Lithophane Fully Printed Frame

thingiverse

**Printed Lithophane Frame** I decided to make a series of lithophanes for Christmas gifts this year, with customized pictures for each one. I custom designed a frame, light box, back plate, and power box that would fit perfectly, and assemble together for a nice clean look and finish. Here's what you'll need: * A printed lithophane - 120mmx170mm, with a 7.5mm width (see below for details on making lithophane) * Two M3 hex nuts * Two M3x12mm button head bolts * 12v LED lights (I used these - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B012FFZ4QM) * Power switch (I used these - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0928VLVTH) * 12v power cord/plug (I used these - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HDAIAGU) * As an alternative, I also tried these plugs. They were a little bigger, and require the power box that is labelled "Larger Plug": https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077Q2M69Q * And I bought these cords, which take up a little less room than the original ones listed above: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FEOB4EI * Reflective foil duct tape * Soldering iron * Hot glue gun * Glue dots **Printing the Lithophane:** Go to https://lithophanemaker.com, and choose the "Flat Lithophane" option Upload your high quality image **Use the defaults, but adjust your settings as follows:** - Frame Options - Frame Only - Lithophane Resolution - I like 0.15, but adjust to your taste. Don't go above 0.2 - Width: 170mm - Height: 120mm - Depth: 7.5mm - Base Height: 7.5mm - All other options default **Lithophane Slicing/Printing Tips:** There are LOTS of lithophane printing tips online, I would check them out. Here are a few of my key takeaways: - Print with heavy infill, otherwise, your thicker parts show the infill pattern. I would use at least 80% infill. - Print with the lithophane vertical, with it standing perpendicular to the X axis movement for stability I keep having issues with the back edge lifting off the bed. I do the following things to help prevent that: - Add mouse ears (a .2mm thick circle with a 20mm diameter around the edges of the lithophane) - Print a brim, that is completely attached to the print - Clean the print bed with acetone before the print There may still be some lifting, but usually not enough to be too noticeable **Assembling The Frame and Components:** - Print all the parts. I chose black for all the parts, except for the inner frame. It should be white to reflect the light. I printed all parts in PLA. They seem to fit better than PETG. - Slide the lithophane into frame snugly - Coat the beveled side of the back plate with reflective tape. Cut it right on the edge so it does not hang over the edge and make the fit too tight. - Install the power plug and switch into the power box - Run black wire from switch to the + positive terminal on the plug (cutting off the excess) - Take the excess black wire and run it to the - negative terminal on the plug - Put a drop of hot glue on the plug to hold it in place, and another drop on the red/black wires to hold them in place. (See photos for details) - Run wires through back of back plate - Cut the right amount of LED lights to span the bottom of the inner frame. Attach the lights to the bottom of the inner frame with glue dots and the adhesive strip. You probably also want to add some additional hot glue to the LED strip. (LED strip around the entire inner frame is too bright. One strip on the bottom works best) - Cut and attach wires to the LED strip (red to + and black to - ) with soldering iron - Cover those solder joints in hot glue, just to make sure they stay in place - Slide the inner frame, back plate, and power box into the frame - Drop the two hex nuts into the slots on the back of the frame - Use the two M3x12 bolts to attach the power box to the frame - Attach power cord, turn on, and enjoy! **These make great gifts! Weddings, Christmas, birthdays, baby showers... whatever!**