. The final design is exactly what I envisioned in my mind as to what I wanted the lamp base to look like. The burnt edges could be sanded down and have some oil rubbed it in to make it refined. The smell of it is something weird it smells like the start of barbecue. I think that the its function is great, it might not be the most original but it does look nice. I hope my lamp base feels organic rather than harsh and solely functional.