12 volt LED Bar for 3D printer

thingiverse

I wanted to illuminate my print bed so I could keep an eye on my prints via webcam. At first, I simply wrapped an LED strip around the top of the printer, but the LEDs and components were a bit too exposed. I ended up blowing a few of the LEDs when they got caught with the scraper as I was removing prints. So, I decided to enclose the LED strips. 30 minutes in Fusion 360, and I came up with this design. It has 5.3mm holes so it can be mounted to 2020 extrusion using M5 screws and T-Nuts. The clear diffuser slides into place from either side and is secure once installed. There are holes at both ends of the body to let wires enter or exit the body. The body is made of Orange PLA, purely to match the other parts of my printer. I chose PETG as the diffuser because I had a reel of clear PETG sitting on my shelf. I bought the LED strip from Banggood for a few pounds and can cut it every 5-6 cm. I power the LEDs directly from one of the 12v outputs of my PSU, via a toggle switch on the front of the printer, so I can turn off just the LEDs when I don't need them, even while the printer is running. UPDATE: I've added several different lengths to the mix, including 100mm, 150mm, 180mm, and 200mm.