Lighted Lithophane Stand

thingiverse

I tried BioFila "Linen" filament for printing lithophanes, thanks to a friend's suggestion, and discovered I really enjoy it - it produces a significantly warmer glow compared to the natural ABS I'd previously used, similar to that of a traditional stone lithophane. Its light transmission is much lower, however, so it demands its own light source, hence this project. The lithophane was printed (standing up) on a Raise N2; the Ideamaker slicer settings are displayed in one of the photos. It's crucial to use full (or zero infill) to avoid visible lines when the lithophane is backlit. Also shown are the settings for creating the lithophane in Ransen Software's excellent PhotoToMesh application. The stand and base were printed in beautiful "Wound Up" coffee-infused PLA from 3D Fuel on a Zortrax M200. I recommend printing in the orientations displayed to get the best top surfaces; support removal was not difficult. The Kichler LED bulb used can be found at Lowe's or online; it has a nice warm glow and its long form factor provides even lighting without shadows. Its base remains completely cool, so use of PLA is no problem. The candelabra cordset can be found at home improvement stores on or Amazon. It is a press-fit into the base but could be epoxied if desired. The vertical columns (124mm long) are made from 1/2" maple dowel from McMaster, lightly sanded and wiped with Watco oil. Brass tubing also looks nice. There are recesses in the base for adding weights; I used 3/4" lead rod purchased on Amazon, and glued a piece of felt over the whole bottom, hiding the weights and holding the cord. The design was done in Tinkercad and can be customized at https://tinkercad.com/things/6B07tW6Pyma