Design of the Week: Cellular Lamp

By on October 14th, 2013 in Design

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This week’s selection is Nervous System’s Cellular Lamp, a beauty of a housing for an LED light using their typical “cellular” style that you can download and print yourself. 
 
The object is actually a torus that has been shelled and “cellulared”. You can mount a small LED in the torus’ hole. 
 
This is a large object, as its set size is 148mm tall. However, as it is so sparse you won’t use a lot of material when printing it. 
 
However, be aware this is a very challenging item to 3D print at home because it has numerous overhangs and bridges that might require support material. It also has a sparse base that could prove tricky to stick properly on some print beds. You may also have issues slicing the model with your 3D print preparation software; each layer is composed of many isolated components that will challenge your PC’s memory. Be prepared for a long preparation step. 
 
One other potential issue: DO NOT use a candle in this lamp, as the heat could burn or melt the structure. Use an LED only. 
 
If you’re having trouble printing it yourself, you could consider having it printed for you on a more capable device. The best way to do this is to use Nervous System’s own interactive page where you can customize sizes and play with the cellular parameters. 
 
If you can manage to print it, you’ll end up with an amazing lamp. Thank you Nervous System, for this and your other wonderful designs. 
 

By Kerry Stevenson

Kerry Stevenson, aka "General Fabb" has written over 8,000 stories on 3D printing at Fabbaloo since he launched the venture in 2007, with an intention to promote and grow the incredible technology of 3D printing across the world. So far, it seems to be working!