Edge Lit Acrylic - I'm learning

so this was part of my first set of attempts at edge lit acrylics. I want to try and get the color to be consistent all the way through and was hoping for some advice. I used PG acrylic and set it at 3D engrave. (I did try other settings but this seemed best). So is the inconsistency based on my image, the setting of the engrave, or my light source? thoughts?

Tardis

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For something that dense, the engraving on the bottom is going to block a lot of light from getting to the top. One trick you can do is to make it a gradient, so it’s a shallower cut on the bottom. It won’t be noticeable looking at it, but it leaves some room for the light to sneak by on its way to the top.

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I fear that physics is against you.
The change in colour is mostly the effect of the change in brightness of the scattered light, as it travels away from the light source.
The inverse square law rules, and you can only mitigate it by making the engraving vary with depth, so that as the image is further away from the source, make the cut deeper.
This will allow more light to reach it and be scattered higher up.
I hope that makes sense.
Good luck with future projects.
John
:upside_down_face:

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Alright… you’ve convinced me. I’ve got to get one of those led bases for lighting up acrylic.

Once you order one…

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N6VKOQS

You are going to be kicking yourself for not getting the bulk deal…

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XGSJK6F

(Saved my Christmas having a bunch of these bases to give out with custom edge-lit acrylics)

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I see a lot of people putting depth in their engrave for Edge light and honestly the best way it lights up is if you just etch and frost the acrylic not actually engrave into it. That lets the light travel upwards instead of getting caught in the divots.

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This has no depth…just frosted.

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I am ordering the bases through Alibaba. delivered, they are just under $4 each (no remote, no power cord). The one in my picture was a sample I ordered from them. My first ever purchase from Alibaba :slight_smile: but, there is 100 piece minimum.

frosted worked even worse for me. But I’m going to try it again and let you know. So did you do engrave with dots conversion (what DPI?)

I etch with 500 dpi. But not on a Glowforge so not sure what the setings would be. I send images at 100% black. No conversions.

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It may also help if you drop out of focus by a bit…it widens the beam width and eliminates the banding.

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thanks. I noticed that on the etched one I did. Is it better to focus above or below to get that effect?

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I drop it about a 1/16 of an inch.

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