DIY LED Lanterns for Kids!

Hi!

These lanterns were designed by:
Michelle Leonhart: twitter || tinwhiskers.net
Joseph Chiut: twitter || toybuilderlabs.com
Kyle Cothern

for the LAMakerspace's special holiday DIY LED Lanterns class.  We hope they help you stay safe and have fun at night! 
See the end of the instructable for photos from the class! :)

Tools & Materials Recommended:
*Lasercutter (or an xacto and very steady hand)
*3D Printer
*Basic Soldering Equipment
*Durable string
*Coloured Cellophane
*Cardboard
*Paint or Markers
*Two-Sided Tape
*Hot Glue
*3 AAA batteries and holder
*Switch
*Custom LED Circuit (See the PDF for schematic and part numbers, buy it here!)


There are three files attached to this page that you'll need:
*3D Printed Moon CAD file
*Lantern Exterior CDR file
*LED Circuit PDF

Step 1: The Battery Pack

Note: I chose to spray paint my lantern black.  You can do with yours as you please.  From now on, I'll be referring to the black side as the "front", and the blank side as the "back".

The square piece with one off-set hole in it is the base of your lantern.  Run the wires of the battery pack through the hole, such that the battery pack is on the back side.

Now take your lantern sides (the long piece of cardboard with all of the pictures on it), and hold the image of the house up.  The rectangle hole that is missing in the house is where our switch will go.  We're going to cut the positive (red) wire on our battery pack such that the switch is lined up with the hole in the house.

Comments

[rockerchandru]

Nice and superb instructables.

[poofrabbit]

Congratulations on being a finalist in the Halloween contest!!! Can’t wait to see if you win! Good luck!

[at0mbxmb]

Thanks!! :)

[tarabrown]

The kids are pretty cute too. I'm going to send these to our friends at Mt Elliot Makerspace in Detroit. Some blocks there don't have any street lights.

[iceng]

Very good looking Lantern.

Where did you get the LED ?
and how many ohms is the resistor ?

[joechiu]

You should not use a regular resistor, as it's very difficult to regulate high-power LED's using a simple resistor.

This design uses a PTC resistor "fuse" (aka resettable fuse, polyfuse) to regulate current.

The PDF has the complete parts list for this kit. I've also put them on sale at tindie. Please follow the link from http://toybuilderlabs.com/hallowled.

[at0mbxmb]

The PDF has a schematic and all part numbers included. You can look them up on Mouser or other online parts distributor. :)

[jessyratfink]

These are adorable - I love the designs. :)