Edge lit signs

[dlcw]

I have been searching all over this forum, with little luck, for pictures of the edge lit signs that people have posted in the past.

Can anyone give me an idea about where they are located.

I've got an opportunity to do quite a bit of this work and wanted to show the customer what can be done. NOT going to be stealing anything from anybody.

TIA!!

[penman]

Don,

check out edge lit signs in the Vectric forum. A lot of information. Any I have done I have reversed the lettering so that when you view them the good side of the material is at the front and the engraved is at the back.

Regards,

Roger.

[paul_z]

http://www.vectric.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11702

http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4301&highlight=lighted+acrylic

Paul Z

[dlcw]

Thanks Guys!! :D :D

I think these will definitely peak their interest.

[HelicopterJohn]

Hi,

Here are a few samples of some I cut on my Shopbot PRT.

John

[frank134]

Hi,

Can you tell me where you got the led light from.

Thank You
Frank

[HelicopterJohn]

Hi Frank,

Here is where I get mine.

http://www.lumenedge.com/home.htm

John

[curtiss]

google image has a few....

http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1152&bih=697&q=edge+lit+signs&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&oq=edge+lit+signs&aq=f&aqi=g1g-S2g-mS4&aql=1&gs_sm=s&gs_upl=1399l8932l0l10519l30l30l9l1l0l0l205l2879l5. 13.2l20l0

[frank134]

Thank John.

[RickWyatt]

Frank, I do quite a few edge lit projects... I have been getting mine from www.coolneon.com. They seem very knowledgeable and pricing is good.

You can check out a video I recently posted here: http://youtu.be/XK10nC2u_QE

It will show you the finished product at the end. I will be posting pictures once it is installed.

Rick

[HelicopterJohn]

Hi Frank,

The nice thing about these LED Strips is that they are pre-assembled in an ordered length and all you do is slide them onto the edge of the Engraved Plexiglas.

I developed some neat little pins that serve as a stand which are easily removable for shipping. You can also turn the sign upside down and use those 2 mounting holes to hang the sign from the ceiling or attach it to the wall.

They offer discounts and have several colors available and also offer RGB modules that offer different lighting patterns on their LED strips. They are offered in different thicknesses. I prefer the 1/4 size as it sends plenty of light for the engraved signs I am currently doing.

Hi Rick,

Thanks for sharing your beautiful signs and LED purchase source.

John

[bleeth]

I have found that e-bay merchants, both here and in Hong Kong, sell the same LED's for around half the price. for example a 5m roll of 5050 RGB 30/meter goes for around $57 including a controller, power supply, and shipping.

[jimboy]

Don here is one of mine. Done a sales sample.
Jim

[Xray]

How deep do you guys typically cut on, say, .50 plexi ?
I'm thinking somewhere on the order of .15 with a v bit for a piece maybe 3x6".
I have messed around a bit cutting plexi, made a very nice looking stained glass type pattern ,, Then lost interest.
This edge lit concept has refired that interest - Plus the fact that I have sheets of .50 plexi laying around that I got for free doesn't hurt any. I already ordered up some LED's, looking forward to making some edge lit designs.
Don't want to experiment too much on this stuff though, even though I have a surplus for now.

[HelicopterJohn]

Hi Doug,

Not a expert here, as I am just experimenting with cutting Plexiglas.

The Storm Trouper LED Sign was engraved 30 IPM - 6500 RPM - .015 DOC for the outlines and somewhat deeper for the V Carved "ETHAN". I did this with a 1/4" Diameter 60 degree Half Round V Bit with a .020 tip Part # 420-HF60 .020. I got the bit at Bits & Bits Co. 1-800-972-7081 This sign was done on my ShopBot PRT CNC Router with no coolant.

With that said, if you have any issues with melting and not cutting you can increase your feed rate until you get nice chips. My experience with Plexiglas and other plastics is that they like lower RPM's and good feed rates. If the RPM's are too high or the FEED RATES are to slow it will melt the plastic instead of cutting it.

Other things I have found out about machining Plexiglas:

Another issue I found with Plexiglas is that the product is formed and that results in varied thickness of the sheet goods. If you measure along the sheet you will find quite a variance in the thickness. This means that you may have to adjust your DOC to compensate for those variances to achieve a satisfactory engraving job.

LED's will illuminate any area on the Plexiglas sheet that has even a minor scratch. This means that you need to be careful with the surface and not scratch it during the machining process. Also, I peal the protective covering from the side I machine prior machining and leave the protective covering on the other side so it does not get scratched.

The edge where the LED's are attached can be Flame Polished with a Propane/MAAP Torch which provides better light transmission into the Plexiglas Sheet.

The one thing I did on my Shopbot Router that was a GREAT help was install a Super PID Speed Controller on the Porter Cable 7518 Router. I run my Shopbot on Mach 3 and it allows the router to maintain speeds as low as 5000 RPM and still maintain good torque.

Hope all this nonsense was of some help.

John

[Xray]

Thanks for the tips, I am stoked on cutting some plexi, but I'm taking it slow and absorbing some info before starting.
I got some LED strips ready, so I gotta put some thought into rigging those up as well.
I plan on starting with something relatively simple, and working my way up from there.

Have you ever thought of painting/masking the 3 exposed edges to trap light ? Or perhaps some reflective tape to bounce it back.

[dlcw]

Thank you all for more great tips. I just need to get a handle on all the options that are available and narrow it down - not only for my benefit but also to not confuse the customer with so many options.

:D

[HelicopterJohn]

Hi Doug,

Here is a link to some edging options.

http://www.lumenedge.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=8

Actually, I think the lighted edges add to the overall appearance of the sign. The LED Lights that I use provide more that enough light to illuminate the signs I currently produce i.e. 11 X 13 and 11 X 28.

Different colors of LED's provide more light. I think GREEN is the brightest, but BLUE really provides good brilliance with a softer color tone. Of course these are my opinions and your mileage may vary.

John
:)

[Xray]

Got a luminedge light strip, am very disappointed with the results. I was expecting it to glow like a chunk of uranium, I can barely see it.
It lights up the bottom half of the object Ok, top half is totally dark.

I used 1/4 plexi, is there some special grade of acrylic that is supposed to be used ?
Maybe I was just expecting too much, I doubt it. Some of the pics posted here look like they are glowing great ... This piece is about 9x9".

[HelicopterJohn]

Hi Doug,

Sorry to hear about your results.

How deep did you engrave? I usually only go about .010 to .015 deep. Actually an unintentional mere scratch will show up like a sore thumb.

Here is what I find happens with light transmission. If you have a line all the way across near the bottom it absorbs all the light and doesn't allow it to transmit well towards the top of the sign. This is especially true if the line has much depth to it.

I usually use the same depth of cut on all of my signs. I noticed on your particular design that the letters pretty much were together and may have blocked the light from transmitting further up the sign. One the one that has Ethan Vcarved to a greater depth I placed that graphic towards the top of the sign. If I had place it at the bottom it would have absorbed all the light and I would have had a dark spot above that location. However, I did the Conor Sign with the VCarve in the lower portion of the sign and it seemed to turn out fine as well.

One way to possibly?????? solve the issue you are having with your particular design is to engrave the bottom line at a depth of say .010 and the next line at say .015 and the top portion of the graphic at say .020.

One thing I noticed different on your sign was that it had rounded edges on the bottom. Don't know if that may have any impact on it or not.

I also polish the bottom edge of the where the led strip attaches with a Maap Gas torch. You need to practice on some scrap to get the technique down pat. Also do this with adequate venelation, and watch out for the vapors of the melting plastic as I am sure it is not good for you.

Hope these ideas may be of some help. Let me know how you make out. The LEDS are plenty bright enough as I turned one of my 28 inch signs on edge and it transmitted light all the way to the top.

John

[Xray]

Depth is .011 I believe.
Seems to me that the light is simply running out of steam towards the middle, this is illustrated by the outer edges of the lightning bolts, which have nothing below them to block light transmission.
Maybe polishing will help, this is a test piece anyhow.
Thanks for the tips, your signs look great.

[HelicopterJohn]

Hi Doug,

One other thing I did when I ordered my LED's was get the higher lip on the front edge of the LED strip. It is about .375 higher on the front edge and it hides the leds somewhat and you don't see the individual led lights. Take a close look at the signs I attached in my last post and you can see the difference between yours and mine. There was no extra charge for that option on the LED strips I ordered from Lumenedge.

Try cutting one with a flat bottom edge and top rounded corners and see what it looks like.

John