======================================================================2023 UPDATE: After around 5 years using my 3D printed shade, I knocked over the lamp again! It broke at the corner of the base. Realising this was a weak area, I have designed and printed a stronger base that some might prefer to use.

I've included the stronger version's STL file so that you can choose the one that suits your needs.

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I had a slight accident while I was hoovering the bedroom yesterday. As I moved the bed out to vacuum underneath, my bedside lamp fell down and got squashed between the divan and the bedside cabinet.

"Oh, golly!", said I. "My goodness!", "Oh flip!", and so on. Actually, I think I might have been a little stronger than that in my word selection. But you get the idea.

In short, The lampshade had had it. You can see the result in one of my pictures: Sharper creases than a pair of Sta-Prest trousers. Annoyingly, the shade was specifically sized to complement the stainless steel base of the touch operated lamp to which it's attached, and therefore rather difficult to source.

Ah ha! Ya, boo, sucks to you, fate! I have a 3D printer, a reel of translucent filament, and I'm not afraid to use it. One overnight print later, and voila!

I briefly toyed with the idea of going all lithographic with this. But as it's in my bedroom, where nobody else is going to see it (these days, anyway), I couldn't see the point. Then I thought of going for the crinkle/voronoi look, but I've already got a nice 3D printed crinkle light in my living room. Either idea would've amused me for ten minutes or so, and then I'd probably barely look at it again. So plain it was, and off I went to Sketchup 8.

So, there you are: Nothing special, ordinary PLA, and no great design innovations. But it does what I need. ...And it might be a talking point when/if I ever get around to making use of my dating profile again!

Category: Household