Oct.7, 2012
Using a free 3D software, an ultracapacitor from a Coleman Ultracap Screwdriver and a 3D printer, mrigsby designed and made a working flashlight in just one day.
At first mrigsby used Autodesk 123d to design a cylinder in the computer and printed it out on a 3D printer. Then he found a LED and charge it with a solar panel. Here you can see how he regulate the incoming voltage.
mrigsby then drilled a 1/8 inch diameter hole in the upper part of the cylinder and inserted the capacitor into the cylinder.
The next steps was to solder a 100 ohm resistor to the long lead of the LED and a red wire wrap wire to the other end of the resistor. He also added blue wire wrap wire to the short leg of the LED, heat shrink and shrink the tubing.
The wire end of the alligator clips was pushed through the hole in the cylinder. mrigsby finished the wire connection and tested the flashlight - it works! The light runs for hours - "5 hours after assembly and it's still shining brightly with no indication of decreased light."
The files for the cylinder are available here.
Interested to make your own flashlight at home? Find the step-by-step instructions here. You can design the cylinder WITH a 1/8 inch diameter in software. It could be easily printed on any RepRap machine or DIY 3D printer.
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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