Bambu Lab has released a PLA CMYK filament bundle geared toward the creation of colored lithophanes. The bundle arrives with one spool each of cyan, magenta, yellow, and white filament.
A lithophane, for those in the dark (pun), is a three-dimensional image or design that appears when light is shone through a translucent material, creating variations in brightness and shadow. When created with colored filament, the results are a stained glass-like effect that brings unique life to still images.
The process of lithophane-making is a relatively simple one that All3DP has previously covered. Bambu Lab, however, suggests uploading a JPG to Lithophane Maker – a website and YouTube channel dedicated to the craft, which is explicitly thanked on the filament bundle’s product page. There, users can convert image files to STLs, which can then be set up and sliced in Bambu Studio, and finally printed.
Those wanting even more instruction can use Bambu Lab’s Wiki to walk them through the process – and make use of STLs for a picture frame and light guide plate. These, along with a backlight plate, allow creators to easily get their lithophanes up and shining. Additionally, a few tips on the bundle’s product page aim to further streamline printing processes (using smaller nozzle sizes and lower layer heights, for instance).
The PLA CMYK Lithophane Bundle is now available for an MSRP of $99.99. The bundle currently seems to be sold out on all Bambu Lab’s regional stores (except the EU) but the “global” store, which appears to ship orders from China, still has some available. If you’d rather not deal with any import shenanigans, you can sign up for a notification when your regional web store is restocked.
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License: The text of "Colorize Your Lithophanes with Bambu Lab’s CMYK Filament Bundle" by All3DP is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.