{
  "opening": "Translucent PETG is the clear row we do have, and PolyLite PLA's heat deflection is 60 °C (140 °F) at 0.45 MPa, which is the heat number, not a bulb rating. The comments supplied here do not choose a lamp filament. One points at a NASA paper, one is about a fire extinguisher, and two are about a resin lithophane of a dog. This catalog stores no optical transmission percent.",
  "question": "What filament works best for lamps and lithophanes?",
  "slug": "lamp",
  "useCase": "transparent",
  "useCaseLabel": "Clear",
  "updated": "2026-10-22",
  "shortAnswer": "The comments supplied here do not choose a lamp filament. One points at a NASA paper, one is about a fire extinguisher, and two are about a resin lithophane of a dog. This catalog stores no optical transmission percent. Translucent PETG is the clear row we do have, and PolyLite PLA's heat deflection is 60 °C (140 °F) at 0.45 MPa, which is the heat number, not a bulb rating.",
  "recommendedMaterials": [
    "pla",
    "petg"
  ],
  "printerConsiderations": [
    "A lamp that uses a hot bulb is a heat problem. PolyLite PLA's 60 °C (140 °F) heat deflection is a specimen test. No source here states the temperature of an incandescent bulb or an LED.",
    "Clear PETG settings that people post, including very slow speeds, are on the transparent page. They are not copied onto this one as a lamp profile.",
    "A resin lithophane is not an FDM filament. The dog comments are about resin."
  ],
  "pros": [
    "The page says the comments miss the question, instead of borrowing a white-PLA rule from the summary.",
    "Translucent PETG keeps the sheet temperatures already used on the clear-filament page."
  ],
  "cons": [
    "No row stores a lithophane thickness, a diffusion distance, or a wattage limit.",
    "White PLA is the editorial recommendation. These three rows are not labeled white on the fields we store."
  ],
  "community": "The editorial summary says PLA works for lamps with LEDs, white PLA for lithophanes, and to avoid incandescent heat. r/3Dprinting 177x4r5, score 251, links a NASA paper. Score 136 says to move a fire extinguisher away from heat sources. r/3Dprinting uo28fg, score 15, is impressed by a resin lithophane. Score 8 asks the dog's name. No excerpt was supplied for r/BambuLab 1tr0gxc, r/prusa3d 16xsyt1, or r/prusa3d 1iy0c2a.",
  "related": [
    "transparent",
    "heat",
    "pla_print"
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "What filament works best for lamps and lithophanes?",
      "a": "Translucent PETG is the clear row we do have, and PolyLite PLA's heat deflection is 60 °C (140 °F) at 0.45 MPa, which is the heat number, not a bulb rating. The comments supplied here do not choose a lamp filament. One points at a NASA paper, one is about a fire extinguisher, and two are about a resin lithophane of a dog. This catalog stores no optical transmission percent."
    },
    {
      "q": "Should a lithophane be white PLA?",
      "a": "The comments do not say it. Bambu PLA Basic and PolyLite PLA have published print temperatures and no transmission percent. A white spool is a color of those products, not a separate optical grade in this catalog."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is PETG Translucent clear enough for a lamp shade?",
      "a": "The sheet does not say. It lists 220–250 °C (428–482 °F), a bed of 70–90 °C (158–194 °F), and drying at 65 °C (149 °F) for 8 h, and the product is named translucent. Clarity as a process is the transparent page. There is no percent on either page."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "PolyLite PLA TDS EN V5.4",
      "url": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0548/7299/7945/files/PolyLite_PLA_TDS_EN_V5.4.pdf",
      "kind": "datasheet"
    },
    {
      "title": "Bambu PLA Basic technical data sheet",
      "url": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0584/7236/6216/files/Bambu_PLA_Basic_Technical_Data_Sheet_bf3411ce-be39-4db7-9669-1b4671d2196b.pdf?v=1734060943",
      "kind": "datasheet"
    },
    {
      "title": "Bambu PETG Translucent technical data sheet",
      "url": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0574/3116/2995/files/Bambu_PETG_Translucent_Technical_Data_Sheet.pdf?v=1704680051",
      "kind": "datasheet"
    },
    {
      "title": "Polymaker PolyLite PLA product page",
      "url": "https://us.polymaker.com/products/polylite-pla",
      "kind": "manufacturer"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/3Dprinting 177x4r5",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/177x4r5/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/3Dprinting uo28fg",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/3Dprinting/comments/uo28fg/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/BambuLab 1tr0gxc",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/BambuLab/comments/1tr0gxc/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/prusa3d 16xsyt1",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/prusa3d/comments/16xsyt1/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    },
    {
      "title": "Community source, r/prusa3d 1iy0c2a",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/prusa3d/comments/1iy0c2a/",
      "kind": "reddit"
    }
  ],
  "recommendations": [
    {
      "rank": 1,
      "note": "Open Filament Database nozzle 190–230 °C (374–446 °F). Product page checked 14 October 2026 lists a bed of 25–60 °C (77–140 °F) and drying at 55 °C (131 °F) for 6 h. TDS EN V5.4, checked 21 October 2026, lists heat deflection of 60 °C (140 °F) at 0.45 MPa and 58 °C (136 °F) at 1.8 MPa, ISO 75. No light-transmission percent.",
      "brand": "Polymaker",
      "product": "Polylite PLA",
      "material": "PLA",
      "url": "/brand/polymaker/polylite-pla",
      "nozzle": "190–230 °C (374–446 °F)",
      "bed": "25–60 °C (77–140 °F)",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0548/7299/7945/files/PolyLite_PLA_TDS_EN_V5.4.pdf",
      "affiliateUrl": null
    },
    {
      "rank": 2,
      "note": "Technical data sheet checked 14 October 2026 lists a nozzle of 190–230 °C (374–446 °F), a bed of 35–45 °C (95–113 °F), and blast-oven drying at 50 °C (122 °F) for 8 h. The sheet does not grade it as a lithophane white.",
      "brand": "Bambu Lab",
      "product": "PLA Basic",
      "material": "PLA",
      "url": "/brand/bambu-lab/pla-basic",
      "nozzle": "190–230 °C (374–446 °F)",
      "bed": "35–45 °C (95–113 °F)",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0584/7236/6216/files/Bambu_PLA_Basic_Technical_Data_Sheet_bf3411ce-be39-4db7-9669-1b4671d2196b.pdf?v=1734060943",
      "affiliateUrl": null
    },
    {
      "rank": 3,
      "note": "Technical data sheet lists a nozzle of 220–250 °C (428–482 °F), a bed of 70–90 °C (158–194 °F), drying at 65 °C (149 °F) for 8 h, and print speed up to 220 mm/s. The product name says translucent. The sheet does not state a transmission percent.",
      "brand": "Bambu Lab",
      "product": "PETG Translucent",
      "material": "PETG",
      "url": "/brand/bambu-lab/petg-translucent",
      "nozzle": "220–250 °C (428–482 °F)",
      "bed": "70–90 °C (158–194 °F)",
      "pricePerKg": null,
      "datasheetUrl": "https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0574/3116/2995/files/Bambu_PETG_Translucent_Technical_Data_Sheet.pdf?v=1704680051",
      "affiliateUrl": null
    }
  ]
}