Lithopanes and LED's??

[myxpykalix]

All my previous lithopanes have been lit by cold cathode lights which i like and give me a good spread of even light however you need to make the "box" at least 2" deep.

I'm trying to make a plaque with a litho in it and want to make the frame/box as thin as possible. Does anyone have any pics of lithos they've made in a thin frame lighting it with LED's and some measurement details and best place for LEDS?:confused:

[ssflyer]

I've made several, but most are deeper. I got one of THESE (http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.ACCT88394/it.A/id.883/.f) to try, and it worked pretty well, actually. They also have an 8"x11" model, I believe.

[jerry_stanek]

how thin are you talking mine are 2.25 total. The front of the litho is set back .75 and I have a .25 back on it.

[feinddj]

I have made these lithos which fit into a 5x7 frame from a store. They are back lit with LEDs. the total depth is .5 inches. The trick is too place your LEDs around the perimeter of the image about .25 inches outside and then close the back with a white card. This eliminates hot spots from the source and gives you a nice even field.

David

[Brian Harnett]

I've made several, but most are deeper. I got one of THESE (http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.ACCT88394/it.A/id.883/.f) to try, and it worked pretty well, actually. They also have an 8"x11" model, I believe.

Ron that looks interesting does the whole back glow?

[ssflyer]

Brian,

The whole center section (5 3/4'' x 7 1/4'') glows. It is not the brightest, unfortunately, but works pretty well. I've compensated for these by cutting the lithos for them deeper.

I cut lithos with Aspire. Generally set model to be ~0.01 - 0.015 in height, and z-zero to the table. That way , by setting the "Gap below model," I can precisely set the thinnest part of it. With brighter LED backlight, I usually set this to ~0.03 - 0.04". To make them brighter, I set it to ~0.01.

Hope that makes sense! I got the first one of these to try, because they were already made and cheap! :D

Here's one I just did for a friend yesterday, in the frame. Interestingly, the vignetting in the picture doesn't really show when looking at it...

[Brian Harnett]

Thanks Ron, I do lithos occasionally may check that out

[myxpykalix]

My original thought, rather then 3d carve a picture of this guy in wood, i would make a plaque with inscription and then a round litho in the top but didn't want to make it 2"+ thick. I wanted to make a "plaque of appreciation" for my real estate agent who has been working with me for 30 years and made me some excellent deals.:D:eek:

[myxpykalix]

David,
I reread your post and you say that your total depth is about .5" do you have any pics of the back or how you set yours up? Where did you get your frame and LED's?

[feinddj]

The LEDs are from Enviromental LED.
http://www.environmentallights.com/led-strip-lights/single-color-led-strip-lights.html
They are close enough that I can go over and see what colour, what intensity, etc. The LEDs are just standard white strips. They have a transformer and power supply that plug in to each other and you can add a dimmer to it as well. I buy an end which I then solder to the strip and all connections are done.

As far as how the LEDs are arranged. I use a piece of 5x7 Undersized just a bit 1/2 thick as the base. I mill a rabbet in the shape and depth of the litho. then I mill out the back to a .375 rabbet for the light box. The rabbet is at least .25 or .375 wider than the litho. Most of the light strip LEDs are about .375, if they are a bit wider, I mill a single 5/32 line to the depth of the width of the strip. Since the foamcore is white already, I can pull the self adhesive tape on the strip and lay it in perpendicular to the image. cut an access for the wiring and then tape a white card on the back. That forms a light box with enough light to need a dimmer in the circuit.

This works just fine on the 3 by 2 1/2 image that I make for a 5 x 7 frame. Probably work just fine up to 5 by 7 image. After that I would go for 1 inch thick and double the leds up or go to super bright.

The frames were from Aaron Brothers Frame store. Just right off the shelf. I had to search for deeper frames and ended up not using the cardboard back.

PM me if you need more. I haven't done one of these in over a year.