When I was a kid I had an alarm clock and table lamp combination that was shaped like the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo, and at the time it was probably my favorite thing in the entire world. I was, as most kids my age, a huge fan of the cartoon, and I felt like a piece of my favorite TV show was all mine. I was convinced that my lamp was a one of a kind, although it was far from it, and because I was the only kid in my neighborhood that had one pretty much everyone was jealous of me.
I’m not sure what happened to that lamp exactly; it was lost to me more than thirty years ago, but I still remember the pride that I felt when a friend would walk in and be impressed with my Mystery Machine light. One of the great things about 3D printing is the ability to make just about anything for your home that is suited exactly to your personal taste. And you can literally be one of the only people on the planet that has it. You could be a sports fan, a animal lover and of course a big, giant geek like myself, and you’re bound to find something 3D printable that is uniquely you. So for this weeks round up I found ten amazing 3D printable lamps and lights that any geek would love to have.
Here are Ten 3D printable Things – Geeky Lamps!
ANATOMICALLY ACCURATE BRAIN LAMP
Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free
This great 3D printed brain lamp is modeled from an actual brain, and when 3D printed in a clear or transparent filament can be lit up with some inexpensive LED lights. The project doesn’t look to be especially complicated, so just about anyone could put this together relatively easily. However, the designer does warn that the brain itself is quite detailed and takes quite a bit of filament to print, and it will need to be divided in half in order to print correctly.
What interests me about this lamp is the different types of LED lights that could be installed and combined with more unique filaments. This version used a simple, clear filament, but there are now transparent filaments in all kinds of colors. Imagine this in red or blue, it would look really cool. And there are simple LED kits that can shift between dozens of colors, so the possibilities to personalize this are almost endless.
SUPER MARIO LAMP
Super Mario with Shining Question Box by Eunny
Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free
You can’t make a list of geeky things without including something from the Super Mario Bros. series. This cool little lamp probably isn’t going to provide much illumination, but it is sure going to look cool. The Mario body is a remix of another Thingiverse file and the designer added a light up question box on the top.
Unfortunately there are not a lot of instructions on the Thing page, so if you decide to make one of these for yourself make sure that you know how to make a simple battery operated LED light.
Here is some video of the Mario lamp so you can get an idea of scale:
GLOWING GAME OF THRONE STYLE DRAGON EGG LAMP
Lamp “The Dragon Egg” by Iurii Popov
Found on: MyMiniFactory
Cost: Free
This is a no-brainer for any geek who is a fan of the A Song of Ice and Fire books of the HBO series based on them, Game of Thrones. The model is made of two 3D printed pieces, the base and the dragon egg itself, which will print just like a vase. A basic store=bought table lamp kit that you can purchase at just about any craft shop is all that you’ll need to finish this project off.
As with most of the projects that I collect, this design is ripe for some remixing with some unique filament choices. There is no need to use a transparent filament, but there is also no reason not to. Although a nice dark red filament would also make this dragon egg look great.
JETSON’S SHOPPING CENTER TABLE LAMP
Jetsons Style Shopping Center Lamp by larry009
Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free
I’ll be honest, I’m still a little bitter about our future looking nothing like The Jetsons. No flying cars, no giant structures in the clouds, no witty robotic servants, the only thing from the Jetson’s that we’ve ever gotten is shoes for our dogs. But still, this amazing lamp that was made to look like the futuristic shopping center from the old Hanna Barbara cartoon is incredibly awesome.
This looks like a complicated project however, so make sure that you know a bit about doing some basic lighting and programming before you take it on. The designer does have a lot of assembly tips and tricks on the Thing page, so make sure you read his comments before you get started.
STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION WARP CORE
Warp Core Table Lamp by ThePlanetMike
Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free
Fans of the classic Star Trek: The Next Generation TV series will recognize the Enterprise E’s massive warp core that was in the center of the ship’s engineering section. This replica was designed by using some high resolution screen caps from the TV series, and the attention to detail really shows.
The lights are just a simple set of string LEDS that were simply arranged to give off the pulsing effect and the whole thing looks far more complicated than it actually is.
Here is some video of the pulsing lights in action:
THOR’S HAMMER “MJOLNIR” TABLE LAMP
Thor’s Hammer Mjolnir Lamp by ustkl
Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free
Honestly, every fan of Marvel comics or the Marvel movies needs to have a Mjolnir in their home, and bonus points are awarded if it lights up like this version. The hammer itself will need to be 3D printed in a transparent filament in order to glow correctly, but the handle can be printed, or painted, to match the hammer from the comics/movies.
This looks like a straightforward print, however i would suggest splitting the hammer in half and then gluing them together. It might take a bit longer, but you won’t need to worry about supports. The light is powered by a simple battery kit that you can purchase at any electronics or craft store, just make sure that it will fit inside of the handle correctly.
DESKTOP BAT-SIGNAL
Dark Knight Signal by timsantoro
Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free
While this Bat-Signal probably won’t make a great desk lamp, it is still a fun lighting project for any comics geek. It has been styled after the Bat-Signal from the Dark Knight movies and looks pretty similar to the original.
Unfortunately you’ll have to work up your own lighting system as the project doesn’t list any specific details on the Thing page, however there are a lot of basic lighting kits available that would work perfectly fine. The designer printed his version out in gray, but obviously black would be a more appropriate color, however it might be worth post processing and painting if you’re planning on showing it off in your home.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY FROM HARRY POTTER LAMP
Hogwarts Castle Lamp by MiniWorld
Found on: Pinshape
Cost: Free
Even a lowly Muggle would love to have a tiny light up replica of Hogwarts on their shelf. The mini version of the iconic witchcraft and wizardry school prints entirely support free and requires little to no infill. It just sits on top of a basic tea light set up, so there are is complicated wiring or lighting needed.
Obviously you’re going to have to paint the castle a bit to make it look like it does in the films, but I could also see a single color print of it looking cool in a transparent filament.
PAC-MAN GHOST LAMP
Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free
This cute little lamp is made to look like a ghost from the classic video game Pac-Man, and is a really easy 3D printing project. The version made by the designer was printed in blue, to look like the ghost after Pac-Man eats a super pellet, but there is no reason why it couldn’t be printed in multiple colors so you can have a full set of all four ghosts.
The lighting is provided by a simple LED kit that isn’t any trouble at all to install. It would even be really easy to insert a battery operated LED kit so you don’t even need to worry about managing a cord.
PORTAL SECURITY TURRET LAMP
Portal Security Turret Desk Lamp by cubewerks
Found on: Thingiverse
Cost: Free
The security turret from the classic sci-fi puzzle game Portal is one of my favorite video game designs, it’s so simple and yet recognizable at the same time. This 3D printable version can be made just as a replica, or you can 3D print it is a transparent filament and turn it into one of the coolest, and geekiest, desk lamps ever.
To finish it off you’ll need just a handful of screws, some glue and a simple desk lamp kit. Just make sure that you get a very low wattage kit or it may produce too much heat and melt the lamp.
There you go, ten amazing 3D printable geeky lamps! I know I say this every week, but this was a really tough list to pare down to ten, so expect a follow list with ten more geek lamps in a few weeks. As always, if you 3D print any of these projects I would love to see them! You can email me pictures, or you could always tweet them to me @SJGrunewald.
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