This is a little DIY recycle project for which I gathered some parts from around the house to make something cool.
I saw spots like this in a restaurant and thought I can do that and here is the result. A picture frame spot.
Please note that the light captured camera is far brighter than in reality. In a dark room with just the spot turned on you can see all details in the pictures without getting flashed by the bright LEDs.
Picture Lights have been around for a very long time. I’m looking at 1 right now that lights up a portrait of a celebrated member of my wife’s family. It was painted in the early 20th century.
I knew about those lights, too. The restaurant just helped me to
a) refresh the memory that picture frame lights exist. You usually don´t see them every day.
b) find out that I want two of those for my hallway picture frames. (The giant clock is on the opposite wall over the stairs)
c) realize that I can print them with stuff I already have at home. Avoiding buying some that won´t fit or look ugly. The ones in the restaurant had a golden finish. urks.
d) realize that I did not design something for quite some time.
Switch and battery contacts are from an electric long duration LED grave lamp. Replacing the batteries was to expensive compared to buying a new one, which already comes with batteries. Well why throw away when it contains electronic components you may can use in the future? I bought the 30cm 20 LED strip from the dollar/pound/euro store (1,30 Euro) month ago. The USB connector already was used in one of my power cables for my Ring Lights and I usually use the LED strips to bring light into my printers. This one is now lighting two up my picture frames and I have 2 LEDs left to use elsewhere.
The key feature for me is recycling stuff using 3D printers. Not only repairing stuff, that otherwise would be dumped, but also take stuff and make something new from it. This is IMHO what the tool 3D printer is made for. (maybe a topic for a video, too. @Irv_Shapiro )
As you know, I agree about using 3D printing to repair things or make things that cannot be bought because no company makes such things.
For example, my sister-in-law is visiting and discovered for herself the importance of using the adapter I designed for the larger holes in current refillable K-cups. Yup, she had water coming out all over the place ? It still baffles me that the newer refillable K-cups have holes that are too large for the needle valve.
I did not test that yet. It will only be used when I have guests, so it doesn´t really matter. You can tell from the pictures that I already used batteries which had not enough power anymore in their previous location. So that is recycling, too.
Just from the size and the knowledge that a 2032 battery powers a single LED with flickering chip for several days, I assume chunky 3xAAA batteries will last with the nine LEDs around the same time. Mains power was no option in this case.
