October 11, 2023
Description
I got this lantern during a storm where the power was out for days. This was the last one on the shelf, the stores were cleared out of battery operated lights. I thought it was ugly at the time but I fell in love with its usefulness despite the broken handle, I still use it a lot. The original handle was molded plastic that wasn't very strong and quickly broke. A few months ago I realized that I had the ability to CAD a new and better more solid handle.
My only two modifications from the original handle is that I made it solid as opposed to the original “ribbed” and hollow handle. I also added (optional) screw holes inside the tabs and used two M3*6 self tapping screws. That was probably overkill but I wanted this repair to last.
I followed a tutorial from TeachingTech on YouTube on how to make a part by tracing a photograph in Onshape. Search YouTube for “Parts that fit odd shaped objects - 3D design for 3D printing”. It was a fairly straight-forward effort.
The way I looked at it was that I got to keep a favorite lantern that you can't find in the stores anymore while also keeping it out of the landfill. Win-Win in my book.
PLA is fine but for true strength, uses PETG or similar and in my case, I opted for 100% infill although that is overkill.
You'll want to use default supports around the axle tabs to preserve roundness. Other than that, just print flat.
License:
Creative Commons — Attribution — Share Alike