instructables

DIY Heng Lamp

by JustAddSharks

The HENG Balance lamp just successfully funded on For the electronics we used:
Kickstarter, the design is pretty cool and unique so 12V LED strip
we decided to make a copy of it. At it's heart it's just
an LED lamp with a simple micro switch to turn it on 12V Wall Block Power Supply
and off, we had all the parts to hand and a laser cutter
to make the more complicated bits. The lower magnet 5A Microswitch
is pulled towards the upper magnet and that turns on
the micro switch. Finally some Lead Shot to weight the base of the
lamp
The materials used:
6mm Poplar Plywood All of the drawings for the laser cut parts are included
in the svg file which was made with inkscape, if
3mm Poplar Plywood you're having trouble opening it in your CAD package
why not try downloading inkscape and resaving it in a
0.73mm Frosted Polypropylene different format.

and most importantly Flexible Maple Veneer Sheet

[Link]

DIY Heng Lamp: Page 1

([Link]

Step 1: Floating Corks

The official Heng design has wooden balls of the string, all safely tucked away inside the cork.
suspended in the middle of the frame, sadly they can't
be laser cut so instead of waiting for balls to arrive in Once the cork was glued together it was skinned with
the post we compromised with wooden corks that the flexible maple veneer to give it a clean finish and
could be produced immediately. While we were busy hide the laser cut layers. Two corks were made, one
testing the feasibility of the design we forgot to take was suspended from the top of the oval, the other
any photos on the internal construction. The 3D was attached to the micro switch in the base as
render shows the way the layers were stacked up to described in the next step.
give us space for the magnets and a knot on the end

DIY Heng Lamp: Page 2

The main body of the lamp is a large oval shape with tape which is much stronger. The LED strip was stuck
a recess for an LED strip. Using a laser cutter the around the inside of the oval ensuring that they were
best way to make this shape is to build it up using evenly spaced on both sides. Wires were soldered
several layers of material. The two outer sides were onto the strip at the bottom end of the ring.
cut from 6mm ply, the next step in creates another
recess which the polypropylene will sit on, finally the The oval ring was skinned on the outside with the
two inner layers were also cut from 6mm ply and are flexible maple veneer, this was a simple strip 30mm
where the LEDs sit. wide ensuring that the grain of the veneer was
aligned horizontally so it flexed in the right direction.
All the layers were glued together and clamped into Many clamps were used to hold the veneer in place
place, there is a gap at the bottom of the oval where it while the glue dried.
will sit over the base. The LED's come with their own
adhesive strip but we applied another layer of carpet

DIY Heng Lamp: Page 4

The base was made from thirteen stacked disks, this accommodate this.
gave a hollow cavity suitable for housing the
electronics. The design of the lamp looked like it would be
relatively top heavy so we decided to weight the base
The top two layers of the base had a slot cut into of the lamp to ensure that it doesn't topple over. Two
them to hold the rest of the oval in place. The three 6mm rings form a cavity which can be filled with lead
sections that make up these layers were aligned by shot. The rings were capped with 3mm disks, this
leaving them inside the frame they were cut from. keeps the weight as low as possible.
There is a hole right in the centre of these layers
where the string is threaded through. There should The oval rings were glued into the base and the base
also be a hole for the LED wiring to be threaded was skinned with the wood maple veneer.
through the side of the base, this was drilled into the
side of our base but the drawing has been modified to

DIY Heng Lamp: Page 6

The wiring for the lamp is rather simple, the power arrangement.
supply is connected to the LED's and the positive rail
is switched through the normally open contact of the The polypropylene light diffuser pressed into place,
micro switch. The metal lever is bent into a hook wedging itself between the outer wooden layers and
shape and the string from the lower cork is passed resting on the recess. Polypropylene can be laser cut
through the base and tied onto it. The switch was but because we just needed straight strips we chose
mounted on a small piece of wood and the whole to do this with a craft knife instead.
arrangement was glued into the base. Cable ties
were used to provide some strain relief on the power So that is our DIY version of the Heng Balance Lamp,
cable should anyone accidentally trip over the wire. 4 hours from seeing the original to making our own
copy, if you make your own we'd love to see photos
Now when the string is pulled, it activates the switch and perhaps you could share the improvements that
and turns the lights on. There is definitely a better you make too.
way to do this enclosure rather than gluing it all shut,
perhaps using something like this captive nut

DIY Heng Lamp: Page 8