Natural Pattern Lithophane Lamps

Changelog

• 28.08.2025: initial upload of the collection

• 12.09.2025: License change to CC-BY-NC

Introduction

These minimalist lamps show the beauty of nature by exhibiting the beauty of naturally occuring patterns.

If you like my work, please consider supporting me. Your support will help me to make more models available for free. https://ko-fi.com/fritzpeppone. If you like to use my models commercially, please obtain a commercial license on Makerworld.

Requirements

All lamps have a size of ~ 105mm x 105mm x 174mm, making them printable on almost all printers, even the Bambu A1 Mini. Each lamp requires ~130g of filament (preferably PLA or PLA+) and around 12h of print time.

You have to print a natural pattern lamp shade of your choice, a lamp base and a lid to cover the top part of the lamp shade. These three parts are connected with a M100x2 metric thread. Different illumination options are listed below.

Print Settings

There are only a few settings you should tweak in the slicer to print the lamps. 

• Print in PLA or PLA+

• Recommended layer height: 0.20mm

• Use the Arachne Perimeter Generator for more precise printing with better details

• Set wall count to 5-6 to obtain a solid lamp

• Set seam position to Back (hiding it at the rear of the lamp)

• No brim required. If you struggle with adhesion, use Inner Brim to avoid visible defects.

• No Support required! The lamps print perfectly fine without support. Your slicer may complain about overhanging perimeters but trust me, briding works fine!

Be aware, that slicing and printing may take a very long time. The STL files can take several minutes to slice. 

For Bambu Studio users: Bambu Studio seems to struggle with the Arachne Perimeter Generator. If you are unable to slice a lamp with Arachne, use the Classic Perimeter Generator.

Filament

Filament matters. A lot! Depending on your filament choice, your lamp may have more or less contrast or a warmer or cooler color temperature. You can also change the outcome by choosing light sources with different wattage or color temperature. The picture below illustrates this:

All of the four Panels above were printed with different white PLA/PLA+ filaments but illuminated with the same 1W LED bulb. 

Before starting a multi-hour print, I recommend printing a Calibration Panel to test how your print will turn out. You are also by no means limited to white lights and filaments. Check the makes below to get inspired what color and light choices other makers made.

Be aware that RGB(W) lamps usually don't emit the same light intensity for each color channel. For a blue lamp, you may need a much more transluscent filament then for a red or white lamp!

Natural Pattern Lamps

The list below contains all natural pattern lamps currently available. 

Lamp Bases and Lids

Printing the lampshade of your choice is only a part of creating your own lithophane lamp. You will additionally need a Base that contains your light source and a Lid for the top of your lampshade. All Bases and Lids currently available are listed below.

Lid
A simple screw-on cover featuring the M100x2 thread of the map lamps.   There are two print profiles online. A customizable and a default profile. The customizable profile can only be customized in Bambu Studio. Switch to Objects and right click on the text you want to change. Change the type of the text from negative part to part. Bambu Studio only permits text changes of parts, not of negative parts. After you customized the text, switch from part back to negative part again and slice your file.
LED Lamp Kit 001 Base
The LED Lamp Kit 001 Base comes in three different heights: 10mm, 30mm and 60mm. Simply insert the LED Lamp Kit in the base, guide the cable through the bottom hole and through the cable channel.   The base features the same M100x2 thread as the map lamps. You can get the LED Lamp Kit 001 from Bambu
E14 Puck Base
This Base uses E14 or E27 lightbulbs, making it easy to maintain and switch out lamps. Additionally, you can use differently colored lightbulbs and even color changing lightbulbs. Some electrical knowledge (crimping ferrules, connecting lamp sockets) required. It is available in three different heights as well.   BOM: 1x E14 or E27 lamp socket with M28x2 thread, no strain relief - available at (european) hardware stores 1x Lamp wire with switch, 2x 0.75mm² - available at hardware stores 8x M3 threaded inserts 8x M3x8 BHCS screws 1x E14 LED Bulb  Printed Parts: 1x 02_map_lamp_puck_base_E14 1x 02_map_lamp_puck_base_lid 1x 02_map_lamp_puck_base_strain_relief Assembly: Install 8 M3 threaded inserts in the puck base. Use a soldering iron, preferrably with a heat set insert tool Screw in the E14 or E27 socket from the top. Secure the socket with the ring or with glue Insert the ferrules of your cable into the two connectors of the socket.  Install the strain relief with 2 M3x8 BHCS screws. Make sure there is no tension on the cables Pull the cable to make sure that the strain relief is seated properly. You should not be able to move the cable. The following shows how it should look like: Install the bottom lid and fix it with the remaining 6 M3x8 BHCS screws
E14/E27 Adapter
This is a set of simple, yet effective adapters, allowing you to mount the lamps to any lamp base that uses E14 or E27 sockets. The possibilities are endless.    BOM: 1x Lamp with threaded E14 or E27 socket - some Ikea examples: a ceiling mount, a metal lamp base, a large lamp base and this pretty cheap base. The adapter is by no means limited to Ikea lamps. They just happen to be the lamps that I have at home and I could test the Adapter with. Just make sure that the thread diameter of your lamp is either ~28mm (E14) or ~40mm (E27) and you should be good. 1x E14 or E27 LED Bulb  Printed Parts: 1x 03_map_lamp_adapter_E14_adapter or 03_map_lamp_adapter_E27 Assembly: Screw the adapter on the E14 or E27 socket and secure it with a nut

Assembly

Base, Lampshade and Lid are connected with a simple M100x2 thread. If you experienced a bit of stringing (especially possible for the nut-threads of the map lamps), clean up your threads carefully by cutting loose strings with a knife.

When threading parts together, make sure not to apply pressure to the thread areas. If you deform the threads, they may bind. I recommend to hold the map at the opposite end of where you are screwing your part in. Other than that, assembly and disassembly of the lamps is straightforward.

Your very own pattern lamp

I published a tutorial that can help you to create your own circular lithophane lamp. The tutorial as well as all files (including files of all bases) are public domain, so you can create your own lamps and license them as you please. Check it out:

https://makerworld.com/de/models/1174521-minimalist-city-map-lithophane-lamps-tutorial

Other models

If you are interested in Lithophane lamps, consider checking out my other models. Click the images below for the respective models or check my profile.

Acknowledgements

A big shoutout and thanks to:

• lithophanemaker for providing an easy to use tool to create lithophanes

Without access to the tools and resources above, I would not have been able to create this collection.