Pearl Light Conversion - Christmas Light Covers

thingiverse

Disclaimer: Don't leave your Christmas tree lights on unattended; I don't want to be responsible for your tree burning down! After testing my lights continuously for several hours, they remained cool to the touch throughout the test, and the PLA didn't show signs of softening. My wife recently wanted pearl/bubble lights at the store when we were shopping for Christmas lights. Unfortunately, they were a few dollars more expensive than the standard incandescent string lights, which we ended up purchasing. When I was putting up the lights at home, the idea came to me that I could just slip a 3D printed part over the lights to get a similar effect. I designed these covers to friction fit snugly over standard incandescent Christmas lights. My first prototype didn't work well because the lights themselves had a variation ranging from 0.8 mm. The final version is able to adapt to this variation by incorporating compliance within the hole, giving a nice snug fit. I uploaded several versions, each with a different nominal diameter. Since every printer has its own unique variation in accuracy and precision, I recommend printing one of each version and testing them to your lights before beginning mass production. The number in front of the file name represents the diameter in millimeters; for example, 500D = 5.0 mm, 520D = 5.2 mm, and so on. I printed my covers in natural (clear) PLA so that light can shine through better, making the lights appear like solid ice spheres. You can choose any color you want though, as the wall is very thin and some light should shine through most colors. I hope you enjoy these custom Christmas tree lights and have a wonderful holiday season.