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Universal lamp shade polygon building kit

by dan on October 13, 2006

Table of Contents

Author: dan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Intro: Universal lamp shade polygon building kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

step 1: What you need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

File Downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

step 2: Cut out your pieces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

step 3: assemble! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

step 4: assemble! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

step 5: Other Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

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Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

http://www.instructables.com/id/Universal-lamp-shade-polygon-building-kit/
Author: dan

Author: dan MonkeyLectric

Dan Goldwater is a co-founder of Instructables. Currently he operates MonkeyLectric where he develops revolutionary bike lighting products. He also writes a
DIY column for Momentum magazine.

License: Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa)

Intro: Universal lamp shade polygon building kit

One simple cut-out shape lets you build all sorts of different designer-looking lampshades! You can make dozens different geometric forms using various numbers of the
cut-out shape made from paper or plastic. All the standard mathematical polyhedrons and such are possible.

The pieces just fold together by hand into rigid forms, and you can take them apart and build into new shapes any time!

this is fun and educational for kids and adults alike, and you get a really nice lampshade when you are done.

As seen in ReadyMade Magazine, Dec. 2007/Jan 2008 issue

Image Notes
1. 30 identical pieces assembled together. this one is made from 0.5mm acetal
(delrin). in the photo it looks amber but in reality it is pure white.

Image Notes
1. this one uses 24 pieces, made from 0.8mm nylon. it is a bit annoyingly
yellow-ish in reality

http://www.instructables.com/id/Universal-lamp-shade-polygon-building-kit/
 Image Notes Image Notes
1. this one has 35 pieces. it is basically a tube with two end-caps. it is made from 1. 24 pieces - side view - this one has a 'cool white' light in it rather than 'warm
0.8mm HDPE white' in the others.

Image Notes
1. 80 pieces - side view

http://www.instructables.com/id/Universal-lamp-shade-polygon-building-kit/
step 1: What you need
I saw a lampshade made out of the shape below at a friend's house, so I traced the shape and made my own. the lamp i saw used thin plastic for the pieces. I believe the
original design for this lamp was done over 30 years ago by the firm Iqlight, they sell pre-cut parts in case you do not want to make the parts yourself.

Below is the shape as an image, and i've also attached a DXF file.

You will need sheets of paper or plastic that allow light to get through. The stiffness of your material determines how large your pieces can be - stiffer material for larger
pieces and larger lamps, thinner material for smaller pieces and smaller lamps. (see next step)

You will need a lamp fixture - just a raw socket on a cord. I found some nice ones at Ikea for $4, and some fluorescent bulbs. Use a compact fluorescent bulb so you can
get more light without melting the plastic.

I experimented with a number of different plastics and sizes for the parts, here are my results:

- HDPE: works well, looks good, cheap and easy to get. I used 0.8mm thick stock for 8cm pieces (measured flat-side to flat-side). That's about the smallest you'd want to
go with that thickness, you could go up to 12 or 15cm with that thickness. this is the least expensive plastic by far. One of the commenters suggested using plastic milk-
bottles, which are made of HDPE, this is a good idea!

- Acetal (delrin): this seems to be the best choice for looks, it has the purest white color and best light dispersion (basically, looks just like acrylic except it doesn't crack as
easily). I used 0.35mm stock for 6cm and 8cm pieces, and 0.5mm stock for 8-12cm pieces, and 0.65mm stock for 12-15cm pieces. It still is a little brittle and harder to
work with than HDPE, and more expensive. if you cut this with scissors it will be somewhat tricky due to the brittleness, but possible.

- Vinyl: I did not try it, probably want to use thicker pieces since it is not very stiff. but you can use colors!

- Paper: I did not try paper but it should be good for smaller constructions.

- Laminated paper: this is a great idea suggested in the coments section. try laminating color tissue paper, then cut the pieces from that. very unique and colorful!

- Acrylic: too brittle, it will crack when you try to assemble. too bad!

- Nylon: has a yellow-ish look when lit up which makes it undesirable.

- for a large construction use stiffer material for the same size piece. ie, if you are making a lampshade with 12 pieces use thinner material than if you are making a shade
with 100 pieces, assuming same size pieces.

Where to get it:

HDPE 1/32" sheet: sheet: http://www.usplastics.com item number 42584

Acetal sheet, 0.015" and 0.020":: http://www.mcmaster.com item number 8738K52 and 8738K53

File Downloads

polypiece.dxf (31 KB)

[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'polypiece.dxf']

http://www.instructables.com/id/Universal-lamp-shade-polygon-building-kit/
step 2: Cut out your pieces
You can cut your pieces in a couple ways:

- trace them out with a marker, then use scissors or a knife. this is slow but can be done easily by anyone.

- make a "cookie cutter" out of sheet metal in the shape of the part. then heat the cutter with a torch and use it to stamp out the parts (only works for plastic)

- use a laser cutter

step 3: assemble!
just try fitting the parts together! they go together in many different ways. you can make a variety of corners with 3, 4 or 5 adjoining pieces.

there are several ways to think about and categorize the different types of geometric shapes that can be constructed. below i've shown top and bottom views of every
different type of vertex (corner) that can be built. all larger assemblies are made up of a combination of the types of corners shown below, so think of them as your
building blocks.

corners can also be 'left handed' and 'right handed' - mirror images of each other.

Image Notes Image Notes

1. right-handed vertex 1. five narrow-angles meet at the vertex (corner) - view of top side
2. left-handed vertex - the mirror image

Image Notes Image Notes

1. 3 wide angles at the vertex 1. bottom-side view
2. 2 narrow angles and 1 wide angle meet at the vertex
3. 3 narrow angles at the vertex
4. 1 narrow angle and 2 wide angles at the vertex

http://www.instructables.com/id/Universal-lamp-shade-polygon-building-kit/
 Image Notes
1. 2 narrow and 2 wide angles meet at the vertex, in a checkerboard pattern (the 2
narrow-angles are across from each other diagonally)
2. 4 narrow angles at vertex
3. 3 narrow angles and 1 wide angle at the vertex
4. 2 narrow angles and 2 wide angles, with the narrow-angles adjacent to each
other.

step 4: assemble!
you can make forms with anything from 8 to 100 or more pieces each. the only drawback seems to be that there is no way to make concave corners, only convex corners
are possible.

you can see my examples below, and you can see more at this site: http://www.iqlight.com
that site also sells the parts if you don't want to make them yourself (but i think it is pricey).

Image Notes Image Notes

1. 5 pieces join at this corner 1. this one uses 24 pieces, made from 0.8mm nylon. it is a bit annoyingly
http://www.instructables.com/id/Universal-lamp-shade-polygon-building-kit/
 2. 3 pieces join at this corner yellow-ish in reality
3. 4 pieces join at this corner

Image Notes
1. 30 identical pieces assembled together. this one is made from 0.5mm acetal
(delrin). in the photo it looks amber but in reality it is pure white.

Image Notes
1. this one has 35 pieces. it is basically a tube with two end-caps. it is made
from 0.8mm HDPE

http://www.instructables.com/id/Universal-lamp-shade-polygon-building-kit/
 Image Notes
1. 24 pieces - side view - this one has a 'cool white' light in it rather than 'warm
white' in the others.

Image Notes
1. this is 30 pieces, but in a different configuration than the normal 'soccer ball'
shape. it has more pointy corners and less roundedness

http://www.instructables.com/id/Universal-lamp-shade-polygon-building-kit/
 Image Notes
1. 24 piece - bottom view

Image Notes Image Notes

1. 80 pieces - side view 1. this is the bottom central axis point
2. 80 pieces - view from about 45 degrees below and to the side

http://www.instructables.com/id/Universal-lamp-shade-polygon-building-kit/
step 5: Other Ideas
I think the design i've presented is my favorite because it is reconfigurable into lots of shapes, but i thought i'd put some links to other styles which can also be made from
sheets of paper or plastic.

the lampshade shown below i spotted hanging from the eaves of a hotel in china. it is made from i think 6 identical pieces (possibly 7 or 8). each piece is a large diamond
shape with slots cut in it to allow sliding the pieces together. it looks like each diamond is slid into itself to form one of the central vertical tubes, its free tips are then slid
into the other pieces to hold the whole thing together. (i have not actually made one yet, so please comment if you have).

also see:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Flower-Calender
http://www.yasutomo.com/project/paperlampshade.htm

you can also usually find one or two polygon-inspired lampshade designs at your local designer lighting store, and at Ikea.

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by Instructables sjolly hack lamp by Lampshade by
Guides reid fungus amungus

http://www.instructables.com/id/Universal-lamp-shade-polygon-building-kit/
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Comments
50 comments Add Comment view all 189 comments

Crink says: Jul 22, 2010. 7:37 PM REPLY

I was wondering if anyone is having trouble with the proportions of the jpg. I feel that there is something off. I might be wrong though.

Klode says: Jun 9, 2009. 1:42 PM REPLY

Has anybody tried it with 1/32" birch plywood? I can't seem to find this kind of plastic in Canada and our milk is sold in cartons not jugs... So i am tempted to
try it with thin plywood... I am looking to make the 80 piece model... Thanks for your help!

kerrym says: Mar 6, 2010. 9:30 PM REPLY

I'm in Canada, too. I made mine using those super-flexible plastic cutting mats sold at the dollar store. They come in different colours, but I used the
clear/white-ish ones.

giannacl says: Jun 19, 2010. 4:33 PM REPLY

thats beautiful! how many pieces to make that size?

kerrym says: Jun 19, 2010. 6:46 PM REPLY

This one is the 80 piece variation

giannacl says: Jun 19, 2010. 7:39 PM REPLY

one more question (blush): what size did you choose?

kerrym says: Jun 23, 2010. 5:23 AM REPLY

I just measured them, and each piece is about 5" long and 4 1/4" at its widest point. The finished light is roughly 15" in diameter, 11" high.

giannacl says: Jun 23, 2010. 9:10 AM REPLY

thank you!

Ex0 says: Feb 19, 2010. 4:40 PM REPLY

I'm in Canada too..I was thinking...would 2 litre pop bottles work?

Moomoomilk says: Jun 21, 2009. 12:22 PM REPLY

I LOVE CANADA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3<3<3<3

oldschoolstructure says: Jun 19, 2010. 3:05 AM REPLY

Great aesthetic shapes!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Universal-lamp-shade-polygon-building-kit/
 cheeto4493 says: Jul 30, 2008. 9:04 AM REPLY
Cool, I saw this on MAKE and followed the link here.
I converted the DFX over into a PDF. I called it IQlight.pdf

I was thinking about the HDPE material you recommended, and I got a thought. How about recycling 1 gallon Milk Jugs?

If you are interested in slide together polyhedra, check out this site.
George Hart polyhedra activities
http://www.georgehart.com/virtual-polyhedra/slide-togethers.html

Here is a picture of a ball I made from one of his patterns. I modified the triangle pattern, and built this ball out of CD's.

~Travis

IQlight.pdf(612x792) 18 KB

verawroe says: Jun 1, 2010. 7:13 PM REPLY

Travis wow!
Has anyone got the instructables for these . The GeorgeHart site is well worth checking out but there are no instructions. i'm sure members would love
any and all Slide together polyhedra such as these.

Shut Up Now says: Nov 26, 2008. 8:50 PM

(removed by author or community request)

Shut Up Now says: Nov 26, 2008. 8:53 PM REPLY

oh and about how many cds did that particular polygon take

cheeto4493 says: Nov 27, 2008. 4:11 PM REPLY

20, plus a few that I broke while cutting and assembling. It is a regular Icosahedron. The hardest part is cutting the CD's without them cracking.
And also putting the last one in. I ended up having to break it and tape it back together because it wouldn't flex enough to slide in. The other hard
thing about cutting them is making the kerf the same width as the thickness of a CD, and at an angle.

Shut Up Now says: Nov 29, 2008. 2:13 PM REPLY

i see.. thanks for the help oh yea i was thinking that it would be cool if after u assembled each set of 5 u microwaved em. if u have ever done
that, it makes lightning and gives a cool cracked effect

mage says: Sep 11, 2008. 9:05 PM REPLY

sweet. i really like the cd ball. because its shiny it entertains me :D

frisko says: Sep 11, 2008. 2:16 AM REPLY

Hey Cheeto, thanks for the cool lamp shade idea!
I made the 30 square version as well, and it looks cool...

Does anyone know how to make one of these though?

http://www.origamitessellations.com/2006/01/17/identify-me/
The cool thing about this lamp shade is that you can open and close every individual compartment...

http://www.instructables.com/id/Universal-lamp-shade-polygon-building-kit/
 verawroe says: Jun 1, 2010. 7:20 PM REPLY
I agree this is awsome. It is s design called APERTURE by a designer called Claire Norcross and is sold commercially' I too would love to know how
to make it .

Alex Ribeiro says: Aug 8, 2008. 8:33 AM REPLY

Thank you very much for the PDF file version!

KitschyKoo says: Mar 1, 2009. 11:40 PM REPLY

Thanks for the great idea. I made my one out of some x-rays. I wanted something to hang above our table and as we don't have pendant light, I've just got it
suspended from string. It would look fantastic with a light through it, but I'm happy with it just as a sculptural piece that spins in the breeze. I took the picture
with a cell phone inside it.

verawroe says: Jun 1, 2010. 7:00 PM REPLY

Kitchykoo: Brilliant use of old X Rays can you imagine how great they would be with a light globe inside and the bones showing through.My next project
is an X Ray lamp for my grandson he will love it, because of the bones.

One point. WHERE CAN I GET XRAYS from as I only have 1 . Help please.

dan says: Mar 2, 2009. 2:15 AM REPLY

ooh, Xrays are a great idea, and perfect material.

Corrinne says: Nov 15, 2006. 5:14 PM REPLY

Has anyone tried making these using pieces cut from empty plastic milk containers? I just looked and they're HDPE, so I think it would work.

verawroe says: May 29, 2010. 3:24 AM REPLY

Milk bottles work well but can be tricky to cut neatly, otherwiae terrific and free.

dan says: Nov 15, 2006. 5:30 PM REPLY

yes, that should work.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Universal-lamp-shade-polygon-building-kit/
 chasmyn says: Nov 30, 2006. 9:29 PM REPLY
SO when you make the shrinky ones, you put them together first and THEN shrink them? These are awesome - I am definitely making one from used milk
bottles. Thanks for the instructable and the comments suggesting it!

verawroe says: May 29, 2010. 3:03 AM REPLY

Help. I cant find any reference to shrinky ones, which sound great. please tell me where and/how.

dan says: Dec 3, 2006. 3:26 PM REPLY

great! can you post a photo of your milk-bottle pieces or finished lampshade? that is a great recycled source for the HDPE

verawroe says: May 28, 2010. 11:24 PM REPLY

I found a much easier tile shape on eschertile.com . And have used it succesfully several times. It uses a Rhombus tile which is easy to cut because there
are no curves. A hole punch is used to mark the positon of where the slots on the tiles hook onto each other. Brilliant.
Sorry dont know yet how to "show' what I mean.

jokerlz says: May 20, 2010. 10:20 AM REPLY

I made this one from cheap lined paper. Once it was all locked together it was fairly strong.

Depraved says: Apr 28, 2010. 2:01 PM REPLY

I love this lamp! I made one using laminate sheets and tinkerbell gift wrap.

Bnie says: Apr 20, 2010. 1:07 AM REPLY

Help!

I am able to assemble the 30-elements lamp, and the 60-element lamp is also a piece of cake using videos found on the internet...

Can anyone provide a video or detailed instruction for the 120-element lamp please?

Thanks up front!

chezcliff says: Feb 22, 2010. 5:46 PM REPLY

these lights are amazing! I was trying to make my own and failed! after searching i found a site that sells the pre-cut pieces but even better sells them ready
made in different sizes and shapes!! A fraction of the price compared to others. I brought the 120 piece ( they call it Electra) and it looks fantastic. Check
them out
www.smartylamps.co.uk

Valche says: Feb 10, 2010. 8:27 AM REPLY

Excellent! This is a beautiful and ingenious design, thank you so much for sharing it with us. I'll post pictures once mine is complete.

Question, though. How did you go about attaching this to the lamp? I'll be doing a hanging fixture like some you have and would love to know how to attach it
to my cord. Thanks!

arohak24 says: Aug 3, 2009. 7:18 PM REPLY

OMG I have been looking everywhere for this lamp shade as soon as i saw this lamp I nearly died it was the exact picture i had in mind does anyone know
where i can buy a similiar lampshade like these from in australia as i am not good at all at this sort of stuff and following instructions please it would be much
appreciated im sure making these lamp shades would be a very lucrative business especially when people like me dont have the time to make these
awesome lamp shades and would definatly buy one if that was an option.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Universal-lamp-shade-polygon-building-kit/
 karudoru says: Jan 18, 2010. 8:50 PM REPLY
kiaora Aroha,

i made sum and selling on trademe.co.nz for roun 30nzd but could post you one from auckland if u could pay through paypal, if u go to trademe and look
up wiremu33 ive got them listed on there :)

hishealer says: Sep 18, 2009. 9:10 AM REPLY

Wow, long sentences are very hard to read.

wearingpink says: Aug 29, 2008. 9:57 PM REPLY

I was thinking of trying to make this. Do you have any idea how big it is?

dan says: Aug 30, 2008. 1:08 AM REPLY

it can be any size you want

wearingpink says: Sep 1, 2008. 9:35 AM REPLY

I was talking about the red one, and I just wanted an original size to go off of.

dan says: Sep 1, 2008. 11:54 AM REPLY

they were outside a building, probably close to 1m

wearingpink says: Mar 16, 2009. 4:23 PM REPLY

So I made my own version of the red one. It's a little over a foot tall, and made out of mylar. It was a learning process. I'll add a photo when I
find it.

wearingpink says: Mar 29, 2009. 1:22 PM REPLY

Ok here's a picture:

neonack says: Jan 4, 2010. 7:26 PM REPLY

So do you have your diagram on that? Thats an awesome design.

dan says: Aug 22, 2009. 12:40 AM REPLY

ooh good work!! was i right about the number of pieces and their shape? i was kind of guessing about it with only the photo to go on (i
forgot to look very close at the time i took the photo). how many pieces did you use?

emalcar says: Jul 7, 2009. 3:15 PM REPLY

That is amazing! Nice job! Please post even a general Instructable. I love this!

nabau says: Jul 5, 2009. 3:32 PM REPLY

wearingpink...WOW nice work!!! are you going to share your pattern? ;)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Universal-lamp-shade-polygon-building-kit/
 infinitysnake says: Apr 16, 2009. 12:11 AM REPLY
Can you post some other shots, or a pic of your pattern?

view all 189 comments

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