Cute Hot Air Balloon Lamp Shade | 18cm diameter

Cute Hot Air Balloon Lamp Shade | 18cm diameter

This cute hot air balloon lamp shade is part of a versatile series of inter-compatible shades, each with its own unique design.
The balloon has an approximate diameter of 18cm, making it perfectly suitable for printing even on the smallest Bambu Lab printers (A1 mini).

Explore the full collection of lamp shades here:
Lamp Designs by <ms/>

Due to the challenging form, this balloon takes a little patience to get it printing right. After loads of experiments i setteld on 2 possible way to get it printing nicely. The two options are:
 

1. (RECOMMENDED) Vase mode print profile
   Use this profile if you want to use the balloon as a lamp. It is less structurally sound than the other profile with 2 walls, but it looks way nicer when the light shines through it.
   The first 1cm of the print is the trickiest to get right. Don't let this get you discouraged! The rest is then fairly easy.
    

2. 2 shell walls print profile

   Use this print profile if you plan to use the balloon as a decorative element and NOT as a lamp. It is more structurally sound than the other vase mode profile with 1 wall, but it looks less uniform when the light shines through it.

Tips for Printing:

I got the best results with the following setup:

1. Filament: 

   PolyTerra PLA Cotton White (similar to Bambu Lab PLA Matte)

2. Extruder temperature:

   230°C

3. Headed bed temperature:

   30°C

    

Note:

• This model requires a light bulb with a diameter less than 50mm to fit through the top opening.
• This model does not include the cord set holder.
• The collection linked above offers various versions of cord set holders (E14, E27, etc.).
• All holders in the collection are compatible with every shade.
• The collection also includes table lamp holders. 

Here are some quick links to the most important ones:

E14 Cord Set Holder	E27 Cord Set Holder	8mm Cable Cord Set Holder

Assembly manual

First, you need to assemble the carriage. For this, you need the carriage, holder ring, and 4 pieces of filament.

With a little superglue, your result will look something like this:

Make sure the ridge on the ring faces upward!

Then you need to glue the cord set holder to the holder clip. (Select a cord set holder from the links above. Note, that you only need to print the upper part with the logo. To lower part, that normally goes in to the lamp shade is not needed for this model)

For the clip to work properly, you only need to use two small drips of glue, marked in the image:

Now you can carefully clip the carriage ring into the balloon (no glue required). 
As a last step, you can mount the cord set and twist the cord set holder into the balloon to fix it.

UPDATE: Balloon Holder Ring

@DisownedPenny graciously provided his balloon holder ring model, so all credit goes to him! Thanks. ❤️

To achieve the same look, print the balloons at the following scales:

• 1x 75% scale
• 2x 100% scale
• 1x 120% scale
• 1x 150% scale

UPDATE 2: Cloud Canopy

@OGLocos designed a beautiful cloud canopy that perfectly completes the set of three hot-air balloons.

If you want to print this model yourself, you can check it out here: Cloud canopy
 

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