Edge lit sign

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jg2259
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Edge lit sign

Post by jg2259 »

Hello All,
I am going to attemp to do an edge lit sign and I do not know the method to reverse the image so it carves on the back side of the acrylic. Being my first attempt, I already screwed up by purchasing 1/8” acrylic instead of 1/4”.
I’m also looking for some type of plan to make the box that holds the electronics.

I know that one can be made on the CNC, however, I’d just as soon just make one the old fashioned way. If someone has a plan, I’d appreciate a copy. Also, I’m not sure of what type of led light I should purchase. Are some better than others, like putting out brighter colors. I don’t need a thousand colors, maybe just one or two.
Thanks in advance for any guidance or direction.

Jim

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gkas
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Re: Edge lit sign

Post by gkas »

Select the drawing vectors, then use the 'Mirror Selected Objects' with 'Flip Horzontal'. Done...

fred ruppert
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Re: Edge lit sign

Post by fred ruppert »

For LED lights, order 5050 or 5630 series - do not order the 3528 series (too light). For colors, white is pretty strong, green and red come out nice, blue is a little more subdued

jg2259
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Re: Edge lit sign

Post by jg2259 »

Thanks for the response!!

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martin54
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Re: Edge lit sign

Post by martin54 »

Do a search on the forum for edge lit, been talked about quite a bit so there is already some good info on the subject. look out for posts by Xxray as he use to do a lot of that sort of thing & has some quite detailed posts covering machining acrylic & the making of bases :lol: :lol:

Don't start cutting anything until you have all the parts you need so you can check that the LED strip will fit both in width & length. You can buy single colour LED strip or if you want more than one colour then you will need RGB LED strip. I buy 5050 LED strip which is a good width for the size acrylic I use, I generally buy RGB which you have to cut every 3rd LED which is why I say you need to check not just the strip width but the length as well :lol: :lol:

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Xxray
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Re: Edge lit sign

Post by Xxray »

martin54 wrote:
Sun May 21, 2023 10:59 am
Do a search on the forum for edge lit, been talked about quite a bit so there is already some good info on the subject. look out for posts by Xxray as he use to do a lot of that sort of thing & has some quite detailed posts covering machining acrylic & the making of bases :lol: :lol:

Don't start cutting anything until you have all the parts you need so you can check that the LED strip will fit both in width & length. You can buy single colour LED strip or if you want more than one colour then you will need RGB LED strip. I buy 5050 LED strip which is a good width for the size acrylic I use, I generally buy RGB which you have to cut every 3rd LED which is why I say you need to check not just the strip width but the length as well :lol: :lol:
Thanks Martin, still kicking but haven't done edged lit in a while, way overdue.
I have always thought my bases were very rudimentary, even a bit crude, but they were/are pretty effective and cheap [Though I know the price of mdf is way up from when that thread was made, went into sticker shock last time I checked]


Here is one monster thread from a few years back, still has alot of relevant info from dozens of folks for those starting out with edged lit
[Odds are, any links in that thread will no longer be valid.]
viewtopic.php?p=120035#p120035

Here is another, mostly edge lit 3d
viewtopic.php?p=247610#p247610
Doug

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