Light-Up Eyes – DDD LED Tutorial

Materials

I scavenged alot of the parts from the base of a Movie Human Torch. These parts included:

• Battery Holder
• Wires
• Button Switch

   
The parts I had to buy:

• Resin Core Solder
• 2 Matching LED’s Usually sold in multi-packs
• Electrical Tape

Tools

• Soldering Iron – Please be extra careful when using these. They get hotter than your stove & can burn you in ways you don’t even want to imagine.
• Wire Cutter
• Wire Stripper
• Third Hand Helper – This is optional, but super usefull when you are trying to solder.

Once you’ve assembled the necessary materials and tools, find a clear and stable workspace.  This requires a fair amount of precision and it is easy to mess up.

Now that you have everything ready, let’s get started.

First Step

Solder a longer wire onto the battery holder this will give you the needed length so that you can remote mount your button trigger.

Second Step

Solder your button switch in with an equal length wire on both ends.

Third Step

Since we are using two individual LEDs, we need to branch the power supply. Do this by cutting four 1-1/2 Inch long pieces and make a Y-shaped pattern.  Solder this as shown.

Fourth Step

Since LEDs have positive and negative sides, you will need to determine which is which. The easiest way to do this is to test the LEDs on the battery terminal until it lights up.  Make a mental note and solder the correct leads together. If you do make a mistake, now is the best time to find and correct it.

Fifth Step

Solder the last two remaing leads to the LEDs and then make sure to unplug your soldering iron – the hard part is done.

Sixth & Final Step

In order to prevent shorts, we need to insulate solders that may touch each other. Cut small strips of electrical tape and apply them to the places shown to prevent possible shorts.

These techniques can also be applied to other uses. I am making light-up Cyclops eyes and even a light-up Ironman chest has been suggested.
With a little imagination, the possibilities are endless.

Thanks for reading the whole write-up, and good luck on making these yourself. As always I am available to answer questions.

DDD