Introduction: Space Shuttle Lamp

Since my oldest son is into space a lot lately, I decided to build a Space Shuttle lamp for his bedroom. It relies on the internal reflection capabilities of acrylic glass. The lamp consists of:

  • A wooden (or MDF) base
  • An LED strip
  • An acrylic panel with images etched into it

Supplies

  • MDF panel
  • Clear acrylic panel
  • LED strip with power supply

Step 1: Design and Lasercut the Acrylic Panel

The lasercutter I worked with relies on color coding of the lines in the SVG file. Red means cutting, black means etching (engraving).

The shape of the panel is therefore determined my rough red lines. The images on the panel (that will emit the light) are black rasterized images

Attachments

Step 2: Design and Lasercut the Base MDF Panel

The base consists of three layers of 6mm MDF.

  • The bottom plate is solid.
  • The second plate has cutouts for the LED strip and cable.
  • The top plate has a cutout that will hold the acrylic panel.

Step 3: Assemble the Lamp

During assembly I glued the layers for the base together, after sticking the led strip to the bottom plate and running the cable through the cutouts.

The acrylic should slide into the cutouts as well, staying in place without the use of glue.

For the LED strip I used a Philips one with power supply attached. I cut it to the correct length to fit into the base.