Shadow Lamp STL Generator

A tool that converts JPG images into printable 3D STL files for shadow lamps that print in 30 minutes on 3D printers like Bambu. Users upload a photo, get a ready-to-print file, and can customize LED placement. Target: makers, 3D printing enthusiasts, people selling handmade decor.

The 3D printing hobbyist market has expanded sharply since Bambu Lab's printers dropped the barrier to entry in 2022–2024, creating a large cohort of users who can print but can't design — exactly the gap this fills. Printables and Etsy both host shadow lamp STL files that sell individually, but no tool automates the image-to-STL conversion pipeline at scale, so there's no clear incumbent. The $500–3k/mo revenue band is realistic for a niche tool like this: a one-time or per-conversion pricing model with low infrastructure costs keeps margins high, but the ceiling is real because the audience is hobbyists, not businesses, so lifetime value is low and word-of-mouth is the only viable acquisition channel. The biggest risk is that the conversion quality is hard to get right — shadow lamp geometry requires careful light-transmission tuning, and if the output STLs produce mediocre shadows, users will abandon it fast and leave bad reviews that kill organic growth before the product finds its footing.