What it is
It's a 3d model for a small flower-shaped lampshade for my standing lamp that I designed myself in Fusion 360. I lost several of the original glass shades for that lamp during our last move, so I thought it would be a good exercise to design a replacement.
You can download the STL-file of the model here (Lamp Shade) or on thingiverse (thing:4648074)
What I did
I measured the dimensions of the existing lamp shades and tried to design something that is similar in size but has a more organic look to take advantage of 3d printing.
How I did it
First I downloaded and installed Fusion 360. This powerful 3d modeling software is free to use for hobbyists and non-comercial use (at least in germany, it looks like it is limited to 1 year elsewhere?).
Then I followed this tutorial by Maker's Muse. That guy is really awesome and you should subscribe to his channel on youtube for more 3d printing tutorials.
You basically create some crazy shapes using splines on 2 or 3 different heights. Then you create a loft, which is a body that connects those shapes while morphing from one form into the next.
To print the model I used the "spiral" or "vase" mode of the slicer. When you activate this, the slicer will print the outer wall in a spiral motion. The outer wall was set to one line, so the actual shade is a bit thinner than the model.
The first shape I came up with was a failure. I designed it with too much overhangs and the printer couldn't connect the outer shape any more, so I stopped the print.
You can see the gaps in this picture.
So I redid the whole model (which is easy because you just have to edit your sketches in Fusion 360 and redo the loft).
And my second attempt was a success and looks like a flower.
What I learned
- You can quickly design awesome lamp shades and vases in Fusion 360 using lofts
- A slicer has a Spiral / Vase mode that is ideal für things like lampshades and of course vases
- I first designed the opening for the light bulb at the bottom to be 11mm which was to small, the second one is 12mm which is a bit to wide. I learned that 1mm difference in diameter makes a big difference for openings like this. I'll try 11,5 next time.