Whether it's your life counter in Magic: The Gathering or your lucky D20 for D&D, this 3D printed dice holder will add some flare to your game.

As some dice are slightly see-through, I tried balancing one on my phone camera light and it looked amazing (seriously, try it out). I designed this light-up dice holder to try and replicate that effect without needing to sacrifice my phone battery or risk constantly knocking it off balance.

Supplies

To make this you will need:

The 3D printed model.
A slide switch - https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/slide-switches/1546...
A coin cell battery holder - https://www.kitronik.co.uk/c2252-coin-cell-holder....
A coin cell battery (I highly recommend splashing out a little here)
A 5mm white LED - https://www.kitronik.co.uk/3550-white-5mm-water-cl...

Step 1: Testing

This design uses white LEDs connected straight to a coin cell battery with no resistor in between.

The voltage this LED wants is actually slightly higher than what most coin cells output, but I didn't want to use red or yellow LEDs which would have been a more power-friendly option. So I used good quality batteries and tested them out to see how long it would shine brightly for (normally directly connecting LEDs to batteries gives a good light to start with then quite quickly dims).

The picture above was taken 72 hours after setting it up and still shining brightly! So I'm happy to use this setup for the dice holders.

Step 2: The Circuit

The circuit is fairly simple.

Connect the switch, LED and battery holder together in a circle, making sure the long leg of the LED (the positive leg) is connected to the positive terminal of the battery holder and vise-versa. For the switch, make sure you connect the central pin and one of either of the side pins to get it to work.

Step 3: CAD for the Dice Holder

I used OnShape to design the body of the dice holder, which has fitted holes for the switch and LED.

The .stl file is attached for you to print your own. It took about 2 hours to print on my printer using a brim for adhesion and support generated everywhere.

LightUpDiceHolder.stl
Download View in 3D

Step 4: The Finished Print

Once everything is printed and soldered, everything should slot together without the need for glue.

It's a bit of a tight fit with the wires and the battery holder, but I wanted to keep it small.

There is no base on this model so the coin cell battery can be accessed and changed.

NOTE:: Coin cell batteries should be kept away from children as they are very dangerous if swallowed. Add a layer of tape to the bottom as an extra precaution if concerned.