I always liked the way light shines through DVD and CD discs and I thought that an old stack of discs would make a cool lamp. However, simply lighting up a bunch of CDs would not look very exciting.

So, I came up with the idea for a rocket shaped lamp using the disc tower as its core. It looks amazing in real life and it is perfect as a child's night light.

I used both a laser cutter and 3D printer from work but you don't really need either of those things. You can use a scroll saw for the wings and an upcycled plastic bowl for the rocket bell.

Enjoy!

Step 1: Collect Materials & Tools

Parts:

Core - Bunch of old CDs and DVDs. Most of us throw these out not but I'm sure you have some laying around

Wings - I initially made them out of cardboard and later out of acrylic. I'm sure they would look good out of wood

Base - Plastic bowl, or in my case a 3D-Printed "rocket engine bell"

Clear Acryclic Rod

Light Engine - Any LCD light source should work but I used a 3-LED light engine made to work with a clear lucite rod. I've also thought about using a CCFL lamp or a thin fluorescent tube, I'll try those out later.

Tools:

Scroll Saw or Laser Cutter

3D Printer (Optional)

Step 2: Cut Out Rocket Wings

I used Adobe Illustrator to trace out the shape of the wings. I then used an Epilog laser cutter to first make the wings out of cardboard and then out of some pieces of white acrylic I had around. I'm sure it would look cool made out of wood too.

Step 3: Design & Print Rocket Engine Bell

I know most people don't necessarily have a 3D printer but they are common enough now that you'll likely know someone who does!

I designed the rocket bell in SolidWorks but of course any 3D software will work.

Step 4: Test Assembly

I only had a small amount of white acrylic to work with so I cut out the wings out of cardboard first. Make sure to use the thick stuff!

Step 5: Final Prototype

Overall, I think it came out pretty good. I have some small issues to take care of like securely locking all the pieces together but all in all not too shabby.

I may decide to use colored LEDs for the base to make it look more like the rocket is ignited.