Tensegrity Desk Lamp

My name is Cheng and I am a Mechanical Engineering student at University of California-Berkeley. For this project, I wanted to design a desk lamp that is unique for standard desk lamps on the market. I came across tensegrity structure and it gave me the inspiration to design a floating desk lamp. Using the idea of tensegrity allowed me to design a unique structure that not only functions as a cool structure, but also a lamp.

Clear Fishing String

3D Printing: 3D printer and PLA

LED Strip Kit: These can be found on Amazon.

Drilling: Drilling might be required to clean out the hole for the strings.

Double Sided Tape: To mount the LED strips. 

The two major components that are 3D printed for the lamp are the base and the top. When designing the base of the lamp, I decided to go with a circular base with a 20 CM diameter. This base dimension not only ensures that the lamp is stable but also does not occupy too much area. Feel free to modify the shape design of the base to give it your own unique look. To design the base in Fusion360, follow the following steps and use the pictures above as a guide.

1.      Draw a circle on the top plane and extrude the sketch by 2CM

2.      Select the front or right plane and sketch a L shape. Make sure the angle is greater than 65 degrees as it helps with 3D printing and ensure to align the top portion of the L to be vertical with the origin.

3.      Extrude the L shaped sketch for both sides for 1CM each so that it is centered on the base.

4.      Create a 2MM circle on the top plane and extrude cut it from the top of the L. This hole will serve as the mounting location for the string.

5.      Add fillets as necessary to avoid sharp edges from 3D printing.

For the upper half of the lamp, I used the same circular base design with a V shape structure. You can use the L shape structure for both the top and the bottom, but mix matching the structure will provide a more unique design. The steps to creating the top portion is similar to the L shaped structure. Instead of creating a L shape, you will be sketching a V shape. Repeat the steps above and use the pictures provided as a guide.

An important setting to consider is the infill density for the base structure. I would set a higher infill so that the base is sturdier. This does not need to be considered for the upper structure. For other settings such as layer height, print speed, nozzle, set them based on your own preference and overall finish.

After you have printed the two structures, the assembly process is very straight forward. Follow the following steps below.

1.      Insert the fishing string through the hole on the top of the L shape and tie a knot. (#1 in Picture)

2.      Perform the same step for the V shape structure. You can adjust the length of this string for your desired height of the lamp. (#2 in Picture)

3.      Now cut four 40 CM strings and insert them through the hole of the base and top and tie knots on both ends. You want to pull these strings firmly so that there is some tension in them to hold the structure together.

4.      Mount the LED strips under the base of the V shaped structure using double side tape and connect the power source. Make sure the LED kit comes with a switch and a connector for the wall outlet.