Planet Acrylic Lamp

These instructions show how to build an acrylic lamp illuminated with LEDs to shine at night. The lamp is made up of 2 parts:

1. An acrylic sheet with the silhouette of the planet.
2. A 6mm MDF base where the LEDs and coin cell batteries will be located.

• 6mm acrylic sheet of 300mm x 450mm.
• 6mm MDF sheet of 950mm x 320mm.
• 30 LEDs of 3mm of the color of your choice.
• 5 Coin cell batteries of 3V.
• 5 3D printed battery holder for the coin cell batteries (In this instructable you can find more about this)
• 1 Mini rocker switch T85 2 pins SPST
• 2 mt of twisted pair cable.

Search for an image of the planet of your interest. In this example, we are using an image of the planet Earth, that can be found here. It is highly recommended to use an image that has few colors or is available in black and white only, because it is easier to trace the image in Inkscape.

1. Use Inkscape to trace the image with the command "Trace Bitmap". The goal is to obtain an image made of nodes.
2. Change the image size to 240mm x 240mm. This is the recommended size that will fit in the silhouette and in the 6mm MDF base.
3. In this instructable, the word "TIERRA" has been used in the "EarthSilhouette.svg" file which is attached, but you can write the name of the planet that you chose. You can use this file as a template for your own planet.
4. Engrave and cut the lamp silhouette using the acrylic sheet of 6mm.

1. The provided file "Base.svg" can be used to export the "*.dxf" file to laser cut the box-shaped base with 6mm MDF. Its size is 400mm x 100mm x 100mm.
2. Cut the base using the MDF sheet of 6mm.
3. Insert the mini rocker switch to the side part that has the cutout.

1. Insert the LEDs in the MDF part with the 3mm holes.
2. Join and solder all the negative LEDs legs together.
3. With a piece of cable of 15cm approximately, solder one end of the cable to one of the pins of the rocker switch and the other end to the negative LEDs legs.
4. With another piece of cable of 15cm approximately, solder one end to the remaining pin of the rocker switch and fix the other end of the cable to the negative side of the first battery holder.
5. Cut 4 pieces of cable of 15cm approximately and join the pieces of cable with the negative sides of the rest of the battery holders, as if you were creating a chain. The STL file is provided here, or it can be obtained from Tinkercad Electronics Library

In order to power the LEDs, you will need to connect the positive leg of each one of the series of 6 LEDs to the positive side of one coin cell battery. This is because one coin cell battery is not enough to power all 30 LEDs. In our experience, 6 LEDs can be powered without losing brightness.

1. Join and solder a series of 6 positive LEDs legs, i.e., solder the long legs together.
2. With a piece of cable, join one point of each one of those series with the positive side of one battery holder. (View the attached image with notes.)
3. Insert the coin cell batteries in the holders. Be sure to check the polarity.
4. Turn on the rocker switch to test the circuit. Every series should light up. If one series does not light up, check each corresponding polarity connection.

Insert the acrylic into the base through the cutout on the top. Here you can see another lamp with Mars silhouette engraved on this.