Gandalf The White Staff with Lights

thingiverse

I took jamundsen's design and hollowed it out -- so that you can fit it over a 1" wide copper pipe, drop a light in the middle and wire it up. I built a battery case for the bottom that holds 8 AA batteries, and bought a bulb from superbrightleds.com. Print Settings Rafts: Doesn't Matter Supports: Doesn't Matter Notes: I printed with white PLA at .3mm resolution, three perimeter shells and probably about 10% infill. There are so many thin pieces that the infill doesn't actually affect much. in retrospect I would probably reduce layer height, but that's because I'm super picky about finish. I would also recommend printing in black and then painting it white. As you'll see in the video, light passes through the white PLA, highlighting uneven paint and other production issues. I also printed without supports -- but that resulted in some saggy surfaces on the Top section. I currently use slic3r, which doesn't allow for a lot of customization in the way of support materials. Post-Printing After printing, the top, bottom and connector pieces can be put together. There are three holes between top and bottom designed to accomodate a 1/8" dowel rod. The connector piece ensures that top and bottom align smoothly. Super glue will hold them together effectively. I initially used a strong epoxy resin, but it left lumps that were very difficult to remove. After attaching the pieces, I coated in XTC-3D epoxy, then spray painted white. In retrospect, I recommend several coats to keep light from passing through. The battery pack can be printed and the three pieces attached with epoxy. I used a Plastic Repair Epoxy which gave strength and a little flexibility. The design is meant to be fitted over a 1" copper pipe. It fits very tightly, so much that it doesn't need glue, and after painting the pipe the fit will be REALLY tight. I used this bulb:https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/miniature-wedge-base/194-led-bulb-19-smd-led-miniature-wedge-retrofit-car/1563/3624/ And this socket:https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/empty-bases-sockets/t325-wedge-base-socket-wired/1150/2737/ And this switch:https://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/installation-supplies/mini-onoff-toggle-switch-wired/1356/3109/ And wired them all together with doorbell wire, running it down to either end of the battery pack. h h