Terrynator _ outdoor LED lamp

thingiverse

China, via eBay, are now selling lots of cheap LED modules. Some use 48 'Piranha' LEDs to run directly from 12V. This is an outdoor housing for these LED modules. It's made from six stacked layers of 3mm clear acrylic. These were originally made for a LARP (live action role play) event, to help Terry Mythlore out - hence the name. There are large tie loops in each corner, so they can be hung from trees on strings. Overall they're part of a grand scheme for crew camp and effects lighting, where 12V DC power is supplied from lead acid scooter batteries in wooden cases and lots of standard hollow-pin sockets. Instructions TL;DR: Laser cut the six pieces from 3mm clear acrylic, glue and screw them together into a stack. Long version: Six pieces, laser cut in 3mm acrylic 48 LED module Cable Four M3x20mm countersunk bolts and hex nuts or nyloc nuts Small tiewrap Foam packer piece or spacers Tensol acrylic glue Silicone waterproofing sealer Spray on waterproof coating Start by soldering a power lead to the LED module. These come from the same supplier and have a plug ready moulded on. They're only short though, so if you don't want extension leads and more sockets, just solder in a good few yards of cable. I then spray the boards with 'conformal coating', an electronics weatherproofer. If you don't have any, get some. It's a big help for reliability outdoors. Cut the pieces. At least one needs to be clear, the rest is up to you (clear's cheap though). If you want coloured lights for effects though, use coloured LEDs - don't just try coloured acrylic with white LEDs. As drawn, the back plate has our logo and the voltage raster engraved on the back, Skip this if your laser doesn't raster well. Countersink the bolt holes in the face plate. Or use pan head bolts. Countersink the outer surfaces of the string holes, to avoid chafing. The outer plates are also slightly smaller here, again to avoid a sharp single corner under the tie strings. Glue them together with Tensol into two groups. The back panel (with the hex nut holes) is at the back, then the piece with the smaller cutout and the bolt holes, then a simple cutout. There's only a tiny overlap between the nut recesses and the edge of the inner cutout, so align that carefully and add some more glue on the inside. Glue the front plate to a simple cutout plate and then the one with the cable outlet notch. Make sure the cable outlet is the last one, so it's a notch and not a tiny hole! Bolt together for a trial assembly and check it fits. If you're lucky, the LED heads will just fit and stop it rattling. If they're too low for this, stack foam washers (floor underlay or anything) above the PCB to hold it down. If your LEDs are extra large, then use a 4mm layer instead of 3mm. Tiewrap the cable to stop it pulling out. Smear the two joint surfaces and pack the cable notch with silicone (ideally a non-acidic electronics grade, otherwise keep it off the metal). Screw it together. Smooth off any rough corners with a bit of sandpaper. Hang it in the trees from four or more strings, ideally not just in a single flat plane (stops it twisting in the breeze) and Illuminate Your Domain or crew tent.