lithoFrame - The Lithophane Picture Frame

thingiverse

This is my attempt to make a lithophane display to fix some of the issues i've had with my past designs and other litho boxes on Thingiverse. I wanted to make the entire thing look as much like a traditional picture frame as possible, while also being able to easily change out lithos. The back piece of the frame is essentially a tray to hold the litho and lighting. I set a pair of 6mm diameter X 2mm magnets at the top and bottom of the box and frame to allow the frame to easily pull away and swap lithos. I'll be making some adjustments to the stand on the back, but thought this was in a good enough state to post here in the meantime!The frame pieces should all be printed with no supports with the textured face upright. This puts the visible edge of the frame on the print glass. I changed the bottom layer pattern in Cura to "concentric" instead of the normal zig-zag pattern which looks much better when sanded/stained to match the faux wood aesthetic. This is made to fit lithos with an overall size of 127mm X 101.6mm (5" x 4") in either landscape or portrait. Max litho thickness depends on your printer/ plastic used and the overall darkness of your litho. I used https://itslitho.com/ with the above constraints and a border thickness of 2.5mm and border depth of 4mm. The important dimensions are 127mmx101.6mmx4mm as that's the size of the "tray" in the frame for the litho itselfAdditional Items needed for project:-Light Source: I used some leftover 12v LED strips I had laying around. Similar to these--https://www.amazon.com/Flexible-Waterproof-Holiday-Outdoor-Decoration/dp/B0BLCTHFBY/ref=sr_1_5?crid=XTG4V7HRM3AU&keywords=12v%2BLED%2Bstrip%2Bwhite&qid=1698164499&s=hi&sprefix=12v%2Bled%2Bstrip%2Bwhi%2Ctools%2C109&sr=1-5&th=1-Power source for lights: again, something simple--https://www.amazon.com/AspenTek-Supply-Adapter-Cabinet-Lighting/dp/B0180ASJF4/ref=sr_1_3?crid=P5B2GW3IB4OE&keywords=12v+switched+power+supply&qid=1698164590&s=hi&sprefix=12v+switched+power+supply%2Ctools%2C111&sr=1-3-12v pigtail: I used one of these to connect the lights to the power supply and fed it into the back of the frame through the hole in the bottom corner:https://www.amazon.com/43x2pcs-Connectors-Security-Lighting-MILAPEAK/dp/B072BXB2Y8/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3MYWZ7T65RZXZ&keywords=6x2mm+magnet+12v+pigtail&qid=1698164924&sprefix=6x2mm+magnet12v+pigtail%2Caps%2C95&sr=8-2-Magnets: These need to be 6mm diameter x 2mm circular magnets to fit into the print with no edits.https://www.amazon.com/260Pcs-Refrigerator-Magnets-Fridge-Whiteboard/dp/B07XRQ44VC/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=26TZJ1KZBINNE&keywords=6X2Mm%2Bmagnet&qid=1698164759&sprefix=6x2mm%2Bmagnet%2Caps%2C112&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1The texture on the frame for the wood grain also benefits greatly from a very light sanding with a medium to high grit sandpaper and a few very light layers of wood stain. I printed the frame in Hatchbox Wood PLA which made sanding and staining really easy.Hot glue or super glue is needed when assembling the frame and setting the magnets to keep them in place. The stand just slides into the back and stays place with tension from the frame!This is my first Thingiverse post, so feedback and Makes are greatly appreciated if anyone actually prints this!