Project Ideas

Your personal projects are an expression of your creativity. Here, we share some of those that we have helped make a reality:

Project of the Week: Lithography

One of the first forms photography, a lithograph captured an image through a chemical process that left a negative image on an established medium. This then could be treated a second time and moved onto its final surface, serving as a photograph.

Modern 3D printing hobbyists have found a way to emulate this process, with beautiful results! Recently, someone reached out to Additive Assembly and asked us to pursue such a project. Below are some pictures of the final result, along with a brief description of how you could go through this process yourself.

The Process:

Original Picture

Select a photo that you would like to turn into a lithograph. Preferably one with high resolution.

(Thanks to Lucas Rupp for original photo. Congratulations on your engagement!)

Picture STL File

Go to: https://3dp.rocks/lithophane/

This wonderful site will automatically generate an STL file of your picture according to pixel brightness.

Picture Rendering

The generated STL may be opened in a slicer and edited. Here, PrusaSlicer is used and the STL is held at a maximum depth of 2mm.

Final Result:

A Note: This method is best enhanced when a light source is placed behind the lithograph.