Upcycled Scrap Metal Lamp From Old Computer Parts

For a remanufacturing course we made a desktop lamp out of scrap metal and other parts from the trash bin. For safety reasons the lamp and cord were bought new.

Materials

1. old computer
2. leftover block of wood
3. IKEA Variera stainless steel pot lid organizer
4. link/joint/metal parts to mount the Lamp Shade
5. screws
6. nuts & bolts

Machines

1. 3D Printer or CNC Mill
2. Orbital sander
3. Angle grinder
4. Drill

First of all, we disassembled the computer and took a closer look at the things inside. The side panels were set aside in order to form the lamp shade later and we also took out the hard drive.

We cut the metal sheets into smaller sections in order to get a square piece of sheet metal.

Next we cut a hole into the middle of the sheet. We used a press to punch it out, but a handheld rotary cutter (like a Dremel) will work too.

We used orbital sanders to sand the old piece of wood. At first we used a rough grit to get all the rotten parts off and then got finer once we got to the good wood. We then cut it in half and clamped it into the mill and milled out a pocket to make space for the IKEA Variera stand. For this part, a Dremel tool or knife would work too.

The stand is a IKEA Variera that I had laying in the trash bin. It's been there for a few months but because it's stainless steel it still looked nice without any polishing.

To close the base, both pieces of the wood block were clamped together and connected with big hexagonal wood screws. The pocket in the middle made sure there is enough room for the IKEA Variera and everything fit together tightly.

In this step, the lamp shade is formed. For this project, a CNC mill with a rounded metal tip was used to push the material into shape step by step. This process is called incremental sheet forming and is well usable for single piece prototype or customized parts. However, not many people have a CNC mill at home so I included a negative model of the lamp shade that can be used to form the shade around. Simply said: You place the computer sheet metal on top of the 3D printed form and hammer it into place while bending and stretching it around the form. Here is a video that shows the process of Hammer Forming:

-> How to Hammer Form Step by Step / Hammer Forming basics

Printing the Lamp Shade Form

Because you are going to hit it with a hammer, the form should be extremely stable. I suggest a high wall count and a lot of infill in order to make it rigid. Also a lot of top layers will be helpful. In this case, the more the better. (Even though we're on a small budget and don't want to waste material). The good thing is: Once you have produced a stable lamp shade form, you can use it to form multiple lamp shades around it.

Mounting the Lamp Shade Form

In order to make this work, I added some mounting holes in the provided model. The holes are 3mm and if you printed with a high wall count you can easily drill them out to make them bigger to fit the screws you have laying around. Like this you can screw the whole Lamp Shade Form onto a piece of wood and clamp it down on your workbench or stand on the piece of wood. However you do it, don't try to hold it with your hands, it's going to take way longer and the risk to get a cut from the sheet metal is high.

Hammering the Lamp Shade

Ideally you want to use a soft hammer (made out of rubber / plastics), because this creates a smoother surface finish. A hard hammer is faster but creates more visible dents. But if you don't have that don't worry, a hard hammer finish can look good as well, as it will give the lamp shade a rough industrial finish.

Once the Lamp Shade is finished, the lamp is ready for final assembly. In this case, an old LED ball joint was used to connect the IKEA Variera to the Lamp Shade. Now it's time to install the light bulb and plug the lamp in.