I’m posting two topics in a row. Sorry for spamming. I’ve been only slightly obsessed about the 'forge since I ordered it.
I really like the design of this iPhone stand you guys made:
And it gave me an idea. I think I want to try and make a sign for my mother-in-law (I came from an unhappy home, you guys, and I lucked out MAJOR with my in-laws. They’re seriously amazing people. I’m so blessed). They have an awesome basement bar, and she’s been wanting a sign for some time. We originally thought neon, but you guys wouldn’t believe how expensive that stuff is.
I’m thinking the front of the sign will be ply + veneer, with the letters cut out (Odie’s Bar (short for Odette) plus maybe a martini glass?) with the letters being filled by some kind of acrylic or poly material; I want them to be translucent enough to pass light through. Plant some RGB LEDs and an Arduino + power supply behind that, then wood on the back to close the shallow box.
The overall effect would be similar to the iPhone stand, with the stripes (viewed from the side) of wood / plastic / wood. Could program it to do ridiculous patterns, or just be colorful, I’m not sure yet.
I’m going to be trying some LED edge lit acrylic signs and have scouted out where to buy aluminum or plastic channel to hold the light strip, connectors, etc. I have at least a couple reels of LED strip lights taken out of another project and I think these signs would be a fantastic use of them.
I am digging this thread. I think you can do amazing things with edge-lit diffusing acrylic masked by wood or opaque acrylic. The mission lamp thread here had some great inspirational ideas on the side front too.
Dan, does GF have any plans on creating a different forum for users to upload their designs and photos and such? Would be nice to have a more organized forum with very specific topics/subjects. I know GF has a lot going on, but this pre-order forum style doesn’t feel like it will hold up long-term.
Long term they will ad more topic categories and that will be good. Also they have a forum design team(or company?), @dan dan has already sent tips from another user to them so they can improve some of the cosmetics.
Sorry for the double post but I just found this page. What version basic or pro was used to create these two signs? Also can you tell us what type of material this is? Do you have a close up or a video of this being made?
Thanks Jack! I own Jack In the Photo Box (photo booth rental company) and would love to create these custom signs for my clients.
The signs I purchased from someone are made (PVC) I believe (which I know we should not use). Can this machine handle Coroplast (or is this dangerous)?
The linked thread has people using RF lasers, not CO2 lasers (they can adjust frequency). But the principle should be the same: Where fluted you need a different power level than where it is not, and you will see lots of flames, but possibly none will actually take hold and burn after the laser moves on (Remember, in many of the videos showing the GF in action so far, their paper covering flames up, but it is a non-issue. Fire itself isn’t bad, persistent fire is the problem)
I recently read 2 bad things about laserring coroplast, one was nasty residue that was hard to clean up(banned at a particular university’s shop) and the other I totally have forgotten(sorry I didn’t post it) but it definitely put me off it.
I read something about the wind tunnel the air blast creates. Fan a flame? I don’t intend to inhale anything made from plastics. Not worth something coming around a decade or more later for a piece of petro
