14 DAY TRIAL // We're no strangers to unusual objects and contraptions, but some design ideas are so out there that we cannot help but blink in stunned skepticism or sheer bafflement when they crop up. The SplashLIGHT is a project that arguably warrants such a reaction.
If you've ever seen a science fiction series or film, or read a good enough book of that sort, you probably know at least peripherally about phenomena that mess with the laws of physics.
The visual effects associated with upended laws of nature are often as perplexing as they are mesmerizing.
The SplashLIGHT will probably evoke the former. It's not every day that you witness something being held aloft by spurting liquid.
We may as well be grateful that the spurting liquid here isn't real liquid, otherwise we would have to question everything we know about how the universe works.
The SplashLIGHT only needs a liquor bottle
It doesn't even matter what kind of spirit you choose. As long as it's a bottle, you can turn it into a lamp with just a 3D printing session and a bit of creativity. Or at least the willingness to follow in the footsteps of those who have already covered the creativity part of the equation.
What you need is an empty wine or liquor bottle (champagne, tequila, gin, whatever), an old halogen desk lamp and, of course, a 3D printer.
It might not be too easy to dismantle the lamp and do all the wiring and installing of the electronics, but it has to be done. This is a DIY project, not something you can order via retail, unfortunately.
We dare say it would be worth it though. Seeing a wine bottle standing upended in mid-air, held there just by the spurt of 3D printed liquid (which could be mistaken for the real thing if painted well enough) will be more than surreal.
How to acquire all the components
The lamp and bottle are straightforward enough. As for the model, it was created by Australian DIY designer Avooq (Matthew William Keene). You can find it on the My Mini Factory website. The socket for the lamp is free inside the bottle so that you can adjust it to whatever position you prefer.
Avooq used a MakerBot 3D printer for the splash lamp base, but any 3D printer can be used to create the same thing. He suggests using a color that at least resembles champagne or bourbon, but any filament can be used. Printing the SplashLIGHT lamp base takes around 616 minutes with a regular 3D printer.
