Desk lamp
Experimental gantry system based of a truss.
Suggested price: €3.00
Summary
This is a fun design that is based off of the truss gantry system that I’ve published earlier. The reason why this exists is because I think that this is an interesting use case and because I want to get more familiar with the capabilities of the system. Eventually I am going to build a 3D printer out of this system and I think it’s important to play around with this system to find the flaws and also the possibilities.
The biggest difference between this version and the initial version is the way it is tensioned. I’m using fibers down the center which are twisted to tension the system. This brings some interesting possibilities. The download does contain tensioners that can accept 4mm or 6mm rods which will be easier to work with. This isn’t mentioned in the video.
There are roughly 3 different ways of approaching this depending on the materials used:
- Cheap by using PLA segments, 4mm PTFE tubes and cheap fibers like rope or multiple loops of fishing line;
- High performance by using carbon filled segments, carbon fiber tubes and Kevlar fibers, maybe even Dyneema, but Kevlar already is not the bottleneck;
- Fancy by using good looking materials, like the wood filled PLA, brass tubes and also Kevlar. This is what I used in the video.
It’s important to note that this design needs to be optimized, meaning that it probably will undergo changes. This means that the parts needed can change as well!
I show the thought process behind this design and how it’s put together in this video:
Print settings
Printer: Sovol SV07
Brim: No
Supports: Yes, except for the segments
Nozzle diameter: 0.6 mm (when printing in wood filled filament)
Layer height: 0.3 mm (when printing in wood filled filament)
Infill: 30%
Filament: Amolen wood PLA bundle
Notes:
The segments can be printed without support. The gears have a custom support, but only around the circumference. It still needs a support structure generated by the slicer for the rest.
Parts needed
This is still in concept phase, so chances are that this design will undergo changes probably making the parts as mentioned below obsolete! Only buy the parts if you want to test it out or actually see a practical use case!
The parts you need to create the desk lamp
| QTY | Description | Link* |
| 12 | 30mm segment | |
| 6 | 4mm brass tube cut to 250mm length | https://geni.us/JSB7X |
| 12 | M6 brass thumb nuts | https://geni.us/I637jAb |
| 2 | M6 stainless steel thumb nuts | https://geni.us/HJLGbAt |
| 6 | M6 brass threaded rod cut to 44mm length | https://geni.us/6v6utOx |
| 1 | M6 stainless steel threaded rod cut to 28mm | https://geni.us/hlUIn1 |
| 2 | Tension spring 50mm x 10mm x 1.2mm | https://geni.us/taDmsb |
| 1 | Lamp fitting | https://geni.us/1ZTELX |
| 1 | IEC 60320 C8 socket | https://geni.us/MNEd |
| 1 | Rongda touch dimmer | https://geni.us/xc17T5A |
| 1 | Aramid or other type of strong fiber | https://www.r-g.de/en/art/205120 |
*Commissions are earned from the links above which help funding this project. If you have found a better alternative for a component, please let me know!
I ran into the issue that I have to buy from the Dutch Amazon store and many products are European standards which are difficult to find on the US store, especially the dimmer. Double check if you have the right product and if you are uncertain or have any questions, let me know!
Mounting instructions
I show most of the process in the video as shown in the first tab. Things to keep in mind building this are:
- The rods need to be 10mm longer than the stacked segments, so 6 segments of 40mm requires a rod length of 250mm. It’s important to not make it longer, otherwise the end caps cannot be placed flush.
- The rods are exposed so track rollers can be used. This version however has a design flaw that doesn’t have enough room for these rollers. For this design it doesn’t matter, but it will be changed in a future design.
If you have suggestions on how to improve this design or if you have an interesting use case for it, let me know!
You must be logged in to post a review.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.