lantern by Mentaluproar

Last crawled date: 3 years, 1 month ago

This is a fixed up version of a lantern I created for a theatre props final. A pack of batteries with a switch sits under the lid, feeding down to a blower, multicolor LED, adafruit trinket, and a mosfet to regulate blower fan speed. Altering fan speed lets you tune in how you want the fabric flame to flicker, and the trinket lets you choose the color and LED flickering pattern. If you want to run this off a lighting board, you can use an ESP8266 and control it via artnet. That was my original plan but I ran out of time to implement it.
You will need small neodymium magnets to slide into the bottom of the base and the door to hold it closed. Now, actors can open and close the door to blow out or light the flame without having small, breakable parts on set.
The wood was done in wood PLA and the lid in aluminum PLA. The top was hand sanded, then machine polished wet at a local lapidary club. The handle was off an old paint can. The windows are just cheap plexiglass from the hardware store. The inside shows the heads of the case fans screws holding the blower fan in place. They are not visible from the audience but if you are concerned about them, leaving a little wood stain to dry on them will darken it up cheaply.
Mine was printed on a Robo3D R1+. For the metallic material, I recommend using a hardened steel nozzle to prevent wear. For the body, use a 0.6 or above nozzle if you can. The print will take less time, reduce the risk of clogs, and make a much stronger prop.
The wiring and code used for this isn't being shared because, frankly, it's embarrassingly sloppy.
If you use this anywhere, please reference your source. I worked hard on this and am giving it away. I don't expect money for it, just acknowledgement of my work.