Update : I have redesigned an interlocking variant : http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7857

This is designed for lamps where the light-bulb is inside a polyhedral shell.

This is a derivative of http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6055. The hinged piece has been mirrored, and pieces to cover the socket have been added.

The covering pictured is built up out of http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6281 these elements. It took me some time to build a permanent light socket for this design.

The biggest pitfall is that the light-bulb is difficult to replace. Perhaps future designs will correct this shortcoming. A threaded or slotted design, perhaps ?

For now the pieces must be held together with super-glue. Please see http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6055 for more instructions.

Note that the outer cover (hex_outer.stl) should be attached to the hinged element (illumi1-flipped.stl) before wiring in the socket, if the writing has a plug that cannot fit through the outer cover.

See the screen-shot http://www.thingiverse.com/image:51569 for an exploded view of how the pieces assemble.

If you want to use this as pictured, use the back-panel with the slot ( panel 1 ), and do not glue the panel in place. The panel interferes with the hook on the socket such that it cannot attach to the chain. Hook the socket onto the chain first and then slide the back panel into place.

I will post a more detailed assembly instructions and pictures once I construct a new lamp from scratch. I will probably post this dodecahedron-encased lamp design as a separate thing later, once I write it up.

note on hinge clearance : The hinges can sometimes be a little tight. Make sure the first layer isn't pressed too far into the build platform. A compressed first layer will propagate up and make part of the hinge wider, decreasing the clearance. These parts are designed to fit tightly and may require pliers to assemble. If all else fails, removing some of the pins on the hinges can make assembly easier.