Tealight Candle Holder: Fusion 360 Project

Hello! In this Instructable, I will be showing you how to model a simple, yet elegant tealight candle holder in Fusion 360! I really like the pattern the light makes on the table when the light is on. I made this design easy to understand for beginners, yet still fun for expert designers. If you need to download Fusion 360, here is a link!:

https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/free-...

Let's Begin the modeling process!

Supplies

Fusion 360

Access to a 3D Printer (if you want to print the model)

Step 1: Modeling the Candle

Start by creating a sketch on the XY plane.

Draw a circle and give it the width of your candle. I used the standard tealight candle size of 38mm.

Extrude that sketch up 16mm. That is the candle body done.

Create a new sketch on the top of the candle body. Create a small circle around 7 mm in diameter.

Extrude that smaller circle to create the "flame" this distance doesn't need to be super accurate, just eyeball it.

I added a fillet for looks, but that is totally optional.

Step 2: Making the Main Body

To make the main shape we will be using the revolve tool. First, we need to make the shape to revolve. Start a sketch on the XZ plane. Using the line tool, make a line that reaches through the center of the candle. This doesn't need to have an exact dimension, just make sure its a bit past the candle bottom and top. Make two lines reaching gout from the top and bottom of that line. See the first image of this step to get a better idea of the shape going for. Your holder doesn't have to have the same shape as mine! Be creative! Use the spline tool to create a curved line. Use the knobs and tools to change the slopes of your curve. Make sure that the spline closes off the shape. The shape should turn a slight orange color if it is correctly closed off. Select the revolve tool from the toolbar. Select the Z-axis as your rotating axis and the sketch we just drew for what we want to revolve. Revolve a full 360 degrees (this is the default value). We now have to hollow this body out to make it more like a bowl. Select the "Shell" tool from the toolbar. Select the body we just revolved and set and outer shell of 1.5mm. Great! We are almost done!

Step 3: Refining the Design

Let's begin by creating a sketch on the XZ plane again. Use the line tool to create a shape similar to the one I show in the first picture. This shape also doesn't need to have exact dimensions, just make sure not to make it too thin. Also, make sure the shape reaches a little past the top and bottom of the holder. Using the extrude tool, extrude the shape away from the center of the holder, it will be cutting through the holder now, but we will change that. In the extrude pannel, change the operation from cut to intersect. also make sure the distance is enough that it goes through the whole body. Once you did that, you should have a body similar to the one shown in the second image, From here, select the circular pattern tool. Make sure the "Pattern Type" is set to "Bodies" and select the body we just created. Select the Z-axis as the axis, and set the quantity to a number that you think looks good. The number I choose was 33, but depending on how you made your holder, it may look better with more or less. We are so close to done!. To finish your candle holder, select the combine tool and select all of the bodies from the circular pattern we just made and combine them all. From here you are finished!

Step 4: You Are Done!

If you want to 3D print your design, I would recommend using ABS if you are using a real candle, but PLA will work also. I hope you enjoyed this instructable and it could help!

Leave any comments or suggestions in the comments below! I will try to respond in 24 hours!

Thanks again for reading through!

Nathan