(Or many plastics come with a protective layer that you can draw on with a marker.) Otherwise tape your printout in position so you can see it from the back and use it for reference. If you're doing it freehand, you can stick some clear tape on the front and draw it. Put your design on the front of the clear plastic for reference. If you're using acrylic sheets it's best to use a power tool with a blade meant for acrylic to avoid chipping. If you're using polyester sheets you can use scissors to cut. You can cut it to any size you want but allow at very least 8mm (3/8") on one of the sides-this is the side where we're going to put our light. This is because we're going to etch the back of the plastic, not the front (it will be brighter this way) and we don’t want our words to come out backwards. However print them backwards (mirrored left to right). If it's complex, like words, you might want to print it out rather than draw it freehand. And I recommend a breathing mask too.Ībout 10-30 minutes, depending on your tools, materials, and the complexity of your design.įigure out what you want your design to look like. Yeah, I know, it's no fun, but eye protection is a must when using power tools. You can also use plain black electrical tape, but your display will be dimmer. Aluminum tape Usually sold in the hardware store in the HVAC department to seal ducting. (Don't use scissors on CD cases or other acrylic, or it will crack.) A saw, hobby knife, or rotary cutoff disc can work too. Craft Scissors (aka: Not the good scissors) To cut the clear plastic.If you're using acrylic you can laser etch, but the polyester sheets will just melt. A needle or craft knife will work in a pinch. Rotary tool A Dremel or similar with a fine grinding bit to carve or etch your plastic.You can also use a CR2032 button battery. If you don't know how to power an LED use this calculator to find out. The white one used in this tutorial is a 6000 mcd 3mm. LED(s) 3mm or 5mm, any color, though the brighter (more mcd) the better.(Thanks EMSL!) CD cases will also work, but they tend to chip and crack. I recommend this polyester sheeting from McMaster-Carr. You should be able to use a rotary tool with some precision without causing irreparable damage to yourself or others. You should be able to wire an LED to light up and not burn out. Keep reading to see how easy and quick it is to get this effect. Because it's etched into a transparent surface the images can seem to float in mid air or you can layer several of them to make a single display with more than one image or color. With this simple, cheap method you can use a single LED to display words or images. Simply put we shine a light in the edge * of a clear piece of plastic and etch it where we want the light to come out. But we’re going to use it to make light come out of a sheet of plastic. It's the same concept that makes both a diamond sparkle and optical fibers work. The answer is edge lighting.Įdge lighting exploits a fun property of light called internal reflection where light can get trapped inside a transparent material. Do you ever need a cheap, quick way to make an impressive display? Do ever want to show more than a blinking LED but want something easier to use than a LCD? Do you want to make light appear to hover in mid-air? Then give some thought to edge lighting.Īt the last Maker Faire I had a bunch of interactive gizmos for people to play with, but one question I was asked more than any other was "How did you make those displays?" On the Rock Paper Scissors Playing Glove one small display showed three different images and text while on the Secret Knock Detecting Gumball Machine the light just seemed to float in the clear plastic without an obvious source.
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