Lamp Kit Design
Role: 3D Designer
Skills: Blender, Womp, Fusion360, Ultimaker 3
Lamp Problems
Designer lamps are amazing works of art, but are very unaffordable to the general population as a generic lamp could be $10-20 while a designer version would range 10x more in price. I always wanted to explore easy ways of making products that are usually pricey become more affordable.
How can I make an easy to produce and assemble lamp for all?
LEFT: Lamp retails for $165 | RIGHT: Lamp retails for $80
Base Components + Sketches
I needed to start with a foundation for the how to wire everything. Instead of working from scratch I opted for using a simple lamp kit that you can easily purchase on Amazon or Aliexpress. Using that as a reference, I started drafting sketches for how a 3D printed holder could support the kit.
LEFT: Sketches + measurements of the kit w/ potential designs | RIGHT: Generic Lamp kit I purchased
Creating the Base
The base was the toughest part because it needed to be structurally sound while also fitting the kit and adding support for a lamp shade. After a lot of consideration I opted for a three legged base to minimze potential wobbling. My first iteration was thin and small but I realized later that I needed to make it wider to support a ring sized hole for a lamp shade to fit into. The second version is much fatter but is able to support its weight better and look more sturdy.
LEFT: First itertion much smaller and thinner | RIGHT: Second iteration and final. Features ring hole
Materials + Shades
As I continued working on the design of the base, I realized that the lampshade would not be affixed to the base but instead loosely sit atop of it inside the ring hole. It meant that all shades needed to created with a ring at the bottom to fit this parameter.
I first needed to decide what material to design the shades. I was going to use translucent PETG material because of its ability to transmit light but I instead opted for generic PLA filament for two reasons:
1. Widely accesible and is the goto for most printers
2. After testing I felt like the opaque nature of white PLA absorbed more of the light creating a softer glow.
LEFT: White Basic PLA | RIGHT: Blue Translucent PETG
Shade Designs + Printing
To create unique shapes for the lampshades to give a “designer look” to them, I really wanted to play with procedural designs. While I would normally use a program like Grasshopper and Rhino, I opted to instead use blender because of its free nature. Anyone with a laptop and printer could theoretically make their own shades.
I manipulated the edge loops of the shades in order to create a symmetrical but unique looking designs. it would be as simple as rotating vertices across the top or pulling out vertices within poked faces.
All four were 3D printed with PLA
Combining the Two Pieces
After trial and error with printing, I found success printing with vase mode for the shades and a 20% infill on the base. The rough measurements were enough to support the lamp kit as well as the lamp shade. The glow from the lamps was highly determined by the wattage of the bulb but if I printed without vase mode, infill would be able be viewed giving the look more like a paper lamp.
Renders 3D printed shades from the previous renders
Physical Assembly and Response
After putting it together and showing it to friends for feedback, a few notes I realized came to mind. While it does look wonderful, it is very light/fragile. It wont break but it can easily slide off a table without proper placement which is a little bit of an oversight. I think it came out very functional which was noted by everyone especially because the total cost of each individual lamp was ~$4 in total.
LEFT: Testing first prototype | RIGHT: First fit tests with lamp kit, bulb and first shade.
Results
The final product is a sleek, but affordable interior product that anyone could be able to build themselves or purchase. I set out with the goal to create an affordable lamp that still gave personality to someones home. I believe I have succeeded in that endeavor.
Takeaways and Next Steps
While I succeded at creating the lamps, my goal is to increase the quality and output. I would first need to make them heavier and more sturdy to hold up on a table as well as fix some measurement issues. I currently have goals to sell these to individuals who are interested.
Few of the key lessons learned:
- Stick to one design tool for measuring everything.
- 3D printing are prone to errors so getting a nicer printer helps a lot.
- Products are much cheaper to produce than I initially thought.