Handheld Lightup Christmas Tree

thingiverse

A fresh spin on a classic design found here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:528501. The concept involves adding a solid flat base to the ornament. On top of this base, a conductive battery holder and path are printed using this filament: https://www.amazon.com/Proto-pasta-CDP11705-Composite-Conductive-1-75/dp/B00X8BQYVM?ref_=fsclp_pl_dp_1. An LED is left exposed at the top, with its leads inserted through a hole and melted into conductive pads. A bias resistor for the LED isn't needed since the resistivity of the conductive PLA is sufficient. Instructions: 1) Pick a color and start printing (no rafts or supports required). 2) Monitor the print until the backside is complete, then pause the printer and swap to conductive PLA. 3) Once the print is finished, place an LED inside the tree and thread its leads through the hole. 4) Bend the leads and melt them into the conductive PLA using a soldering iron. Verify that the LED's polarity is correct or it won't light up. 5) Press the switch to turn on the light! Notes: 1) This remix was created with tinkercad. Although the xmas tree was resized to fit an AAA battery holder, the size of the original hole was altered, causing the LED no longer fits inside. This could be a potential improvement for future modifications.