Illuminating the Print Area.

One of the disappointments of 3D printing is not being able to see the print in progress simply because the print area is not illuminated well. This is how I overcame that disappointment.

1. LED strip lights.
These are available in strips with each unit consisting of 3 LEDs. Any electronics shop that supplies components for the hobbyist should stock them. They are supposedly 12V DC, but might run at 9V. Since a 3D printer has access to 12V DC, there is no problem. This is what the strips look like:

Attachment 1520

2. Installation.
a) I fitted three units to the extruder bracket. The LED strips are wider than the bracket is thick, so I glued some strips of plywood where I wanted the LEDs to go, like this:

Attachment 1521 You can see that I'm in the process of fitting auto-leveling.

b) The LED strips have an adhesive backing, so all you have to do is remove the covering film and stick the strips onto the plywood, and you end up with this:

Attachment 1522

c) I ran a pair of wires (speaker hook-up wire) from the LED strip to the top of the printer via the cable conduit that holds all the wires connecting things down around the extruder. At the top of the printer I fitted a bedlight switch, then continued on to the 12V power input terminal of the RAMPS board to pick up power.

Attachment 1523

To have a look at how well this illumination works go to : http://3dprintboard.com/showthread.p...7368#post17368

Old Man Emu

Very cool OME, thanks for the step by step :D

I think I'm going to be making this upgrade very soon.

I have done some prints in the last couple of days and I had the need to monitor them closely because of corner lift.

I'm so lad that I have fitted these LEDs. My print area is lit up really well.

You really owe it to yourself to make this simple addition to your printer.

OME

Thank you for the tip. It is something that I am going to add to my printer. I have a small flashlight I have been using but what pain in the butt that is. I am going to be cleaning up the wiring on mine as it is all still real loose, and then I am going to work on painting the wood parts (Or those parts that I keep wood). I am thinking of printing some of the parts off, as programing them is as easy as drawing them I think. Hope so anyway. I will post the files on here if I do get parts printed to replace wood ones (Just incase anyone needs them)

I have a goal zero positional goose neck LED bar (cheap)
It is powered my an old 5V 1 amp cell charger. USB plug.
Attachment 1964

I went to WalMart and found, in the automotive section, a pack of 2 14-inch LED strips that shine sideways out of the edge, not out of the front. Pilot brand, "LED Phantom-Lite". They are cuttable if they are too long. I cut off one 3 LED section to place behind my hotend, and put the rest of the strip on the back of the frame shining down onto the print surface, and wired it up like OME did. It works very well, with no extra wood needing to be added. Stick them on a vertical surface, and they'll shine down (or up).

Attachment 1982 Attachment 1983

I actually addressed this issue on the first project on my website. I, limiting myself of a low budget, created a setup using a fully programmable, hot end mounted RGB LED ring. It can also be turned off with a latched switch that I created a mount for that goes right on the aluminum extrusion. Take a look:

http://www.shawftware.net/2014/08/pr...d-mounted-led/

I'll throw another hat into the ring with my LED solution!

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:438960