Tangled tea lights: Subtle 3D prints that capture more magic

These Tangled tea lights are easily my most popular 3D printed lithophane. As with my other designs, I used LithophaneMaker.com to convert my pattern into the lithophane, later resizing it to fit various LED tea lights available in the commercial marketplace.

Inspiration for 3D printing Tangled tea lights

When I created the design for the Tangled table lamp, I purchased a package of three 6-inch LED pillar candles. This set that also came with two 4-inch LED pillar candles and four LED tea light candles from Home Depot. It made sense to attribute the 6-inch LED pillar candles to the original table or shelf lamp and the 4-inch version to the 102mm 3D printed lantern. Now it’s time to use the LED tea lights!

Adjusting the image design

All of my DIY lithophanes were created by uploading my PNG files, like the one above, into the Curved Lithophane Maker on LithophaneMaker.com. In order to create a perfect, round design, I cropped the original Tangled boats pattern so the edges start and finish with half of the frying pan. I needed to make this modification so the pattern would start and finish the pattern without a gap! Unfortunately, my first attempt at tea light lanterns used the same pattern from the first 3D printed lantern. Unfortunately, I quickly saw my error in that design–the tea light frame darkened the bottom third of the lantern so it was clear that I needed to adjust the design to allow the entire pattern to glow.

Updating the pattern for tea lights

Since approximately 1/3 of the first tea light appeared shaded, I opted to create an extended base so the shadow from the tea light would fall below the pattern. The end result looks a little weird on paper but it worked out well in the 3D print!

Using LithophaneMaker.com

In the Curved Lithophane Maker, you have the ability to adjust the settings to match your particular needs. My recommendations are below but feel free to experiment with the settings. Let me know how things turn out for you in the comments section below. If you’re uncomfortable adjusting these settings on your own, you can download the finished STL from Thingiverse based on my preferred settings or watch this YouTube video to visualize how to apply the settings below.

1. Upload your images – Save the file above and browse for it in your downloads (or wherever you saved the pattern. You’ll want to Choose File twice since this image only covers 180° or half of your curved lithophane. (Leave the third and fourth Choose File links untouched.)
   
2. Do you want a frame? – Select No Frame
   (Why? The frame makes a nice edge for the night lights and some designs but I did not want a frame in this design. Watch the image on the bottom right, to see how the design changes with and without the frame.)
   
3. Lithophane Resolution (mm/pixel): Your choice. 0.3mm the best resolution for the lithophane processor but I select 0.2mm in the Cura settings!
   
4. Height (mm): Your choice, but 125mm provided the best lighting depth for the lantern pattern. I adjusted the final height in Cura to match different LED tea lights from Amazon.com and other sources
   
5. Angle (deg): Change to 360 to get a round, circle design
   
6. Frame Width (mm): Change to 0
   
7. Frame Height (mm): Change to 0
   
8. Maximum Thickness (mm): Change to 5
   
9. Minimum Thickness (mm): Change to 2
   
10. Picture Spacing (mm): Change to 0 so there is no gap in the half-frying pan overlap between two uploaded files

Printing your Tangled tea lights

Once you have the finished STL, you’ll want to prepare it for your 3D printer. For the Ender 3, I used Cura to convert the STL into gcode, copy it to the removable MicroSD card, and insert it into the 3D printer.

My STL on Thingiverse defaults to a height of 125mm because I found that it presents the best lighting attributes for my pattern. Most tea lights on Amazon are 1.4 inches wide so if yours are too, adjust the Z height in Cura to 59.71 inches (and X and Y will resize to approximately 39.52 inches each).  These dimensions will fit snug on YoungerBaby yellow LED tea lights, Beichi white LED tea lights, and others that measure at 1.4 inches wide. If it is a little loose or tight, adjust your dimensions as needed to accommodate your tea lights.

There are a ton of great filaments out there so stick with what you prefer. For this design, you’ll want to print with a lighter filament so it remains translucent and lets the candle glow shine through the filament. Below are a few photos of different prints with colors and settings detailed below.

In general, I prefer to print with Overture’s white PLA filament at 200°C with a bed temperature of 50°C. If you do not have a heated bed, I recommend 3M Scotch-brand blue painter’s tape with a glue stick lightly applied to the surface before printing.

Exploring the color wheel

I have also experimented with different color PLA prints for these tea lights including Eryone Pink Silk PLA, Sunlu Wood PLA (Use a 0.5mm or larger nozzle to prevent clogging), and Eryone purple sparkly galaxy glitter PLA. I found that darker colors such as a purple glitter PLA need to blend with a white or off-white using a dual extruder, one nozzle printer such as the Geeetech A10M. All others print well on the Creality Ender 3.

For those without a 3D printer or the time to DIY

Don’t have time to Do It Yourself? That’s okay because you can buy these 3D printed lanterns with optional yellow LED tea light lanterns on Etsy! Some other designs I’ve considered include white lanterns with white LED tea lights, purple glittery lanterns, pink lanterns, and tan/beige lanterns with a wood-like look.

Caution: Since the 3D printed lantern is made of PLA filament, you must use an LED candle for lighting. Do not use real candles that produce a flame or fire because it will melt, discolor, and/or damage the finished product. It could also cause you great harm.

Disclaimer: The Walt Disney Company maintains the copyright for Tangled, Disney’s Rapunzel, the Tangled golden sun, Walt Disney World, and the Magic Kingdom. I do not own nor claim any copyrights to these items. Rather, this project is inspired by the creativity and innovation of the Walt Disney Company through their depictions in the movie and at the Magic Kingdom. Thank you, Disney, for bringing magic into all of our lives.