Ryan McLean

February 16, 2022

3D Printed Light Modifiers

I recently purchased a NAMÅNE lamp* from Ikea to bring some more light to my couch for reading. The couch is in the center of my living room, and with no other direct/task lighting, reading was a bit tougher than it needed to be.

I like the aesthetics of the lamp a lot, but I was getting a lot of uncomfortable glare from the light due to the way the bulb is situated within the lamp. Remembering the fluorescent lamps in my office that are behind deep louvers, I decided to 3D print a light modifier for this lamp. I also decided to take advantage of the ability to change filament mid-print. Taking partial inspiration from a camera lens hood, the lower portion of the light modifier is printed in dark filament, as I'm wanting to stop as might light as possible from reflecting off the louvers themselves near the bottom of the light housing. Further up, I used a light colored filament to give the some of the light a chance to mix and diffuse.


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(Earlier iterations of the design. In the final design, only about 1/3 of the height is printed in white filament)

The end results is that plenty of light is able to go down through the louvers onto where a book is held, with very little light spilling out sideways at eye level.

Without and with the light modifier installed.


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Better view of bottom of the light, with modifier installed.

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*A lot of reviews complain of 1- not being able to screw in bulbs and 2- not being able to turn the light on and off. The light uses pin-base GU10 bulbs ... I wonder how many customers are trying to use edison-base bulbs. For switching, the light has a clever mechanism that the entire top surface of the light is a big push-button. Sadly I don't use this at all, since I have a Philips HUE bulb installed in the fixture and all control is through my home automation system.