Does the cylinder need supports?
Printed upright, the wall supports itself. Use a brim if your printer struggles to hold a tall part on the bed. The picture should not need support structures.
Lamp guide
Make a lithophane lamp from your photos
A lithophane lamp is a shade: the picture appears when light inside the part shines through the wall. Lumiphane builds that shade. It does not build a socket, a cord, or a closed base for a bulb.
Choose Round Cylinder, Hexagon, Hollow Cube, or Curved Panel in the generator.
Four ways to wrap a photo around a light
Which shape to pick
| Shape | Photos | Size you can set | Best light |
|---|---|---|---|
| Round cylinder | 1 to 4 around the circle | Diameter 50–300 mm, height 50–260 mm. Starts at 90 × 95 mm. | A small LED inside an open tube |
| Hexagon | 1 to 6, one or more per flat wall | Diameter 50–260 mm, height 40–220 mm. Starts at 90 × 90 mm. | The same, with a faceted shade |
| Hollow cube | 1 to 4, around four faces | Side 40–220 mm, height 40–220 mm. Starts at 90 × 90 mm. | An LED under or inside the open cube |
| Curved panel | 1 to 4, tiled on the arc | Width 60–220 mm. Curve angle 30–120°, starting at 75°. | A light behind a standing arc, not inside a closed shade |
The model is the shade, not the lamp kit
Cylinder, hexagon, and cube geometry is a vertical tube. The top and bottom stay open so you can lower the shade over a light you already own. The optional base in the app is a wider footing under the photo so a tall print stays stuck to the printer bed. It is not a recess for a tea light and it is not a bulb holder.
Measure the light. Leave a gap so nothing warm touches the plastic. PLA softens far below the temperature of an incandescent bulb — filament makers commonly put that change around 60°C — so use a cool LED. Do not put a candle inside.
A curved panel cannot become a 360° shade. The angle slider ends at 120°. For a photo that goes all the way around, use the round cylinder. One photo on a cylinder is centered on the front, with the seam at the back.
How photos sit on a shade
Several photos split the circumference. Four photos on a cylinder each get a quarter turn. Six on a hexagon follow the six walls. A single photo wraps the whole shape, and the crop locks to that wrap so faces are not stretched. On a single lamp photo you can match the height to the picture when you want less of it trimmed.
Wide scenes and individual portraits both work. A group of ten people in one wrap gets small in a hurry. Crop each person, or follow the photo guide and use one strong frame.
Flat panels are the wrong tool for a shade. They are pictures for a window or a lightbox. The full beginner path, including flat panels, is in how to make a lithophane.
Print the shade upright
These shapes are modeled standing, with the opening vertical. Leave them upright in the slicer. A brim, which the in-app print guide suggests around 5–8 mm, is there because a tall thin wall is easy to knock loose, not because the picture needs supports. The curved wall and the flat faces of a cube or hexagon support themselves as they grow.
Print the picture in white PLA, solid through the image. A Bambu Studio project from the export sheet already carries 0.12 mm layers and 100% infill for the single-nozzle Bambu Lab machines in that sheet. You still slice and print it in Bambu Studio. STL and standard 3MF leave those choices to whatever slicer you open. Details are in the printing guide and the settings guide.
Questions
Can I close the top and add a bulb socket?
Not in Lumiphane. The tube is open at the top and bottom. Design a separate cap in CAD if you need one, and keep any light cool.
Why does my curved panel not meet in a circle?
The curved panel is an arc from 30° to 120°. The closed shade is the round cylinder.
How many photos can go around a lamp?
Up to four on a cylinder or cube, and up to six on a hexagon. One photo can also wrap the entire shape.
What filament should the shade be?
White PLA. The preview’s transmission is modeled for that plastic. Other colors will not match the lit preview.