Stardust Lamp, a Sweet Approach to Making a LED Lamp

While the use of LED lights as indoor lighting fixtures isn’t as widespread as it might be in the near future, innovations in design and function are still moving full speed ahead. School of Art Institute Chicago student Won Joon Lee took an unconventional approach in the materials used to create his LED lamp, and it’s pretty sweet…literally.

Lee’s creation, the Stardust lamp, which integrates crystallized sugar into its design, made its debut at the 50th annual Milan Furniture Fair on April 2011 The lamp was the culmination of a two-semester project where the South Korean born Lee explored the potential uses of sugar in everyday design.

Incorporating these sugar bulbs into an iron modular structure, the lamp itself resembles the actual shape of the sugar molecule. With iron and sugar combined, the Stardust Lamp highlights two of the most precious industrial elements known to mankind. As Lee notes, this is only the beginning stage of his project, and we can only begin to imagine the possibilities.

As part of the manufacturing process, Lee submerged LEDs into a concentrated sugar solution for 10 days, causing sugar to solidify around the diodes. The sugar encased diodes were then mounted onto an iron frame inspired resembling a sugar molecule. Lee said the Stardust lamp is still in its developmental stages, so it might be a while before you can get your hands on one to replace your living room lighting fixture. But if you’re a business owner looking LED signs or someone who just likes to collect illuminated signs, LED technology is already available to you at the click of a mouse.

Joon Lee’s Stardust lamp presents a new way of using sugar as an environmentally friendly, sustainable resource at a time when trade is the cause of many problems connected to the design practice. The designer stresses that Stardust is at an early stage in its lifecycle, and if he finds support, he will continue experimenting with colored and fluorescent substances.

DIY LED Jar Lamp Project You Can Do With Your Kids

Materials:

A battery holder
A switch
LED lights
A battery or batteries
Wire
Heat-shrink tubing

STEP-BY-STEP PROCEDURE

1. First, you'll need a Mason jar and lid. Cut three (3) two to three inch lengths of wire and strip both sides and twist the wires tight.

2. Next, wrap the one end of each wire around the connector post on the battery holder, leaving a small tail of wire extending off the bottom of the post.

3. Then use the silicon or hot glue to secure the wire to the holder. 4. Next, cut a small piece of heat shrink tubing for each connector, slide it over the connection, and apply a little heat from the hair dryer.

4. Slide a piece of heat shrink tubing over another piece of wire then connect the wire coming off the positive side of the battery holder to one leg or side of the switch. This can usually be accomplished by threading the end of the wire through the hole on the connector on the switch and twist the wire tight around the connector.

5. Place a good-sized “glop” of either silicone or hot glue on the underside of the Mason jar lid. Lightly place the battery holder into the middle of this “glop” and let it dry. For push button or rocker switches, drill a small hole in the lid and secure the switch to the lid using the nut that came with the switch. For something like a tilt switch, glue it to the side of the jar in the proper orientation to keep it turned off when the jar is set right-side-up.

6. Cover it with the heat shrink. Repeat the process with another piece of wire on the other side of the switch.

7. Cut a longer piece of heat shrink and slide it over the wire coming from the negative (-) side of the battery holder. Connect this wire to the battery holder that same way you did on the positive side.

8. Carefully bend the leads on the LED sign at a 90 degree angle. The shorter lead is the positive side, while the longer lead is the negative. Cut two pieces of heat shrink and slide them over the loose wire ends coming from the switch and battery negative. Leaving about one inch of lead, connect the wire coming from the battery negative to the longer lead. Twist them together tightly and cover with heat shrink. Repeat the process on the positive side. Insert the battery and test your work.

Source from: http://www.digitallanding.com/a-diy-led-light-saves-you-money-as-a-fun-family-project/