Giant Christmas Lights for LED Strips

thingiverse

This design is an indoor version of my Giant Christmas Lights using LED strips. You may use Neopixels for a more complex effect! *** Please note: the temperature will build up inside the bulb. I do not think it could be a fire hazard, but the lifespan of the LED will be reduced. You may also be interested by: Giant Christmas Lights (for 10W spotlights) https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4661305 Giant Christmas Lights for IKEA Strala https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4667631 <b>Printing</b> The printing is simple. The giant bulb is 234mm high. The bulb can be printed with a brim and support “touching build plate only” at the bottom only. NO NEED TO SUPPORT THE TOP! This will save printing time. There is a flat inside at the top for a better exterior finish (at the expense of a darker area). The LED holder should be printed with the threads pointing up and a brim. Printing at a 0.24mm layer height is good enough. <b>Assembly</b> Begin by testing the threads of both bulb and LEDs support. Screw the part to the base, ¼ turn at the time. If it gets stuck, go back and forth a ¼ turn. Take your time. Unlike the “Giant Christmas Light” for spotlight, the removal tool I made cannot be used to release a stuck bulb. You need a LED strip about 140cm long. I suggest you test your LEDs/bulb combination to determine how much glow you want, depending on the filament used. Some transparent filaments may let the glow of each LED showing and this may be less interesting. The LED holder has a hole in it for the wiring. As shown in the picture, this is where you start sticking the strip. The first turn is a little tricky. Begin by peel off 5mm and stick the strip slightly to the holder. Wrap one turn to figure out the angle then begin peeling and sticking. <b>Hooks & wiring</b> You have 2 options for wiring: sides or bottom exit. For bottom exit you may also use the big hook or the "cable T. I used some 16AWG speaker wire ( https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B006LW0W5Y ). The pictures are self-explanatories for the hookup inside the hook. You need 3 M3x10 screws and 3 M3 nuts if you use the hook to the cable T.