Personalized Backlit Lithophane Christmas Ornament

I was looking for a way to place my kids and grandkids on my Christmas tree and came up with the idea of creating an ornament with one of my lithophane poker chips on the front.  The result is a three piece ornament consisting of the ornament body, the stem/light holder and the poker chip.

Once printed, the poker chip should be approximately the size of the large opening in the ornament body.  I print my poker chips in resin, but a PLA poker chip should work as well.  It was a tight fit, so some light sanding was required.  Once the chip will fit snugly, place it in the opening as much as you can and then turn it over on a solid flat surface and press firmly to set the poker chip flush in the ornament.  You can find my poker chip rings and tips on printing your poker chips at (https://www.printables.com/model/185055-diy-lithophane-poker-chip-and-figurine-base)

The stem is threaded with a slot for the light wires to fit.  Simply untwist the wire next to the lamp so the two strands are parallel to each other and place them in the slot.  The lamp should sit against the stem.  The ornament is then screwed onto the stem.  (I recommend rotating the ornament instead of the stem to avoid frustration)

The last step is to turn on the lights and enjoy.

Tips/Hints

1. I print my ornament bodies using supports and a raft with the large opening facing up.  This resulted in the cleanest surfaces facing forward.  This may result in the rear of the ornament looking a little rough from the supports, but, the rear of the ornament will not be on display.
2. The stems do not require supports if printed vertically.  I tried printing with and without supports and the stems printed without supports not only looked better, but they were also easier to screw into the ornament body.
3. I discovered that printing in silk gold worked very well.  I also printed in other colors.  The results were “OK” but darker colors result in less reflected light.  I placed a small piece of aluminum foil inside of the darker ornaments and the results drastically improved.  I used a small piece of double sided tape to hold the foil in place.
4. The poker chips can be glued in place if desired.  But, if you allow friction to hold them in place and you decide to replace or adjust the chip, then I recommend the use of a hex wrench for the task.  Insert the small end of the hex wrench into the threaded hole and turn it until the end of the wrench touches the outer ring of the poker chip.  Then gently push the long end of the hex wrench away from the large opening to pry out the chip.  Once the chip edge rises above the opening, it can be removed by hand.  (Please take your time doing this and avoid pushing the hex wrench against any part of the poker chip other than the outer ring.  Also, I have removed and replaced multiple chips and have yet to damage the threads on the ornament using this technique.)
5. Don't panic if the ornament doesn't face the proper direction once you place it on the tree.  That's the beauty of having a threaded stem.  Simply turn the ornament until it faces the direction you desire.  

I hope you enjoy this ornament.  I'm a noob regarding CAD and design, so any suggestions and/or improvements are welcome.

Poker Chip

I received as request to include more info for the poker chip, so I have included the file for the poker chip outer ring and brief instructions on how to make the lithophane poker chip.  The original posting for the poker chip may be found at https://www.printables.com/model/185055-diy-lithophane-poker-chip-and-figurine-base.

Printing in PLA

The Chip can be printed horizontally (flat) or vertically. I used a raft and supports for vertical prints. Either way will work, but the lithophane is cleaner and the chip surface is smoother if printed vertically. 

Horizontal Printing Preparation

Open the photo or graphic (.jpg) in Cura. (I assume other slicers or software may provide the same option) Resize the image to a 28mm x 28mm square. Make sure the image opening as “darker is higher”.  Open the ring, lay it flat and carefully orient over the image until the corners are not visible and there are no gaps along the inside of the ring.

Vertical Printing Preparation

Open the image (.jpg) in Cura. Resize the image to a 28mm x 28mm square.  Ensure “darker is higher”. Export the file as an .stl.   Open the ring, lay it flat and carefully orient over the image until the corners are not visible and there are no gaps along the inside of the ring.  Hold the shift key and click on the ring and image so Cura sees the two items merged.  You may then export the poker chip as an .stl file.  When ready to print, open the chip in your slicer program, orient vertically and print.  I use supports and a raft when printing vertically.

Printing in Resin (Preferred).

This is actually easier because you may simply import the ring and image stl files directly into your slicer and arrange on the build plate…thus eliminating the need to merge the files.  Patience is required in removing the poker chips from the build plate.