Rainbow Roadie
Levitating Lamp
Design a levitating lamp for 3D print manufacture
**This product is not an actual product of Nintendo and is used, along with any trademarks, brand or copyright materials of Nintendo, for demonstration purposes only and as a student work.
Project Focus | 3D Print Manufacturing
Skills | Product Analysis, CAD, Assembly
4 weeks, Fall 2022
Electrodynamic Suspension
It is a form of magnetic levitation where conductors are exposed to time-varying magnetic fields. This induces eddy currents in the conductors that creates a repulsive magnetic field which holds the two objects apart.
Ready, racers?
Iridescent item boxes from Mario Kart are so full of potential for upgrades they hold. As a lighting concept, it'd be a statement piece with its motion and eye-catching shine.
What's inside?
The project prompt was to redesign the casing for a levitating lamp. I took the existing product apart to access the EDS coil, to use its measurements as reference in CAD.
Production ready
Creating accurate orthographics from CAD models so it can be made by manufacturers. The remaining components are made by cutting acrylic, then assembled.
The Plan
Magnet
Base Panels (Acrylic)
Base Plate (FDM Filament)
Base Casing (FDM Filament)
Spacer (FDM Filament)
Topper Base (FDM Filament)
Shell (FDM Filament)
Topper Walls (Acrylic)
Finishing and Assembly
What made my project stand apart was its finishing. Using other materials, surfacing by painting and sandblasting really helped to pitch my product at finals.
Base
Topper
Shell
Trial and Error
V1: Holes for screws
Holes in casing difficult to thread
Base Plate Iterations
V2: Posts
Posts are too thin, broke easily
V3: Pegs
Pegs short enough to secure casing
Cable Resolder
Original wires were very flimsy and disrupted current flow. Needed to be replaced to shorter length to fit in casing.
Shell Finishing
Painted shell colors clashed under iridescent acrylic. Solid black gave shadowed effect of item I liked better.
Moving Forward
This project had a lot of fans and I'd love to see something like it on the shelves. It seems like it would work perfectly under the Amiibo category of merch.
Next time:
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Color match base acrylic to game CMF
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Soften topper corners to unify form language