![](\"\/blog\/filemgmt\/uploads\/Tesla%20lighter\/GJui9JG.png\")
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nThen I glued down the inverter, capacitor and voltage regulator to save space.
\nFor the battery I used a small (2200mAh) powerbank that I had and don’t use anymore. Ripped it open and connected directly to the terminals.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nThen I designed a 3D model of a case (which is made up of a body, a cover and a button) using OnShape and printed it out with ABS plastic, which is very tough and durable.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nThis was my first time being in the process of printing something in 3D, so I thought it might take like an hour to finish, but I later saw that it’s gonna take around 6 hours to complete :D anyway, since I don’t trust my 3D modeling skills and had a lot of help doing this model with OnShape, I thought that it’s not going to be good and will need some tuning. But it was good on first try. Everything fit just right millimeter to millimeter.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nAfter printing, though, the case needed some work to remove the plastic on the bottom, because it was printed on a “raft”, which is essentially a supportive layer that is needed during printing. And the USB hole wasn’t big enough for a micro USB to fit in.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nBefore enclosing everything, that blue connector at the end had to be replaced with something smaller and simpler.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nNow onto making a button!<\/p>\n
The button shaft was made a bit longer, because I didn’t know for sure how much I’d need. I’ve cut some off and added foam around the shaft on the surface for support and a bit of insulation.
\nOn the other end I added a bit of shrink tubing to prevent this button falling out. Also added some shrink tubing on the wires that come out to make them more stiff.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nLater I realized that this isn’t safe at all and a really big fire hazard when carrying around in a pouch, so I wanted to make this more safe but keep the ease of use the same. A rocker switch OFF-(ON) would of been ideal, but those don’t come in tiny sizes.<\/p>\n
My solution was to add a small cylinder that is ~1mm above the surface to push the button below, add a ring around it and some foam to keep it in place. This way the button is only pushed if force is applied directly from the top, so it’s now safe to carry around anywhere.<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nAnother thing that had to be done is a guard on the contacts that produce an arc. I didn’t think of this problem when I was making a model, so I had to do some after-market modifications by simply cutting a bit of a round wooden rod, making a hole in it and gluing it on. That seemed to do the trick.<\/p>\n
And another last thing to do is a way to hang it on my vest reliably enough so that I don’t lose it. Therefore I added a clip-on whatchamacallit.<\/p>\n