LED Paper Lantern – make.mit.edu

Introduction

Use paper and LED strip to create a fun light. This is a great activity for groups with varied skill levels; our students often have fun sharing their electronics and paper crafting skills with each other. The guide includes tutorials for both a soldered and solderless version.

Step 1: Tools

Diagonal Cutter
Wire Stripper
Safety Glasses

Step 2: Supplies

Step 3: Tools – Optional for Soldered Version

Soldering Iron
Solder (nonleaded recommended)
Board or mat to protect work area

Step 4: Materials

Various Paper
- e.g. Origami Paper, Vellum, Newsprint, Books / Magazines, Wrapping Paper
5V LED Strip
- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01G57…
- Ok to use other colors or voltage (e.g. 12V). Make sure your power supply voltage matches your LED voltage
- Also available from electronics vendors and SuperBrightLeds
2-conductor wire, 16-20 gauge, available from local hardware stores and electronics vendors
- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DDG…

Step 5: Materials

3 x AA battery
3x AA battery holder with switch
- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C6X…
- Also available from electronics and robotics vendors
Optional – Dowels or other sticks

Step 6: Materials – No-Solder Version

LED Pigtail
- Must match width and number of connections of your LED strip
- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CQF…
- Also available from SuperBrightLeds and other vendors
Wire Nuts
- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IO2SIWC
- Also available from local hardware stores

Step 7: Materials – Soldered Version

Heat Shrink Tubing

Step 8: Make Your Paper Shade

Make a paper shade
Think ahead about where you will place your LEDs, it often looks best if the LED strip is hidden from direct view
Check out the examples at the end of the guide for inspiration

Step 9: Wiring Connection Diagrams

Plan how you will connect LEDs to the battery pack.
Each LED Strip must have 5V applied to the end, matching the positive and negative connections
You can add extra wire to increase the distance between the battery pack and the lamp

Step 10: Wiring Diagrams

You can connect multiple strips in “series” or “parallel”
The LEDs are all connected in parallel within the strip – each strip segment must have 5V applied to its + and – connections

Step 11: Cut LED Strip and Wire

For use with AA batteries, we recommend no more than 4 strip segments to get good runtime. You can leave them as one long strip of 4 segments, or cut them and connect them as on the previous step.
Cut only at the cut lines on the strip

Step 12: Strip Wire

Strip 10mm (3/8″) where you connect wire to wire
Strip 3mm (1/8″) if soldering, where you will solder wire to LED strip
The guide splits here into NO SOLDER and SOLDER versions. Soldering is a little more challenging. Choose the techniques that work best for the supplies you have available

Step 13: NO SOLDER – Attach LED Pigtails

Open the latch on the pigtail, and insert the LED strip under both the plastic and metal tabs
Make sure you have your red wire lined up to + and black to –
Ours were very tight and it helped to very gently pry the metal tabs up with diagonal cutters
Close the latch. It may help to use pliers

Step 14: NO SOLDER – Make Wire-to-Wire Connections

Connections will almost always be red-to-red and black-to-black for this project. If you have other colors, just make sure the polarity between the battery and the LED strips is correct
Line up the stripped wire ends together
Twist the wires together, clockwise when seen from the end
Twist on a wire nut, clockwise when seen from the end
Keep twisting until it grabs and starts to wind the wires together

Step 15: SOLDER – Connect LED Strip to Wire

Clean and tin the tip of soldering iron
Tin the short stripped (3mm / 1/8″) end of your wire
Tin the pads on your LED strip
- The pads can be challenging to tin, make sure to make good thermal contact with the side of the iron, and heat the pad for a second or two before applying solder
- Only apply a small amount of solder, too much can create shorts

Step 16: SOLDER – Connect LED Strip to Wire

Rest one wire over its corresponding pad
Use pliers or a third hand tool to hold it
Heat the wire with soldering iron until all solder melts and flows together
Repeat for second wire
Check for shorts (solder bridging between wires or pads)

Step 17: SOLDER – Connect Wires to Wires

Slide a piece of heat-shrink tubing onto wire before soldering
Twist wires together

Step 18: SOLDER – Connect Wires to Wires

Clean and tin soldering iron
Hold wires with third hand tool or pliers
Shrink tubing with a hot air gun. Some shops may allow using the side of the iron as shown here, but ask first