From the Loftsmith Workshop

Advent Countdown Lantern for LED Tea Lights, 24 Windows

Gives December a countdown that glows. Turn the red sleeve a notch each day and a little more of the light shines through the staircase edge, while the star on top stays lit. Change the number of days or the tea light size to match yours.

3 parts · 210 g · 114 × 114 × 181 mm

by Loftsmith Workshop

Cylinder lantern with a red base and star lid, a red sleeve with a stepped diagonal edge over white
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No adjustable sizes

Ask for the sizes you want to tweak, e.g. “make the width adjustable”.

Change it in the Studio

Parts

  • base · PLA (red) · Flat side down, as modelled

    114 mm dish with a 39 mm tea light pocket and a seat groove for the shade. About 38 g, 54 min.

  • shade · PLA (white or natural, so it glows) · Upright, number plinth down

    170.8 mm tall, 98 mm across the plinth: 24 windows on a one-turn spiral, day numbers on a 25-sided plinth, notched top rim for the detent. About 105 g, 2 h 37 min.

  • sleeve-cap · PLA (red) · Upside down, star cap on the bed (rotated 180° about X); the stepped hem prints last

    153.8 mm tall, 103.2 mm across the grip flange: sleeve with a half-round stepped hem, star window, centring spigot and three detent pegs. About 68 g, 1 h 47 min.

Print settings

Layer height
0.2 mm
Walls
2
Infill
15%
Supports
None
Notes
About 219 g and 5 h 31 min for all three parts at 2 walls and 15% infill (engine estimate). Print the shade in white or natural PLA so the open area glows, and the base and sleeve in an opaque colour so covered windows stay dark. At the defaults every part fits a 180 mm bed.

Hardware

  • LED tea light, 38 mm diameter (battery, flameless) · Not printed. A model with a timer or remote saves lifting the lantern every evening. The pocket can be resized for 36 to 40 mm lights. Never use a real candle.

Assembly

  1. Put the LED tea light in the pocket in the base and switch it on.
  2. Lower the shade onto the base so its faceted plinth drops into the groove.
  3. Slide the sleeve down over the shade, cap on top. Turn it until it drops into the notches with every window covered and the open slot over the start dot: this is day 0.
  4. Each evening, turn the cap one click counter-clockwise (seen from above). The sleeve lifts 1.6 mm, drops into the next notch, and one more window opens above its number.
  5. To switch the light, lift the shade and sleeve together by the plinth ledge. The sleeve rests on the shade, so the count is kept.
  6. After the last day, one more click covers every window again for next year.

Good to know

  • LED tea lights only. PLA softens around 55 °C; never put a real candle inside.
  • The detent works by gravity. Pushing on the sleeve takes about 1.04 N to turn it at the defaults; that figure is based on the printed sleeve of about 66 g and ignores friction. It stays put on its own, but a deliberate nudge will advance it, and it can also be turned backwards.
  • Window count, clearances and motion are rigid-body checks in the Loftsmith engine. The 0.7 mm sleeve gap and 0.2 mm peg clearance have not been test-printed; if your printer over-extrudes, the sleeve may rub.
  • Height grows with days × window step. The shade fits a 180 mm bed while days × step stays at or below about 153 mm (24 days at up to 6.3 mm). Above that you need a 256 mm printer. The model caps the step itself so the shade never goes over 250 mm; for example, 31 days limits the step to 7.2 mm.
  • The tall thin-walled parts can wobble on a bed-slinger near the top. Slow outer walls or a brim on the shade help.
  • Covered windows still let some light glow through the sleeve gap and the thin shade wall, so the effect is brightest in a dim room.
I printed this Remix

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