As bright as SMD LEDs are

As bright as SMD LEDs are now, I wouldn't worry about trying to make it hollow. Just print it in FUD, epoxy a SMD to the base, paint everything but the globe silver first, then the color you want it, and use the whole thing as a light pipe. This looks like a great project- if you have dimensions, I'd be happy to draw it up. I'd probably do it in N-Scale too.

You could just do the globe and base, too, and make the pole from aluminum or brass tubing.That would be more resistant to damage, but require more work in assembly.

Light Globes

I've had "School House Light Globes" printed in both HO and O scale - both a scale 16" dia globe. The reason to hollow them out is simply it's cost effective .. FUD is $3.49 cm3. Here are the HO globes still on the sprue.

Greg Shinnie lit one here. He drilled a 1/16" hole about half-way into the globe and inserted a nano LED from Ngineering. A HO baby moon hubcap and 0.018" dia tubing from Ngineering completed the mini-project. There was a starter hole printed to help guide the drill.

Finally .. here is the O scale version which IS hollow. I used a pre-wired nano LED I purchased off of eBay.

I'd probably do it in N-Scale

Please, please do it, I'll need a bag full!

I'll get to it as soon as I

I'll get to it as soon as I get some dimensions then... preferably 1:1, but I can work from accurate measurements of a model too, or even just a photo of one with a ruler/scale in it.

Anyone know who the full-scale manufacturer might be? They'd probably have enough info on their web site.

EtA: Never mind - found something very similar. Acorn globe, and pole...  Looks like they're talking a 12 foot pole with these? There doesn't appear to be much of a base with the pole in the photo. I'll draw one up and see what it looks like in the next day or two.

More

 This was taken just around the corner.  Must have had a 'wide' shot on my point-and-shoot, as this looks a bit curvey, and is why I didn't use it for the original pic for this post.  Seems to be slightly different and less-ornate but as I recall, the actual light pole base (covered in ivy in the original picture) is identical.  What I notice also is an ever-so-slight taper, but for HO scale that can be negated or exaggerated as need be.  I'd prefer the taper myself.

Sorry, but this is all the pics I have.  At the time (2013) I was just taking reference photos to seek out a similar HO light online, so no actual dimensional shots (except for the automobiles in the original pic).

BTW- this is Sullivan, Missouri.  On the Frisco line, but Rule #1 applies.  Oh and the red Chevy Colorado under the clock is mine.  Wife was standing beside me- too bashful to stand in the photo.

Bigger original image

That help with the scale?

Also,

it hadn't occurred to me to leave things solid and shoot the light up, with a painted pole.  Bachmann uses that for their 2-6-0 sound value as I well know, and they used it on the Spectrum 4-8-2.  Apparently using FUD it makes for a great light diffuser, as the examples above attest.

So something like this then?

 That's the hard part done.   The base, and the "luminaire" as they call it. If you figure out how tall you want it to stand, (Sidewalk to top of the lamp... the prototypes run from 10 to 16 feet) then I can put the appropriate length column between them.

The 1:1 parts have some pretty ornate filigree work and fluting cast into them, but it's so fine and shallow it wouldn't reproduce well, I'm afraid. Even some of the details I show here might get lost (for example, the smaller steps between contours) depending on how it's printed. It could well need some simplifying before it could be printed reliably.

A couple of ideas...  1) Let some of the support material get trapped in the interior of the luminaire to represent a bulb - it's a light colored wax, and would not increase the cost over a solid piece, but would give you a bright spot inside the lamp.

2) The base is a bit under 0.2" in HO. If you can get 3mm standard size LEDs in white, (Like these: http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/LTW-420D7/160-1782-ND/1835514) I can make a hole in the bottom they could be epoxied into and then, using paired connectors (as in the photo to the right)  like some use in DCC applications, the lamps could just "plug in" to the scenery.  I could also add a bit of length to both scales to give you more base to work with when mounting.

In N scale, it would probably be best to print the base section on a 4x4 foot "sidewalk" base, both for easier handling and to provide a better mount for the LED. Doing that might also provide for the HO style "bayonet" type mounding with 3mm LEDs, if it were deep enough.

Shapeways also has a "Frosted Extreme Detail" material now that might possibly give better results for this... I'll have to finish up the lamp and upload it to see what kind of price difference there would be.

I'd probably make it available in both and let the user choose.

Wow

I posted this thread with the thought of a weekend in front of the PC designing and tweaking away.  All I've ever done was a rather unique window design (actually from further to the left on the beige building) to try my hand at Shapeways.  Got it printed and am very happy with the end result.  The detail I got was about what I wanted out of HO scale, and was pleased I was able to get what I wanted on the first try.  Barr_ceo, you've put more thought and effort into 'my' project than I have in 2 years!  Do I procrastinate much?

From what I did for my window project I'd have to say the base you came up with for the pole is actually more detail than I'd need, as a dark-painted light fixture is going to lose detail anyway IMHO.  Having said that I'd say I'd love the small finial on top as are in the pics.  Having said that much more, I'd like to see the luminaire's (glass globe's) base stretched and be a bit more vase-like.  Understand, I'm not trying to be critical at all, just relating what I had in mind.  For the time and effort you've committed to this little series of pictures you get the credit, and rightfully so.  So you make 'em, and I'll buy 'em!

And I just happen to have four 3mm warm whites that I ordered from Evans Designs back in 2012.  I'm still trying to remember why I ordered them in the first place!

As for the pole, I used an HO F100 pickup, an HO scale store I built similar to the 'Peoples Bank' building, and my ruler, and I figure 10 feet from sidewalk to actual bulb, so a bit taller for luminaire and finial.  All a guess, but sounds right and looks about right.  12 feet instead of 10 could work too, I think. Not sure how this would pan-out in N scale- that pole looks pretty thin!

OK, so we're looking at a 10 foot pole...

OK, so we're looking at a 10 foot pole...  at least for this first effort. No reason we can't go taller later.

 The finial can't be detailed because of it's small size... but it can be suggested. I've got another picture of two luminaires here...  the first (on the left) is the original with a finial added, the second (on the right) has the mount simplified to the more "vase-like" form... and will print better, as well.

I also added color to give people a better idea of just where the metal stops and the glass begins with this.

This type of luminaire is called an "acorn", due to the shape of the glass, and the proportions are strictly traditional. It was even used with gas lamps. They actually are using bright blue-white LED lamps in them now, so you can use just about any color temperature light you'd like!

I'll go back and work on a simplified version of the base too...

 EtA: And here it is...

Again, the left is the original, the right has the details simplified. (White areas have had steps and ornaments removed.) More reduction work might be necessary, but we'll find out when I try to upload it!

I really don't want to take any more out of it if I don't have to, because it'll start changing the style of the base. We might be able to lose the first step up, and make the ogee between the bottom two white bands flat. Perhaps make the middle band deeper in the process...  but it will make the changes more obvious. Those changes.. and more...  might well be required in the N scale version, even if the HO one passes muster.

What do you all think?

And finally...

 The full street lamp on a ten foot pole. Note that the poles are measured from grade (In this case, the sidewalk) to the bottom of the luminaire, so that the actual top of the light is another 40" to the top of the finial. You don't realize how big they are until you either get close to them, or model them like this!

I modeled this 1:1, so I can now scale it to any scale... though it would get pretty pricey in FUD or FED in anything larger than HO.

If this meets with your approval, Steve, I'll scale it down and see if Shapeways likes it or not.

Michael, you too... or if you're looking for something different, let me know.

Once I'm sure it'll print by itself, I'll add multiples of it connected together, and the bases for lighting it.

Perfect

These are exactly like the ones in town I grew up in. I have been looking for something to duplicate those, and it looks like you have created the solution to my search.

Michael

Thumbs up!

I think the changes will work quite nicely!  Great for what I'm after, now let's see how Shapeways takes it.

Well, alrighty then...

I added the base (.020 thick "concrete", in a 2 scale foot square) and the mount for the LED (1/4" in diameter to be stuck into scenery, with a 3mm hole for the LED... then held my breath and uploaded it to Shapeways...

... and it worked! Well, except for the finial... not sure where it went, but I'll add it back and try again.

The whole thing in HO works out to just under 2 inches tall... and will be about 1 inch tall in N scale. To get a 3mm LED under it, I'll probably have to go to a 4x4 foot sidewalk piece under it, and make the base "deeper".

So now, I need to get it grouped together...  perhaps 6 and 12 in a group for HO? That will lower cost per each substantially, since there would only be one setup fee for the whole group. I figure on tying them together at the bottom so there's no sprue to be cut off on the rest of the model.

Not set for sale yet, but here's what it looks like on Shapeways now:

http://shpws.me/Hkd9

Oh, that's perfect!!

And the base will work great.  Well done!

I was thinking about quantity today too, and given the area I want these in, either 6 or 12 would work.  I'm not definite yet on my specific needs (anywhere from 10 to 24+ depending on how my side streets develop, etc), but groups of 6 might be the best, and for anyone else out there interested too.  

Wow, I am psyched!

...

For lighting, you may consider leaving the lamp tube hollow for a fiber optic to feed light to the globe...your lamp does look nice!

It was considered... and

 It was considered... and dismissed as impractical. It won't work for a number of reasons.

The post is too long and narrow to put a hole all the way through it without obstructions. The support material for the detail materials at Shapeways is a waxy substance that would be in the hole, and need to be cleaned out. I've tried making larger diameter holes lengthwise through an object before without success. You also would have issues with the fragility of the material when you eliminate enough of it to make a hole that might stay open.

Since the material is translucent... and the pole is only about 2 inches long... there's no reason to run a fiber optic through it. The whole thing is a light pipe. Just paint the parts you don't want the light to come out of. It's the K.I.S.S. engineering principle at work.

And as you can see in the pictures on the right, I've added a "void" in the globe that will trap some of the support material, and give a "bright spot" in the globe like a bulb. There's  also an integral 3mm T1 LED mount in the base.

Street Lights

When do you think these will be available, and what kind of cost? I too would be interested in at least a couple of dozen.

Richard Superintendent CNW Peninsula Div.

Blog - http://mrhmag.com/blog/richard_harden

I may be interested in these

I may be interested in these as well. We have a Train station at the club that needs platform lights

Any chance of printing the

Any chance of printing the top and pole base only, in 1:24 scale? Tubing or soda straw could provide any length pole at zero cost. 

HO is ready...

I'm getting the HO versions set up now... will be 6, 12, and 24 in a group, and available in the Frosted Detail, Frosted Ultra Detail, and Frosted Extreme Detail materials, so prices will vary. In the group of 24, though, even the most expensive stuff (Frosted  Extreme Detail) comes in at just a little over $3.00 a light. The cheapest stuff (Frosted Detail) in the 24 pack brings it down to $2.00 each...  Either way, add about $0.50 for the LEDs. Some of the Shapeways charges are constant no matter how many you make, so getting more spreads that out and makes the per-piece price less. 

6 HO lamps:  http://shpws.me/Hl4i

12 HO lamps:  http://shpws.me/Hl4V

24 HO lamos:  http://shpws.me/Hl5F

Unfortunately, they won't have finials - it simply won't print. They're on the model when I upload it, and there are no printing errors shown, but it just disappears. I fought with it for an hour last night trying to get the finial in there. 

Next up will be N scale, but that shouldn't take long at this point. 

In 1:24? Hmmmm...  Have to completely remodel it to keep it from being outrageously expensive. (That won't be that difficult, though...) The globe and base will need to be hollowed out, and will have to explore other lighting options. It MIGHT be possible to use the T1 LED again... just as a bulb inside the globe. I'll have to see how the dimensions turn out in 1:24...  I'm getting a few ideas on how to handle it...

I'll be on the road tomorrow, so the N Scale ones won't be worked on until Tuesday... the 1/24 might take until the next weekend. 

Order placed

Have (had) a $10+ credit with Shapeways so I went with a 12-pack on frosted extreme.  12 for now, we'll see how well my scenery develops but I probably will require more.

Now the wait!  On your Shapeways site you mention painting the pole and cap with silver first then the final color- good tip!

As for losing the finial- oh well.  If I really want that little extra bit of color I can drill an ultra-small hole and place some wire.  That probably won't happen, so no worries.  

Feedback on the final product in about 2 weeks I figure.  Stay tuned..

Is it possible in N scale?

Well, it seems it just might be!

To the right is the Shapeways render of the N Scale (1:160) version of the street light. I simplified some of the fancy curves from the HO scale version, but from 3 inches away you'll never notice. By enlarging the "sidewalk" section to 4 x 4 scale feet, I was able to keep the same 1/4" diameter "bayonet" mount with the hollow for the 3mm T1 LED. It's a little longer than the HO model, since there wasn't room to stuff part of it up in the base. There's still a void in the luminaire to diffuse the light a bit more. 

If you're sharp-eyed, you might notice the finial is back... why this stayed when the other didn't, I don't know. I'm going to sleep on it... if it is still there in the morning, I'll make one last shot at putting it back on the HO model. 

This entire model, from the bottom of the LED mount to the top of the finial, is only 1.25" tall. If you're looking at this on a computer screen, then the above picture is probably at least 3-4 times life size. If you're on a phone, it might be close to actual size. This is TINY... and will likely be fairly fragile, as well. I'm considering offering it in larger quantities than the HO scale model so that you can have spares on hand. It should be very easy to replace one though. 

I'm going to get some sleep now, but I'll work on getting the pricing set up tomorrow... {looks at the time}... errr... later today. 

Fantastic!

Beautiful, and you've maintained the proportions well which really transforms a scene in the smaller scales. Great work!

Now, any chance for an encore?

Jeff Allen

Ha !

Just ordered mine this morning! Looks like a May 8th shipping date. Looking forward to these little beauty's placed all over my town.