Lamp Shade Generator
Pick a shape and a pattern, set the size and twist, and choose an E27 or E14 fitting ring. The shade is built in your browser and downloads as an STL or 3MF. Print it in vase mode for a light, glowing single wall, or with normal walls for a stronger shade. Use LED bulbs only.
How to make a 3D printed lamp shade
- 1
Pick a shape
Drum, cylinder, bell or globe. Type the diameters and the height.
- 2
Add a pattern
Waves, flutes or facets, with a twist if you like. Smooth works too.
- 3
Choose the fitting
E27 or E14 ring with spokes, at the bottom for a table lamp or the top for a pendant. Or none.
- 4
Pick the print mode
Vase mode for one thin glowing wall, or normal walls for a stiffer shade.
- 5
Download and print
Download the STL or 3MF and print it fitting end down, as it comes out of the download.
Lamp shade settings
Every setting updates the 3D preview. Sizes are in millimetres and are the outside of the shade.
| Profile | Drum is a straight cone (or a straight tube if both diameters match). Cylinder keeps one diameter. Bell flares out at the bottom. Globe swells out in the middle to the widest diameter. |
|---|---|
| Diameters and height | Outside sizes in mm, measured over the pattern. 120 to 180 mm wide and 120 to 180 mm tall suits a table lamp; check that it fits your print bed. |
| Pattern | Waves are soft round ribs. Flutes are scallops with sharp valleys. Facets turn the shade into a polygon with 3 to 16 sides and rounded corners. Smooth leaves it plain. |
| Pattern depth | How deep the waves or flutes go at the widest part, in mm. 3 to 6 mm reads well with light behind it. |
| Twist | How far the pattern turns from the bottom to the top. The tool holds it where the pattern would lean more than 45 degrees. |
| Print mode | Vase mode: the download is a solid shape and the slicer prints only its outer wall as one spiral line. Normal walls: a hollow shade with the wall thickness you set, open at both ends. |
| Fitting | A flat ring with spokes on the end that prints on the bed. E27: 42 mm hole. E14: 29 mm hole. The shade slides over the holder and the holder's shade ring screws down on it. You can change the hole size. |
| Ring thickness | How thick the fitting ring is. 2 to 3 mm is stiff enough to clamp. In vase mode, set enough bottom layers to cover it. |
How to print it
Print it as it downloads, fitting end down, and it needs no supports. Use LED bulbs only: PLA and PETG soften with heat.
| Bulb | LED bulbs only. PLA softens at about 60 °C and PETG at about 80 °C, and a halogen or old filament bulb gets far hotter than that. Keep the bulb at least 1 cm from the wall; the tool warns you when it is closer. |
|---|---|
| Vase mode | Turn on "Spiral vase" (PrusaSlicer, Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer) or "Spiralize outer contour" (Cura). It prints one wall, no infill and no top, so the shade comes out open at the top. |
| Bottom layers | With a fitting ring, set the bottom layers to cover the ring: 2.4 mm is 12 layers at 0.2 mm. With no fitting, set bottom layers to 0 for a shade open at both ends. |
| Line width | In vase mode the wall is one line. A 0.6 to 0.8 mm line width (or a 0.6 or 0.8 mm nozzle) makes a much stiffer shade than 0.4 mm. |
| Material | White, natural or translucent PLA or PETG lets the most light through. PETG copes better with warmth and sun. Silk and marble filaments show off waves and twists. |
| Orientation | Print it as it downloads: fitting end down, or the wider end down with no fitting. Every shape is checked for how far its walls lean; past 45 degrees the tool tells you. |
Want a lamp shaped like something else?
Describe it and let AI build it: a lamp shaped like the moon, a mushroom, a sleeping cat or a little house. Text to 3D turns a sentence into a 3D model you can print, and image to 3D does the same from a photo. The AI tools use credits; this lamp shade generator is free.
Related free tools
More free maker tools are on the way, including a pen holder generator and a phone stand generator for your desk.