Light Emitting Border tutorial

[pietjeekes]

well valoosj

thats a nice tutorial you wrote

thx for the tips and help

[Renegadrian]

MAKE IT STICKY!!! 

[Derringer]

How are you sanding the LED so that the light comes through on all sides?

I just tried sanding a couple LEDs and it only seems to dull the light. i.e. what was once semi-clear plastic has now become very foggy looking plastic.

[CodeMonk]

Heres another idea on this subject...
Instead of drilling one hole in the middle with one LED, how about drilling 4 holes, equal distances from the middle, and using different colored LEDs?

Or maybe using a multi colored LED hooked up to a timer?

[jonnyeye]

This is a cool idea; thanks for this pics!  What about a bicoloured LED: one colour for effect on, the other for bypass?  Helps you find the thing on a dark stage...

[fryguy]

How are you sanding the LED so that the light comes through on all sides?

I just tried sanding a couple LEDs and it only seems to dull the light. i.e. what was once semi-clear plastic has now become very foggy looking plastic.

I could be wrong, because I am still very new to all of this, but I believe that he meant sand down the edges of your LED holder if they block the light from flowing in all directions.

[Derringer]

try to find a spot as close to the centre as possible, and drill a 5mm hole straight through the plexi. Sand your LED so the light comes out of all the sides, hook it up and stick it through the hole.

nah ... no holder ... it looks like the hole is drilled and the LED just sits in there

thanks though

[fryguy]

Whoops, you're right. I have no idea then. 

[Valoosj]

The led itself is sanded down on the edges so light comes out there instead of only at the top. No led holders. The hole in which it sits is only 5mm, so it's stuck in there pretty tight. Using a bicoloured led is possible, but make sure the led has at least 5000mcd to ensure a good effect. I used a rainbowled once which was pretty nice as well.

[Derringer]

"sand" as in sandpaper then you're saying? Or a rotary tool?

Only clear led's as well then I'd imagine?

[cpnyc23]

2 questions about this process....

1.  Where does one find plexiglass?  Would the average super-hardware store (ie Home Depot) carry it?

2. How hard is it to cut?   Does a Dremel work well for the task?

Thanks
-Chris

[Hamfist]

I think Home Depot has it.  Lowes definitely has it.  I worked at a Lowes for a few months once.  The may have some scraps big enough for a stompbox they'll give you for free.  The store I worked at was cool about that.  They're just going to throw it out anyway.  You could have them rough cut it to close to the right size.  The cutting machine always seemed to be a little off where I worked. 

If you want to cut it yourself, score it with a sharp utility knife, and snap it off.  If you try to cut it with a Dremel cutting wheel, it will melt the plexi, shatter the cutting wheel and send shrapnel and melted plexi bits directly into your eyeball.  Wear eye protection.

Anyway, a decent place that sells plexi should have some scraps to give you to practice on. 

2 questions about this process....

1.  Where does one find plexiglass?  Would the average super-hardware store (ie Home Depot) carry it?

2. How hard is it to cut?   Does a Dremel work well for the task?

Thanks
-Chris

[cpnyc23]

 Thanks Hamfist - that's exactly the info I was looking for!!!

-chris

[Valoosj]

"sand" as in sandpaper then you're saying? Or a rotary tool?

Only clear led's as well then I'd imagine?

Some rough sandpaper, so the led isn't clear anymore. The only decent result I got was with a clear white and clear blue led. Rating at 5000-6000 mcd.

[CodeMonk]

I tried this using a green LED (I have a bunch laying around).
I got noting near the effect, just a faint green spot on each edge.

I take it you are using a super bright LED for this?

[hday]

Yeah, you probably need to use a super bright. But if you have a bunch lying around, put one in each corner. Wouldn't be a solid color, but it might give it a smooth fade.

[chicago_mike]

I have a Logitech G15 backlit keyboard nd it used multiple square leds for the effect. surrounding the inner order of the keyboard.

the leds dont face down or up into the plexi. The plexi is notched for the led to sit into it.

nifty idea. But I had to replace a couple leds in mine...not the most fun.

What thickness plexi are you guys using? And do you bother buffing the corners after you sand them rounded?

[rrroo]

too bad the LED has to be superbright. It would be cool to use clipping LED:s in overdrives like this.

[~arph]

You could always use the light of the clipping leds to trigger an ultrabright led  using an LDR (as you don't want to tap from the signal line) a voltage divider and a transistor. I'm not sure though if the LDR response is up to par with the clipping freq. it's worth a try if you have the parts laying around...

[liddokun]

2 questions about this process....

1.  Where does one find plexiglass?  Would the average super-hardware store (ie Home Depot) carry it?

2. How hard is it to cut?   Does a Dremel work well for the task?

Thanks
-Chris

I cut my plexi with a dremel cutting wheel, and it turned out fine.  The plexi didn't melt signifcantly, just some of the small bits that came off became really warm and soft.  Nothing liquid.