Winter is back and the days are getting shorter. Let's build a light: an LED candle.
Building an LED Candle
It's December. The first snow has fallen and it's dark outside. Christmas is getting closer and closer. This means, it's time for another wintry DIY project. This year, we are going to build an LED candle. Today, we start by making the decorated candle wrap and the stand. The next part of this project will focus on building the electronics.
Here is what you need:
- 3D printer and black PLA for the candle stand
- Transparent paper (white as background, colored for your motive)
- Black cardboard
- Scissor and glue stick
Let's go!
A 3D-Printed Candle Stand
The base for our candle is a 3D-printed candle stand out of black PLA. If you don't have a 3D printer just skip this step. You can also build your candle without a stand.
The model consists of a round base plate with a slot and three feet. The base plate has a diameter of 7 cm. The slot is 1 mm thick and 5 mm deep. It will later hold the candle wrap.
The 3D model for the stand is available here:
You can print the model without any special settings. I used 20% infill. Just a small notice: the stand has quite a big touching surface. If you know that it's hard to remove models from your printing bed, you should consider printing on masking tape. Use the glue stick to apply some glue to the masking tape, so that the model stick on to it. This makes it easier to remove the model using a scraper. The remaining glue can be washed of later.
Creating the Candle Wrap
Let's continue with the candle wrap. For this, we first need two 25 x 1 cm stripes out of black cardboard.
These stripes are used as top and bottom part of the candle wrap and give it the necessary stability. Later on, the whole wrap will be rolled up, so that it fits into the stand. The image below illustrates, how the candle wrap is supposed to be fit into the stand.
However, before that, let's continue by cutting and decorating the transparent paper for the wrap. For this cut a 23 x 6,5 cm piece out of white transparent paper. This piece will be used as background. Decorate it using the colored transparent paper and glue it to the two black stripes. If you like you can make multiple wraps for your candle. In the end you should have the stand and at least one candle wrap.
Great, we are almost done. The last step is to roll up the candle wrap and glue it together.
The Result
Were done. You now have your own candle stand and wrap. In the next part of this tutorial, we will build the electronics for the LED candle. Of course, you can also use a normal tea light instead. However, be careful that the candle wrap does not catch fire. Remember to never leave the candle unattended.
