Major Update (Jan 15, 2026)
Due to my having problems printing various colored versions of these lights and because I had problems with curling at the point where the two halves meet - causing an unsightly seam gap - I completely re-worked the design. It looks the same externally but I made some structural changes. The threads are now a 3rd part so that supports are not necessary at the seam. You still need to support the inside of the top dome but both seams can be printed on the bed, increasing flatness so a gap is less likely. This means I needed to thread both halves and join them with a 3rd part consisting of threads in both directions. These threads are the same as the old ones so parts made with the old STL should still mate with new STL files.
There are 3 sets of STL where the difference is the number of stripes. There are 6, 8, and 10 hole versions. They are essentially identical otherwise. If you mix up the tops/bottoms they will fit together. I suggest printing with sla rather than fdm just because it's less likely to get soft enough to deform from the bulb heat. Keep in mind that your color choice will affect the heat buildup inside. If you use customizer you can adjust the size of the holes that ventilate the inside.
Some suggestions
Use something that withstands high heat while remaining flexible when affixing the bulb and bubbler into your new shell. A silicone calk seems like a good choice since it allows for the expansion/contraction associated with the ~30C/54F change in temperature when on vs off. If you don't use too much it should be rather easy to replace the bulb when necessary.
You probably want to use a tiny spot of silicone on the thread or the flat areas that contact each other just to prevent it from unscrewing during normal handling. Like you might use any thread-locker product. But be sure everything works like you want it to beforehand. And only a tiny bit. You wan't to be able to get it apart later.
To get the distance from the bulb to the bubbler tube correct, affix the bulb first and insure it works. Then screw the halves together and insert the bubbler tube until it touches the bulb then back it out a mm or so. Mark the bubbler tube with painter tape or something similarly removable. Now you can unscrew and affix the tube at the distance you want.
- I found that many bulbs don't have long enough shafts to allow any cover (including this) to fit between the holder and bulb. Be sure the bulb works when screwed into a socket with the base between the holder and bulb before affixing the bulb to the base. Modifications (via dremel/utility-knife?) might be necessary to screw the bulb in far enough to reach contacts if you can't find a bulb that reaches when the bulb cover is in place.
Printing & Customizer
If you use resin, and color it with mica powder (this is how I created mine - I used white resin and mixed coloring into small batches rather than buying lots of colors), the various powders react to the UV differently and cause parts made from some colors (like blue) to have elephantiasis (similar to elephant foot only it affects the entire part). So both the male and female parts were both overly thick and would not fit together. This made me think many users actually WOULD want to render their own parts so that adjusting clearance is easier (although scaling just a bit might work - it's kind of one-sided).
The SCAD file still needs tsmthread4 (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3391213) but I've removed all other dependencies.
The Clearance and ThreadOffsetRotation parameters are the ones you will most likely want to adjust. HoleDiameter controls vent holes. If your parts are too loose, make Clearance smaller and if they just won't go together at all, even with some light sanding on the thread tops, you need to make Clearance bigger. ThreadOffsetRotation adjusts the top thread compared to the bottom thread so you can make the ridges on the top half match the ridges on the bottom half.
A Simple - Last Resort
You can skip printing threads altogether and just glue the halves together exactly how you want. Then pry them apart or re-print when the bulb goes out ;-)
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