One of the most famous traditional lithophanes is a tea light lithophane. This is a dome-shaped lithophane on a plate on which you can put the tea light.
Intrigued & inspired by this lithophane, we have made a 3D printable design. And we are very happy with the results.
This design makes a perfect traditional 3D printed gift for Christmas. So let’s get into it!
1
To get the correct shape directly you can click on this profile and your lithophane will load instantly inside the ItsLitho tool.
The only operation you have to do is to integrate your own picture to create your personalized lithophane and to adjust your min & max thickness depending on the filament you’ll use to print the lithophane.
To ensure a proper fit of your image on the spherical Lithophane, it needs to have the proper ratio (Height:Length). For this model, the ratio should be 1:3,8, meaning the image should have a length 3,8 time bigger than its height.
After this first operation, you can play on image settings to improve brightness, contrast or any other parameter.
2
After downloading your lithophane, we need to download the Tradi Lithophane Photophore model from Cults3D.
The download package contains:
Now we got all the files we need, we need to slice & print the models.
For slicing & printing your lithophane(s) we have written setting tips & provide you with free profiles here and multiple tips on how to tweak to perfection.
For the Plate and the Stand, we suggest to print them flat on the building plate. No support needed. Nothing complex, just open, slice and print.
3
When all parts are printed, you can assemble the Photophore.
For the assembly, please refer to the following picture:
You just have to clip the plate on the stand and put the Lithophane on.
For the lighting, you can decide to use small led candle or Multicolor Puck led light in both Plate and Stand. You can also mix if you prefer.
You’re now ready to create your own amazing traditional tea light lithophane. Light up the your lithophane & enjoy the magic!
Interested in more Christmas decoration? Click here for more Christmas creations!
Free online designing software that helps you create high-quality 3D printed lithophanes. It’s a simple yet powerful cross-platform lithophane maker.