plexiglass worth the trouble?

[Radioflyer97 10+ year member]

Both LED's and cathodes produce very little heat (and in fact are cool to the touch even after having been running for hours) so melting the plexi isn't somthing to be concerned about.

Most LEDs have a very narrow projection angle because of the rounded tip. For this reason i suggest using a dremel cutoff wheel to cut the rounded tip off of the LED itself. This will spread out the projected light pattern giving your better lighting.

I haven't had any hands on experience with LEDs and etching but i assume the principle would be the same as a cathode.

this an example of a cathode and a plexiglas with etching:

the cathode is hidden behind the mounting surface but sits against the edge of the plexiglass (mounted from the back). In hindsight, using LEDs would have been easier, but i felt mounting cathodes was easier and less expensive.

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

how thicka plexi do you need? 3/4? I was thinking about this too.

 

[Radioflyer97 10+ year member]

from an optics standpoint, thinner is better. The effect is caused by light being stopped buy the etching lines getting in the lights path. using thicker plexi would require deeper etching to get the best refreaction. I'm using 1/8" plexi because it's easy to cut and when i trace the design onto it, i don't get that much refraction difference between the image behind the plexi and the actual trace.

 

[jace314 10+ year member]

Thats nice work on the plexi window!! I have seen some windows where the neon looks like its light is traveling around the window (the visual almost looks like the window is floating) Thats really all I want to do until I can figure out the etching! So do I have to mount the neon directly on any side of the window to get that effect?

 

[Radioflyer97 10+ year member]

the neons/cathodes have to be EXACTLY on the edge of the plexi to get this effect. LEDs must be on the edge and facing the center of the plexi in order to get proper light transmission.

etching isn't that difficult, it's just tracing, but with a engraver instead of a pencil and with 1/8" plexi instead of tracing paper.