USB-C Powered LED Desk Lamp

I am a student at Collyer's, Horsham, West Sussex

After I started at my new college, I was at home doing some homework and my shadow was blocking the light so I could not see the work clearly. This was very annoying for me as it made it much harder to do my work and there wasn't anything I could do about it.

I looked online to find a desk lamp but a lot of them had a massive lamp shade which would get in the way, and I didn't really like the look of them. So, I decided to make my own lamp which would be thin whilst still having enough structural integrity to hold up the lights and didn't look bad.

Another goal was to make it powered by USB-C. This provides an element of future proofing, and it would be easier to use it in different places, because I wouldn't need to carry around a large power brick with it. I would only need a USB-C cable and a somewhere to plug it in, which means it could even be powered by a power bank if there were no other options.

I wanted it to be able to be adjusted so I can have it in any position that I want, ball joints would be the best for this because they have a really good range of motion.

I fired up Fusion 360 and started designing.

Materials

Filament (I used silver and red)

1m 5v LED strip (For this we will only need the last few sections so if you want to use them for something else as well you can buy a longer one)

USB-C breakout board

6 Pin DPDT Self-Locking switch

Any USB-C cable (Even the one from your phone should work)

2x M3 10mm (You don't need to use these ones if you have other ones that fit)

2x lengths of wire (Around 45cm)

Solder

Superglue (If the parts are very tight you will probably not need this

Double-sided tape

Tools

3D printer

Fusion 360

Soldering iron

Screwdriver/Allen key

Scissors

Scalpel/sharp knife (to help remove supports)

Sandpaper/files (This depends on how the print comes out)

Export the files and put them into a slicing software and position them so they are ready to print. Then print them. (The ball joint parts work better when printed at higher resolution). You can print more of the arm and joint pieces if you want it to have a longer arm, but you will need longer wires.

If you are using the same led strip as me, you will need to cut 5 sections (25cm). Scissors work fine for this - you need about 45cm of two different colour wires. Make sure to cut the strip in the centre of the copper area, so that both parts of the LED strip have usable contacts. As you can see, I am not the best at soldering, but I found it was easier to lightly scratch the copper surface to help the solder stick better. Check the wires are securely soldered in place.

First you need to thread the wires through the hole at the end of the bar. Next, you need to stick the LED strip to the bar. If your LED strip has adhesive backing, peel off the protective film and press the strip in place. My strip did not have self-adhesive backing, in this case use some double-sided tape cut to the width and length of the strip and stick it to the bar.

First you need to assemble the ball joints by placing the ball side of the joint into the cup, then screw on the collar to hold the joint in place. Take care not to overtighten and damage the thread. Test the movement and sand/smooth any parts to ensure the ball joints operate easily. Repeat this until all the ball joints are assembled.

Next slide the first ball joint along the wire, with the ball pointing towards the light and push it into place in the square socket. Next slide wires into the first long arm section, press the square connector of the ball joint into the square socket of the arm. Repeat this process for the next arm and two ball joints, and then insert the last ball joint into the square socket on the base. Don't force the parts in place because they might get damaged, if they are too tight, lightly sand the parts down until they are a snug fit. On the other hand, if it is too loose you can use some superglue to keep it in place.

Cut a piece of wire so it is long enough to stretch from the port block to the switch block, allowing a little slack.

It is very important that you thread the wires from the arm through the top part of the base and then through the switch block. With the wire threaded through the top part of the base solder the red wires to the switch pins 1&2 indicated in the picture, either side of the switch will work. When the solder has set you can push the switch into place in the square hole of the switch block, making sure that the pins sit either side of the centre support. Once the switch in in place that you can solder the red wire to the VBUS on the USB-C breakout board.

Solder the black wire to the GND on the board and screw it into place on the supporting block as shown in the picture with the two M3 bolts, careful not to overtighten and damage the thread.

Find something to use to weigh down the base, this will help the light stay steady when adjusting the arm, but it not is totally necessary, it will stand up without additional weight. Next put the button in place between the two guides as shown in the picture

Place the top part of the base on the bottom of the base, making sure to line up the square socket in the button with the square top of the switch, to make sure the on/off button will work. Press the top into place and ensure a good fit, once you have connected power via a USB-c cable and tested the light you can glue the two parts together.

Here's a video of the finished product