DIY Sun Lamp

I always wanted to make a lamp, and there are already so many amazing designs out there. Recently, I came across an blog about nature inspired lamps by Leora Studio. Their lamps use beautiful organic shapes and algorithmic designs that instantly caught my attention. I loved the way they looked and wanted to build something similar.

Then reality kicked in. I quickly realized I didn't have the skills to recreate designs that complex. So instead of copying them, I decided to take inspiration from nature in a much simpler way.

That's when I came up with the idea of a sun inspired lamp. I imagined a warm glowing orange light with flowing wave patterns inspired by the Sun's corona. I wasn't sure if the final result would match the picture I had in my head, but I think it turned out pretty well.

In this Instructables, I'll walk you through the entire process of making this lamp, from the first sketches to the finished build. Things didn't always go as planned, and there were plenty of mistakes and lessons along the way. So let's get started.

1. Milky white PLA+ filament
2. Attiny1614
3. Ds3231 RTC module
4. TM1637 0.56" 4-Digit 7-Segment LED Display Module - White with Clock Colon
5. TTP223 Touch switch - 3pcs
6. Perfboard
7. 7805 5v voltage regulator
8. 14pin SMD To DIP PCB
9. DC Jack
10. AO3400 mosfet - 3pcs
11. 100uf 25v capacitor - 3pcs
12. 100nf capacitor - 2pcs
13. 2.2uf capacitor
14. 100ohm resistor - 3pcs
15. 10k resistor - 3pcs
16. male and female header pins
17. 2 Pin JST male straight Connector 2.54mm PITCH - 4pcs
18. 2 Pin JST 2.54mm female with wire - 4 pcs
19. 3 Pin JST male
20. 3 Pin JST Female with wire
21. 4 Pin JST Male Straight 2.54mm Pitch
22. 4 Pin JST 2.54mm Female with wire
23. 12v 3A adapter
24. 2mm acrylic sheet
25. Tint film
26. M3 6mm screw - 10
27. M2 6mm screw - 4
28. spray paint white
29. Hydro dipping film
30. Hydrographics Printing Activator
31. Clear coat spray

Let's start with the most important part of this project, the lamp shade. As I mentioned earlier, I wanted to create a sphere with flowing wavy ridges inspired by the Sun's corona. The goal was to make it look simple and elegant while still capturing the organic patterns you see around the Sun.

For designing the shade, I chose Blender because it's free, open source, and has plenty of tutorials available online. I was a complete beginner, so this project became my way of learning Blender from scratch. After watching a few tutorials and getting a little help from an AI chatbot, I managed to create a few different designs before settling on this one.

Here's how I modeled the final shade.

1. Sculpting the Base Shape

I started with a high-resolution UV sphere to get smooth curves.

In Edit Mode, I selected the vertical edge loops running from the top of the sphere to the bottom. Using the Checker Deselect tool, I quickly selected every other edge loop.

Then I pressed S to scale them outward. This transformed the smooth sphere into a shape with evenly spaced ridges all around it.

1. Twisting the Geometry

To give the lamp that organic, sweeping motion I mentioned earlier, I needed to shape the curves. I selected the top section of the sphere and turned on Proportional Editing, which ensures the rest of the mesh follows along smoothly. Then, I pressed R to Rotate and Z to lock that rotation strictly to the Z axis.

1. Creating the Mounting Hole

The shade needed to fit securely onto the base, so I had to make the dimensions accurate.

I added a cylinder and set its diameter to exactly 100 mm. This cylinder was then used as a Boolean cut to create a perfectly sized mounting hole in the bottom of the shade.

and finally when I was happy with the design, I exported the STL file

Next up, we need a simple base for the lamp to house all the electronics and wiring. I decided to model this part in Tinkercad since it is quick and easy to use.

While putting the design together, I thought it would be really cool to add a small clock to the front of the base. I went ahead and cut out a perfect space for the clock display, along with all the necessary holes and mounting slots for the other components.

As always, I am going to attach all the STL files below and include a direct link to my Tinkercad project so you can easily grab the files and make any changes you like.

This was the step where things didn't go as planned.

For the lamp shade, I wanted to print it in Vase Mode, also known as Spiralize Outer Contour in Cura. In this mode, the printer creates a hollow, single-wall model by printing in one continuous spiral from bottom to top.

This is perfect for lamps because the thin wall diffuses light much better. It also eliminates the Z seam, blobs, stringing, and other surface imperfections that become very noticeable once you place a light inside the shade.

To get the best result, I bought a roll of milky white PLA+ filament and started the print before going to bed. Since the print would take several hours, I thought I'd wake up to a finished lamp shade.

Well... that didn't happen.

The print was about 90% complete, but the top section had failed completely, leaving behind a giant blob of filament stuck to the nozzle.

After a bit of frustration, I went back to Cura and checked the layer preview. That's when I found the problem. Near the top of the model, the layers had huge gaps between them in Vase Mode. It was obvious why the print couldn't continue.

I spent quite a while trying to fix it by enabling Adaptive Layers, increasing the layer height, and experimenting with a few other settings, but nothing worked.

If anyone knows how to solve this issue, I'd really appreciate it if you could leave a comment below. I'd love to learn how to print this design properly in Vase Mode.

In the end, I gave up and printed the shade using normal settings instead. It printed successfully, but the result wasn't nearly as nice. You can clearly see the Z seam and other small imperfections when the lamp is turned on. The difference between the two methods is quite noticeable.

Thankfully, all the other parts printed without any problems.

This step is exactly what the title says.

Once all the parts were printed, I carefully removed the support material using a pair of flush cutters and pliers.

After printing everything in white filament, I wasn't completely happy with how it looked. The lamp shade looked nice, but the whole project lacked contrast. It was just... white.

My original plan was to simply paint the base black or brown. Then, out of nowhere, I remembered hydro dipping. It was something I had wanted to try for a long time, but I'd only ever seen it in YouTube videos.

So I jumped online and started looking for hydro dipping films. There were so many designs to choose from, including carbon fiber, wood, marble, camouflage, and more.

At first, I couldn't decide between a wood grain finish and a marble finish. Then I started browsing the marble patterns and realized there were hundreds of different designs. Honestly, choosing one was harder than I expected.

After spending way too much time scrolling through options, I finally settled on a simple black marble pattern. I thought it would give the lamp a clean, premium look while making the white lamp shade stand out even more.

link for the film

Since this was my very first time trying hydro dipping, I wanted to make sure I understood the process before jumping in. I started by watching a really helpful, straight to the point tutorial video online to get the hang of the basics.

The hydro dipping film I chose required a white base coat for the marble pattern to show up properly. So, I lightly sanded the 3D printed base to smooth out the surface and help the paint stick better.

After cleaning off the dust, I applied a few light coats of white spray paint and let it dry completely.

Next, I cut a piece of hydro dipping film large enough to cover the entire base. I placed the base on top of the film as a guide and left a little extra material around all the sides to make sure it would wrap around the part completely.

One thing I noticed right away was how delicate the film is. It's very thin and can easily fold, wrinkle, or stick to itself, so you have to handle it carefully. It took a bit of patience, but once the film was cut to size, it was ready for the next step.

Now came the moment I had been waiting for.

I grabbed the largest plastic container I had and filled it with water. Looking back, I probably should have used a slightly bigger container, but this was the best I had available.

I carefully placed the hydro dipping film on the surface of the water. Since the film is very delicate, you have to be gentle or it can easily wrinkle or fold. After placing it on the water, I let it sit for about a minute so it could fully hydrate.

One important thing to remember is that the correct side of the film needs to face the water. Most films have a glossy side that should face down. If you're unsure, you can test a corner with a tiny amount of activator.

Next, I sprayed an even coat of activator over the entire film. Within a few seconds, the film transformed into a floating layer of ink. If you're using a larger container, you can place a simple frame around the film to stop the pattern from spreading too much after applying the activator.

Then came the exciting part. I slowly dipped the base into the water at an angle. Once the part was completely submerged, I moved the remaining film away before pulling the part back out.

Honestly, I had no idea what to expect. I was actually a little skeptical that it would work on my first try.

But the moment I lifted the part out of the water... wow! It looked much better than I had imagined. The marble pattern turned out beautifully. A slightly larger container probably would have given me better coverage around the sides, but for a first attempt, I was really happy with the result.

The final step was to rinse the part under running water to wash away the slimy residue left on the surface. After letting it dry completely, I sealed everything with a few coats of clear spray paint to protect the finish.

For the lighting, I chose three different LED strips: cool white, warm white, and orange, though the orange I got actually looks a bit more like amber. The main idea was to mimic real sunlight. As you might know, the true color of the sun is actually white because it emits all the colors of the rainbow almost evenly. It only appears yellow, orange, or red from Earth because our atmosphere scatters away the shorter blue wavelengths of light before they reach our eyes.

At one point, I wondered if I should have used RGB LEDs instead. That would have offered more color options, but it also would have made the control more complicated.

The next main piece of hardware is a 4 digit 7 segment display for the clock. To control the brightness, the light mix, and the time, I am using three touch switches. The rest of the circuit includes three MOSFETs to drive the three LED strips, an RTC module for accurate timekeeping, a 5V voltage regulator, and a few basic passive components.

At the heart of everything is an ATtiny1614 microcontroller. I think it's a perfect fit for projects like this because it's tiny, inexpensive, low-power, runs happily at 5 V, and supports single-wire UPDI programming. I've used ATtiny microcontrollers before in my automatic soap dispenser project, and they have been incredibly reliable. In fact, I still haven't had to recharge the battery in that project.

I'm using the 14-pin version of the ATtiny1614 along with an SMD-to-DIP adapter because I wasn't planning to design a custom PCB for this build. Instead, everything is soldered onto a piece of perfboard.

To make assembly and future maintenance easier, I used connectors for all the major components instead of soldering everything permanently.

With all the components ready, it was finally time to assemble the electronics.

Since I wasn't using a custom PCB, I built the entire circuit on a piece of perfboard. Looking back, I probably should have chosen a slightly larger board because things got pretty cramped by the end.

I started by soldering the ATtiny1614, voltage regulator, MOSFETs, resistors, and the remaining components onto the perfboard. The RTC module originally came with right-angle header pins, but they didn't fit well inside the enclosure, so I replaced them with straight header pins before soldering it in place.

When soldering the connectors, I found it was a good idea to solder them in pairs or while they were plugged into their matching connector. Otherwise, the plastic can soften from the heat, causing the pins to shift or bend out of alignment.

Next, I soldered connectors for all the external components, including the touch switches, 7-segment display, DC power jack, and the three LED strips. Using connectors instead of permanently soldering the wires makes the lamp much easier to assemble, disassemble, and repair if needed.

To keep the wiring neat, I connected the VCC and GND pins of all three touch switches together since they all share the same power supply. This allowed me to use a single 2-pin connector for power, while each switch had its own signal wire. It reduced the amount of wiring and made the inside of the base much cleaner.

One final tip: double-check the polarity of every connector before soldering. It's also a good idea to label or note which connector goes to each component. It might seem unnecessary at first, but it will save you a lot of confusion during the final assembly.

With the hardware finished, it's time to upload the firmware.

Connect the USB-to-UART programmer to the programming header, making sure it's oriented correctly. Then plug it into your computer.

As I mentioned earlier, one of the nice things about the ATtiny1614 is that it only requires a single data pin for programming using the UPDI interface. You can program it with a simple USB-to-UART adapter or even another Arduino acting as a UPDI programmer. In this build, I'm using a USB-to-UART module.

The TX and RX pins of the USB-to-UART module are connected together through a resistor, and that connection goes to the UPDI pin of the ATtiny1614, which is physical pin 10.

For the software, I'm using the Arduino IDE. First, install the megaTinyCore board package if you haven't already. Then select the ATtiny1614 as the target microcontroller and choose "SerialUPDI (Slow - 57600 baud)" as the programmer.

Finally, copy and paste the code I've provided, click Upload, and wait a few seconds for the programming process to complete. Put a CR2032 battery in the RTC. If everything is connected correctly, your lamp should now be ready for the final assembly.

Next, it was time to mount the lights onto the central cylinder. I simply peeled away the protective backing to expose the adhesive on my LED strips and carefully wrapped them around the 3D printed holder.

Since I am using three different colors of LEDs for this project, I made sure to alternate and space the cool white, warm white, and amber strips evenly as I worked my way up the cylinder. Taking a little extra time to arrange them nicely ensures that the different colors will mix together perfectly once the white lampshade is placed over the top.

To cover the clock display, I made a small window from a piece of 2 mm thick clear acrylic.

I cut the acrylic to 55 mm × 25 mm by scoring it several times with a utility knife. A scoring or chipped blade works best for this. Once the score line was deep enough, I simply snapped the acrylic along the line to get a clean edge.

To make the display look a little nicer, I applied a piece of cooling window film to the acrylic. This gives the display a darker, tinted appearance when it's turned off while still allowing the digits to show through clearly when it's on.

Finally, I placed the acrylic inside the base behind the display opening and secured it with a few small dabs of super glue. Use only a tiny amount of glue around the edges. Too much super glue can release fumes that leave a white, foggy residue on the acrylic, which is difficult to remove.

Now it's time to put everything together. I started by sliding the three touch switches into their slots in the base. Make sure each switch goes into the correct position. If you accidentally swap them, don't worry, you can easily change their functions later in the code.

Next, I mounted the 4-digit display using M3 screws, followed by the DC power jack. After that, I secured the perfboard inside the base with M2 screws.

With the electronics in place, I mounted the LED holder to the base using two M3 screws and connected all the cables to their matching connectors. Before closing everything up, it's a good idea to power the lamp on and make sure all the LEDs, touch switches, and clock are working correctly.

Once everything was tested, I installed the back cover and secured it with M3 screws.

At this point, the assembly was almost complete. All that was left to do was place the lamp shade on top and enjoy the finished build.

With the assembly complete, it was finally time to see the finished lamp.

Since I'm using 12 V LED strips, the lamp is powered by a 12 V, 3 A power adapter. I connected the power supply, placed the lamp shade on top, and turned it on for the first time.

Interestingly, the shade I'm using here is actually the failed Vase Mode print from earlier. Even though the top section is missing, I still think it looks better than the fully printed version because the single-wall print diffuses the light much more evenly.

The lamp has three touch buttons: Plus (+), Minus (-), and Menu. Thy are embossed on the top of the base.

The Plus and Minus buttons adjust the brightness of the lamp. Pressing the Menu button cycles through the available settings:

C1 → C2 → C3 → Hour → Minute

The first three options control the brightness of each LED strip individually. For example, if I want the lamp to glow only in amber, I can simply set the cool white and warm white LEDs to 0% and leave only the amber LEDs on. You can also mix the three colors to create different lighting effects.

The Hour and Minute options are used to set the clock, with the Plus and Minus buttons adjusting the values.

One thing that's missing at the moment is memory for the LED settings. Every time the lamp is powered on, the color levels return to their default values. I might add this feature in a future update.

Overall, I'm really happy with how this project turned out. The hydro-dipped marble base pairs nicely with the glowing lamp shade, and the built-in clock makes it both decorative and practical.

So, what do you think of this simple Sun-inspired lamp? I'd love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, or ideas for improvements in the comments below.

Thanks for reading, and happy making!