Work slowly and carefully holding the LED in a pair of pliers to save your fingers. Be more careful when working with 5mm LEDs since you can accidentally go through the plastic case and remove some of the more important bits of the LED. 3mm LED's don’t need much modification, just a tiny bit off the front and back. We used a rotary tool with a sanding cylinder, but you can use whatever works (sanding table, sand paper, grinding wheel, etc). You can find rectangular LEDs that will be the right thickness, but we find they're rarely bright bright enough and come in limited colors. We want to get as much light as possible from our LED into the plastic, so we're going to grind down the plastic shell of the LED to fit better. You can also use a needle, knife, or file to mark your design, anything as long as you rough up the surface. We use a Dremel with a fine round carving tip at about 10-15,000 RPM and etch to a depth of about 1/2 the thickness of the material. (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.
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