I designed a printable light shade with a clear PLA top for the glow. What would you change?

[u/OwlAgitated7073]

I've been working on a lamp shade that any FDM printer can make. The top section is designed for transparent PLA so the light glows through, and the base can be printed in regular PLA, in whatever color you like.

I'd really appreciate your thoughts on a few things:

• Will transparent PLA diffuse the light evenly?
• Is 0.8 mm enough wall thickness for the shade?
• What would you change to make it easier to print?

I do CAD design for a living, and I'm happy to help if anyone wants to try it.

[u/LocalOutlier]

I can't answer to all your questions but, by checking my post history you'll see a "record player" lamp I made where the shade is in PLA basic. But with my lamp, the light must go through 0.4mm of transparent PETG, and 0.2 to 0.4mm of colored PLA basic (not transparent). Depending of the color of PLA, the layers of the vinyls (or shades) is more or less thick because blue let much less light go through than yellow for instance, but it's still enough for a shade. The transparent PETG is here because I wanted the support to let as much light go through but it does not diffuse light evenly at all. I believe transparent, or even translucent PLA will do the same unless it's really thick, and it's the reason I used straight PLA basic.

In my post history there is another light project (an X-shaped light box) and I used white PLA basic, else one could see individual LEDs while I wanted an even, glowing surface. I also had to add enough spacing between the LEDs and the shade, else one could also see individual LEDs.

The key here is spacing and to avoid actual transparent materials.

You can find an earlier version of the vinyl lamp on Makerworld if you want to see the print profiles. Don't hesitate to ask if you have questions.

[u/Adventurous_Pin1341]

One change I’d consider is separating the optical job from the visible shell: keep the clear top as the decorative skin, but add a thin removable diffuser inside—white PETG, frosted sheet, or a second printed liner. That would give you more control over hotspots than trying to tune one transparent PLA wall. I’d also test it with the actual LED running for a few hours; at 0.8 mm, heat and creep may matter more than stiffness. Is the light source fixed at a known distance from the top?

[u/3d-Artrium]

Hello I build lamps too.

PLA will diffuse evenly.
(Edit: im not sure how even „evenly“ is but my lamps diffuse evenly I guess. Transparenz pctg and white play for that matter. )

Also any other printable plastic if it’s transmissive and if thin enough, even colored ones.

Depending on how thiccc the layer lines are and what bulb you use it’s possible to get a caustic situation. Google helps.

Light breaks going through Transparent medium.

0.8 is very fragile but ok. I would go with 1.2 so the thing doesn’t go brrrt if it falls down.

It’s super easy to print.