Edge Lit Sign Info

[Carol VanArnam]

Did you make the stand (buy the parts and make it yourself) or did you buy it as a unit.... This is exactly what I'm looking for so I really want to know where you got it....

[Dan Starr]

James,
So she must be at Patch Barracks, I graduated from High School there in 85.

[Cary Fleming]

I got my LED lights from www.besthongkong.com

Did you buy the sign light module? What are you using to power it?

[Rick Maitland]

I made the sign base myself with 1/8" black acrylic. I did all the wiring myself. It is powered by 2 9V batteries. I used this website to get the wiring design.
www.led.linear1.org/led.wiz

[Jay nomodoh]

The pictures posted of these edge lit signs looks great. I'm going to give it a try on my CNC router.

I think I'm going to make a base out of wood or Al and power a LED strip with a 9v battery. Probably 4" x 6" size.

How deep do you cut for the best results? half way through? 3/4?
Does 1/2" thick acrylic work better than 3/8" or 1/4"? Does it matter?

Any other tips?

[Pete Simmons]

What will the cost be to run the lights?

9 V batteries are costly.

[Rick Maitland]

Jay I use 1/4" thick acrylic. On the laser I engrave just enough to get the frosted look. Not sure if engraving deep would improove the look or not.

Pete the great thing about using LED lights is they consume very little power. I was curious so I ran 3 lights overnight and all day the following day with no lose in brightness. The same 2 9V batteries are in the 1st sign I ever made that we use for a sample display. I made that sign over a year ago. Your other option would be to get a power cord that plugs into 115 volt but has a built in transformer that knocks the voltage down. I have seen these at Radio Shack or other electronic stores. I like your idea of making the base out of wood. I think that would look much better. I am looking into other materials to use for the base myself.

[Jay nomodoh]

Thanks Rick. I'll think 1/4" thick sounds good. That will probably be good for a 4x6" size piece. I'll try going about 1/16" deep.

I've never routed acrilic before so I'm not sure what the surface finish will be like. I may have to sand a bit to get a nice frosted look like you get with the laser.

[Pete Simmons]

Rick - I knew they used little power but I thought a couple of days was the most they would go.

Your results looks like they last a very long time.

Thanks for the info.

Yes, Now I think using a 9v battery is the way to go.

[Tom Cullen]

Home Depot also sells various sized LED lights in aluminum strips... 12 inch and 24 inch. You would need to encase them in something ( wood ) . The prices are very reasonable.

[Carol VanArnam]

Ok I need some help form you LED smart guys-

I keep looking at your postings and at the web links you've all posted. I still don't get it. Can someone use small words and simple ideas to help me understand this. I want to do what all of you are doing. I want to make a box (from wood or acrylic) and put the LED lights in it and make it light up.

How do I figure this out..... Can someone post just the basic supplies needed to complete just one project...... please don't say I need a battery and 4 LED lights. I need a few more details than that.....

THANKS GUYS IN ADVANCE...

[Dave West]

I'll do my best...
Go to Radio Shack and pick out the LED color and brightness you want. On the package you will see the voltage and max current rating. If you hook the lights directly to a power supply they will most likely draw too much current and burn out, so you need a current limiting resistor ( Radio Shack also has these). Decide if you want power from a transformer or battery and go to
http://led.linear1.org/led.wiz Input all the values and it will give you a wiring diagram. It will also give the resistor values. See if the RS people can got to the web site while you're there so you don't need a 2nd trip to get the resistors.
You can also purchase LED strips on a circuit board with resistors. Just add a 12 volt wall transformer and you're set. http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/Ledbars.htm

Dave

[Steven Smith]

A quick something I threw together. I'm happy with the price (4.95) and easy implementation. Just hook up 12vdc and away you go. No worries about led polarity, current dropping resistors (on the circuit board) and they're bright! Both pictures were taken in normal room light, no flash.
Again the vendor was superbrightleds.com...

Now the only thing to think about is liability about producing a product that uses 3rd party electrical devices.

[Aleta Allen]

Steven,

That looks great! So, to ask a dumb question, In simple terms, which LEDS did you get and what else to have it fully powered, connectors, 12v, what??

I want to order and make sure I get everything I need the first time.

Thanks, I have a couple premade LED bars, but want to be able to make my own items.

Yes, liabilility is something to think about.

[Steven Smith]

Aleta,
No problem... I bought several from superbrightleds.com their part number is 'LB3-X6 Light Bar'. For power I just wired it to a 12vdc 'wall wart' power cube I had in the junk box.
At a minimum if I were to sell something like this, the circuit should have a fuse and on=off switch. If there's no venting for air flow, maybe a thermal limit switch too.
It would be nice if some of our vendors recognized the potential of this type of sign and offered these bases at a reasonable price.