Marland My Maryland LED Light

I got my Glowforge Pro about a month ago. I have been crazy busy making all kinds of things with it. I am a digital electronics and civil engineering and architecture teacher at our local career and tech center. I also have a degree in Art Education. Have already used the Glowforge to make model houses and trusses for my civil engineering and architecture class. This LED light was an inspiration from a peer on our engineering team. Materials used 1/4" thick Acrylic, proofgrade basswood plywood, resin, glitter, paint, ultrabrite LED’s, 100 ohm resistors for each LED (which I put in parallel), soldering supplies, and a 5 volt power source. I am getting ready to try my hand with gourd jewelry.

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Glitter and LED lights for the win.

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I like all of the little crabs around the outside. When I think of Maryland I think of the blue crabs that I have had there, best I have ever had. :stuck_out_tongue:

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Thanks. Since it was for me, I like using glitter. I think it is an my elementary art teacher coming out.

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That is amazing!!! I miss the east coast many weekends were spent on the eastern shore listening to the steel drums at the Canal House! Welcome to the community!!! I see great projects like this in your future!

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One of my first simple projects was engraving blue crabs on a cutting board. St Mary’s County. Your’s is another level.

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These units usually only look good when in poor light and lit.
You managed to make it look good no matter the time of day.
Awesome results.

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What a fun LED light! Love all the extra details you added.

You went a few steps beyond the usual LED lights! Nice work.

Wow, great job! Care to share more detail about how you did the LED’s? Us non engineers are relegated to the bases you buy on amazon.

Hi there. Yes, I do buy on Amazon. I use what is called “Ultra Bright” LED’s. I do not use the standard one’s for this project because they are just not bright enough. These are about 3 volts each, plus or minus depending on the color. Power coming in is from a USB 5 volt source, so I have to use a 180 ohm resistor for each LED. I used a total of 4 LED’s and 4 -180 ohm resistors. I also added a switch which is an option however. The power supply was just an old wired mouse that I no longer used. Most digital electronics are 5 volt. I can plug it into my laptop if it or any other source that accepts a USB input. The circuit is wired in parallel. So what I am saying, there is a huge difference in parallel and series circuits. Think of it like christmas lights. In a series circuit, if one light goes out, they all go out and it is hard to find the actual bulb that went out to begin with. In a parallel circuit, generally, if one goes out, then you you can easily see it and replace it. There are many scenarios for creating a circuit. Mine may have worked for me, but not for someone else. It all depends on what you choose for components. I am always doing research online to learn whatever I can. There are many resources on YouTube for creating parallel circuits. The next time I make one, which is very soon, I will post as many pictures with directions as possible. I did not know how my first post would go, especially adding glitter to my resin for the inlay. I was very pleased with all of the responses and respect for one another. Let me see if I can copy and paste my Amazon purchases here for the LED’s. They will not be blue though. I had those for quite some time. Here is the link for Red LED’s that I purchased. They are great! “Novelty Place 100 Pcs 5mm Red LED Diode Lights, [Ultra Bright] Clear Transparent DC 3V 20mA 5mm Emitting Diodes LEDs Bulb for Home DIY Science Project Electronics Components Light (Pack of 100)”
Here is a great YouTube link for understanding LEDs and circuits. https://youtu.be/Yo6JI_bzUzo. He has an entire series of videos. Here is a parallel circuit I created on a previous LED light I made for a student for becoming an Eagle Scout. Due to privacy restrictions, I can not show the piece since his name is on it. dTk5bmBXRCyvGd%OIS2z6w_thumb_cb9c|666x500

Just as a note, I am only providing information based on my experience with creating circuits with LEDs. I can not take any type of responsibility if your circuit does not work. You may even want to purchase a cheap breadboard from Amazon and some wires and get a power source (a 3 Volt lithium battery works just fine if you do not want to use a USB. Just make sure by using Ohm’s Law that the resistance (resistor) is the amount needed. If not enough, the LED will blow, if the resistor is too much, it will not light up. Experimenting is the key. I do it all of the time. Just follow some You Tube videos as well. I hope that all of this helped.

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