Oh man, oh man! I finally made one of these bad boys! Been wanting to since even before the laser arrived, so I’m glad I was able to.
Anyway, I can’t remember who it was who mentioned doing a gradient, but I think it really helped. Should have got a smidge darker at the beginning, but it’s not too noticeable. I added a little Proofgrade Walnut Plywood spacer so the light wasn’t showing at the base of the acrylic, and actually have some ideas of making the spacer as big as the top of the LED base with some designs/words either cut into it or engraved. Figured I’d start small with the first one
The sign itself is 6.5 inches tall and wide, but I’ll probably be making the next ones a bit smaller to be able to maximize how many I can make out of one sheet of the Proofgrade Acrylic. I got one of the fancy bases with a remote to be able to change the colors, definitely worth it to me!
Very cool!
Nice even lighting all the way up I like the thick acrylic, for its look and the extra depth you can get.
I have mentioned going deeper several times to keep lightning equal, but I think it may have been @takitus who first discovered the shadow effect and going deeper as the design ascends to eliminate it.
For this sign I only used the regular acrylic. From what I read, it sounded like people were having spacing issues, which is why I thought to add a spacer in the first place, but these bases had some…teeth(wedges?), that are down in the slot, so those hold the base well, and the spacer holds the top portio. I didnt want to use any thick acrylic because I didn’t have any, but also to save on costs. If I’m going to be making money on these, I need to make sure every dollar counts!
Oh, and to update on a spacer I designed today, this was what I wanted to make in the first place, but I let my designs come to me naturally, which meant I needed something to get over my anxiousness of being able to make the sign, and then wait until this process made itself known to me in my head. That’s why I love having my Galaxy Note 9 and iPad Pro with a pencil, I’m always able to draw things out wherever I’m at! In this case, I was lying in bed after handing the baby off to my wife and in my sleep deprived mind, this appeared! Hurried up and threw it down on my iPad and was cutting it out within an hour of it coming into my head. I LOVE THIS MACHINE! (when it works the way I want it to )
You’ll want to design that file. It’s against forum policy to ask a designer to give away their hard work. Some may certainly choose to give away their designs. When they do, you’ll find them in the thread, so there’s never a need to ask.
Very nice! I love the way acrylic lights up when you put it in one of these LED bases. I’ve only made one sign so far, but, plan on making more. This one looks amazing
I like the thick acrylic, for its look and the extra depth you can get.
)
