There are two versions:
- HAL with a fake "lens" light.
- With this print, you just need some glue, and maybe a pair of tweezers to place the white lettering if you don't use a filament change.
- HAL with a real LED light.
- In addition to the glue and possible tweezers, you'll need a red LED, a CR2032 battery, and some kind of tape. (it's also good to have double-sided tape on hand, as explained in the instructions)
Putting it Together!
Honestly, I think both versions are pretty straight forward, but here's some info:
- The only two parts that are different between the versions are the base and bottom. Both are thicker than the original. All other parts are the same, except, of course, you won't be printing the red eye piece. For the base, you might want to use supports for the bottom battery compartment. I was like “hey let's just see what happens” and didn't, and it turned out pretty messy. But I was able to clean it up with some wire snips and sand paper.
- For the lens dome, I like taking the grey outer ring, putting a couple dots of glue inside, and then pushing it down over the dome until it fits snug at the bottom. If it is TOO snug, sizing up the ring by 2% would probably be a perfect fit.
- In the original version, make sure you put the red eye piece through the bottom of the dome before you glue it to the base! If it's too tight to be totally flush with the bottom of the dome, either size it down, or do like me and strategically use a pair of vice grips to push that sucker in. Then of course glue it to the base (might be a little crooked depending on your tolerances but a tiny bit of sanding the ring would fix it).
- FOR THE DOME ON VERSION 2: Don't just go ahead and glue it to the base just in case something goes wrong with your led and you're not able to maneuver the leads like you should because of the more limited space. I used a small piece of double-sided tape to hold the dome pieces in place while I worked and tested the battery. Then place the led leads, tape, and battery as shown below. I've been using another strip of tape on the back to hold the battery in place.
The story behind this thing:
I really wanted a model of HAL to put outside my office door at work, but all the models I looked at were either meant to be functional, or just not what I was picturing. So, I decided to try and make my own!
This isn't meant to be a super realistic piece - I wanted something small and (dare I say?) cute, so the proportions aren't perfect, the font is wrong, etc.
The first one I designed and printed was the “fake” lens version. I had it sitting in my kitchen for less then a day before I realised I wouldn't truly be happy unless there was a real glow. So cue me rummaging through all my “weird hobbies that I've had over the years” box to find some LEDs from whatever arduino projects I was doing two years ago, and went back to the drawing board to figure out the new design.
And thus, the second HAL was born!
He hangs out on the metal doorframe outside my office now.
andotis0105
