Lumen Stack — Modular Ring Lantern, Starter Set (Rings 01–03)

A table lantern built from interchangeable vase-mode rings on an LED tea-light base, sold as a starter set with a new ring pattern released each week so the lamp grows and changes.

Date: 2026-10-04 Category: Art and Decor Modeling difficulty: Intermediate Estimated print: ~6.7 h total · ~160 g PLA (estimate) Suggested price: $32–$45 printed starter set, $8–$10 per extra ring · $8 digital file (estimate) Status: Concept

Description

Lumen Stack is a short column of light: a low charcoal base holding an LED tea light, three translucent rings stacked on top, and a flat cap. Each ring is 120 mm across and 40 mm tall and carries a different surface pattern. Ring 01 (Ripple) has sixteen soft vertical lobes, Ring 02 (Twist) has twelve ribs that turn 30° as they rise, and Ring 03 (Facet) bulges into a ten-sided gem at its middle.

The rings print in spiral vase mode as a single 0.6 mm wall, which is why they glow evenly and print in about half an hour each. Every ring ends in a plain 4 mm round collar top and bottom. A thin joiner ring slips into the collars of two neighbouring rings and leaves a 1.6 mm dark band between them, so the stack reads as separate pieces. Any ring fits on any other ring, the base, or the cap.

The starter set stands 147.2 mm tall. Add rings and it gets taller, or swap them to change the look. That makes it a collectible series: Ring 04 next week, Ring 05 the week after.

Why it sells

Lamps are a known 3D-print category but a crowded one. Trendlytic's 2026 review of Etsy lists personalised lithophane lamps among items that still sell, calls the space crowded, and argues that the prints worth machine time have "a moat: a design you made" (Trendlytic). Etsy has a "modular lamp" market with stackable, interlocking printed lamps (Etsy, "Modular Lamp"), including a STACK-design table lamp (Etsy listing). Sellers also build lamps around LED tea lights, such as an STL listing whose base takes 37 mm tea lights (Etsy listing). On Printables, makers share stacking vase-mode shades, like a three-part moiré lampshade (Modular Moire Refracting Vase Lampshade), and whole modular lamp ecosystems built on one shared connection standard (Moduluma).

The listed modular lamps are sold as finished objects. None is planned as a weekly series where each ring is a small, cheap add-on purchase, and most need mains wiring. Lumen Stack runs on a battery tea light and turns one lamp sale into repeat sales.

Who buys it

Gift buyers looking for a $30–$45 present that lights up a shelf, and people who collect series. Once they own the base, they come back for rings in new patterns or seasonal colours. They shop Etsy, craft fairs, and makers' own shops; digital buyers on Printables and Cults3D want the next ring file.

Design overview

• Base, cap, three patterned rings, and two joiners; every piece meets the next through the same 4 mm round collar.
• Rings print in vase mode: solid CAD bodies sliced as a single 0.6 mm spiral wall with no bottom layers.
• The collectible series is the main selling feature: a fixed interface (collar Ø120, collar inner Ø118.8, spigot Ø118.4) means any future ring fits any existing lamp.
• 1.6 mm contrast bands from the joiner rims divide the rings visually.
• LED tea light only, in a Ø39 pocket with two finger notches. No wiring and no mains voltage.
• The cap is solid, so light bounces back down through the rings instead of out the top.

Dimensions

Parts list

Hardware and non-printed parts

• LED tea light, Ø38 mm body × 18 mm body height (CR2032 battery, warm white) ×1. High-brightness or remote-control versions are fine if the body is Ø38 or smaller.
• Self-adhesive felt pad, Ø10 × 3 mm ×4, under the base.

Fits and tolerances

• Ring collar on spigot (base, joiner, cap): sliding fit, 0.2 mm per side (spigot Ø118.4 in collar ID Ø118.8). Vase-mode walls vary by about ±0.05 mm. If a ring is tight, scale the spigot parts' XY by 99.8% rather than the ring.
• Joiner rim between rings: butt contact; each ring's collar edge sits on the 1.6 mm rim.
• Tea light in pocket: loose drop-in, 0.5 mm per side (Ø39 pocket, Ø38 body), so it lifts out with the finger notches.

Modeling guide

Each part has its own origin at the centre of its bottom face, with +Z up and +X to the right. Model rings as solid bodies; the slicer's vase mode turns them into single walls. Do not shell them in CAD.

Base

1. Sketch on XY: circle Ø126. Extrude +Z 20. Chamfer the bottom outer edge 1.
2. Sketch on the top face (Z 20): circles Ø118.4 and Ø112.4. Extrude the ring between them +Z 4 (spigot, top at Z 24).
3. Sketch on Z 20: circle Ø39. Cut −Z 16 (pocket floor at Z 4).
4. Finger notches: circles Ø14 centred at (±19.5, 0) on the Z 20 plane. Cut −Z 16. They overlap the pocket edge and make half-round scoops.
5. Fillet the top outer edge of the base R2.

Ring collars (all rings)

1. Sketch on XY: circle Ø120. Extrude +Z 4 (bottom collar, Z 0–4).
2. Sketch on Z 36: circle Ø120. Extrude +Z 4 (top collar, Z 36–40).
3. The pattern body below fills Z 4–36 and must merge with both collars.

Ring 01 Ripple (16 lobes, outer radius from 57.5 to 62.5)

1. Flower profile: on a sketch plane at Z 8, draw a circle R57.5 and 16 circles R5 centred on the R57.5 circle every 22.5° (first at 0°). Trim to the outer boundary. Fillet each of the 16 concave cusps R3.
2. Extrude the flower profile from Z 8 to Z 32.
3. Loft from the collar circle Ø120 at Z 4 to the flower at Z 8. Loft from the flower at Z 32 to the circle Ø120 at Z 36. Union all bodies.

Ring 02 Twist (12 lobes, 30° twist)

1. Twist profile: a circle R56.5 plus 12 circles R6 centred on the R56.5 circle every 30°, trimmed to the outer boundary, concave cusps filleted R3 (outer radius 62.5).
2. Place copies of that profile on planes at Z 8, 14, 20, 26, 32, rotated 0°, 7.5°, 15°, 22.5°, 30° about Z.
3. Loft through the five profiles (smooth loft).
4. Loft circle Ø120 at Z 4 to the Z 8 profile, and the Z 32 profile to circle Ø120 at Z 36. Union.

Ring 03 Facet (decagon, corners on R62.5)

1. On a plane at Z 20, sketch a regular 10-sided polygon with circumradius 62.5 and one corner on +X.
2. Ruled loft from circle Ø120 at Z 4 to the decagon at Z 20, then ruled loft from the decagon to circle Ø120 at Z 36. Union with the collars.

Joiner

1. Sketch on XY: circles Ø118.4 and Ø114.4. Extrude the ring between them +Z 9.6.
2. Sketch on XY at Z 4: circles Ø120 and Ø114.4. Extrude the ring between them +Z 1.6 (rim, Z 4–5.6). Union.

Cap

1. Sketch on XY: circle Ø126. Extrude +Z 4 (disc).
2. Sketch on the disc top (Z 4): circles Ø118.4 and Ø112.4. Extrude the ring between them +Z 4 (spigot, Z 4–8). In use the cap is flipped, spigot down.
3. Fillet the disc's outer edge on the face that ends up on top (Z 0) R2.

Print settings

Assembly

1. Stick four felt pads under the base at 90° spacing, 50 mm from the centre.
2. Switch on the LED tea light and drop it into the pocket.
3. Set Ring 01 over the base spigot.
4. Press a joiner's lower spigot into Ring 01's top collar until the rim sits on the ring.
5. Set Ring 02 on the joiner's upper spigot. Repeat with the second joiner and Ring 03.
6. Turn the cap spigot-down and press it into Ring 03's top collar.

Variants and upsells

• The series: Ring 04 Weave (crossing diagonal ribs), Ring 05 Dune (a single slow wave around the ring), Ring 06 Honeycomb (raised hex cells), Ring 07 Stepped (three stacked tiers), Ring 08 Bloom (petals that widen upward). All use the same collar interface.
• Each new ring sells alone at $8–$10 printed or $2 as a file; ring 4-packs come out at a discount.
• Colour sets: translucent amber, ice blue, or smoke rings, plus base and cap in white or wood-fill PLA.
• Base variants: USB-C base with a 5 V LED module in place of the tea light (a separate, tested design), or a double-height base that stores spare tea lights.
• Short "mini" set of one ring for a bedside night light.

Selling and distribution

Sell the printed starter set on Etsy and at craft fairs, with the series schedule in the description so buyers know more rings are coming. Return buyers then pick rings from the shop. Material for the set is about $3.20 at $20/kg; with about 6.7 h of machine time at $0.40/h, a tea light, and packaging, the cost of goods is about $7–$8 (estimate), and single rings cost well under $1 to make. Sell the starter file at $8 on Cults3D and MakerWorld, then each new ring at $2. Use a personal-use licence for files and a separate commercial licence for print farms.

Listing keywords: modular lamp, stackable lantern, 3D printed lamp, LED tea light lamp, vase mode lamp, table lantern, collectible lamp rings, translucent lamp, ambient night light, shelf lamp gift, minimalist lantern.

Risks and IP notes

• Real flames: a candle would melt PLA. Mitigation: the pocket is sized for an LED tea light, and the listing, file notes, and a printed insert all say "LED tea lights only, never a flame".
• Thin vase walls crack if squeezed. Mitigation: the collars are round and supported by the spigots once stacked; ship rings nested on a joiner inside the box.
• Dim light from one tea light through three rings. Mitigation: recommend high-brightness LED tea lights and keep the cap solid so it reflects.
• A crowded lamp market. Mitigation: sell the weekly series and cross-compatibility, not one lamp.
• Prior art: modular lamp systems exist (for example, Moduluma). Don't copy their connection geometry, and use only this spec's collar dimensions and names.

Resource links

• Trendlytic: 12 3D Printed Items That Still Sell on Etsy in 2026 — lamps listed as selling but crowded; original designs as the moat
• Etsy: Modular Lamp market — stackable and interlocking printed lamps for sale
• Etsy: 3D Printed Table Lamp, STACK design — a stacked-form printed lamp
• Etsy: Modern 3D Print Lamp STL File, tea light — lamp file whose base takes 37 mm LED tea lights
• Printables: Modular Moire Refracting Vase Lampshade v1.3 — three vase-mode parts that stack
• Printables: Moduluma, Modular Lamp Ecosystem — interchangeable lamp parts on one shared connection standard