Lithophane Lamp

A photo wrapped all the way round a cylinder, thin where it's bright and thick where it's dark, so it glows with the picture over an LED tealight in its base.

Customise it in your browser, then download a print-ready STL, or a multi-colour 3MF. No CAD skills needed.

About the Lithophane Lamp

A lithophane lamp: your photo wrapped all the way round a cylinder, thin where it’s bright and thick where it’s dark, so it glows with the picture when an LED light shines inside. It sits in a base with a hollow for an LED tealight or puck light.

Lithophane Lamp: a customisable 3D print, shown at its starting settings

What you can change

Add your own photo.
Photo: fill the shade and stretch to fit.
Detail: draft, normal and fine.
Pick the shade and base colours.
Adjust diameter, height, thinnest and thickest, and more.
Turn on or off: A base with a hollow for an LED light.

Size

About 8 × 8 × 10 cm (width × depth × height), one piece at the starting settings.

What you download

An STL for any slicer, and a 3MF with each colour as its own part, ready for an AMS or a filament change.

Printing it

About 136 g of PLA and about 7 hours 40 minutes to print, one piece at the starting settings (100% infill, 2 walls, 0.2 mm layers, on a Bambu Lab A1). Your slicer gives the exact figures for your printer and settings.

Print the shade standing up in white PLA, 100% infill, with no supports; the base prints flat. Use only an LED light inside (never a real candle). For a full wrap, a wide photo works best; it's trimmed to fill the shade.

Questions

Which photos work best?

A wide photo with clear light and dark, like a landscape or a group: it’s trimmed to fill the shade, all the way round.

How should I print it?

Standing up, in white PLA at 100% infill, with no supports. Use only an LED light inside, never a candle.

What size is it?

About 8 × 8 × 10 cm (width × depth × height), one piece at the starting settings. Every size is a setting, so make it as big or small as you need.

Do I need a multi-colour printer?

No. Print it in one colour, or in colours with a filament change: the Colours line under the 3D view says at which height to change. With an AMS or another multi-colour printer, the 3MF prints it in one go.

Which printers and slicers does it work with?

Any FDM printer. The STL opens in every slicer; the 3MF keeps the colours as separate parts in Bambu Studio, Orca Slicer, PrusaSlicer and Cura. Pick your printer in the designer to check it fits the plate.

Can I sell what I make?

On Pro and Ultimate you can sell the prints you make, for example on Etsy or at craft fairs. On Free and Maker, print it for yourself or give it as a gift. The STL and 3MF files themselves are never for sharing or selling.