Supplies: Proofgrade 1/4"(clear) & 1/8" frosted Acrylic - Total op Time: 37 mins.
This is actually version 2 of this project. The previous version was similar but single LEDs.
But during the exterior remodel of the house a couple months back the siding guys crushed and damage one of the LEDs and the rest of the chain started to flake out.
We went to target and grab the cheapest path light kit they had. I took it apart and measured the base where I was thinking of placing the LED matrix. Took those measurements and drop them in F360.
(Dang…Fusion must have upgraded their render engine. So, so pretty)
Anyway- I created sketches and projected the features I wanted on that sketch. Then exported that out to a DXF. Then imported that into AI.
Since I knew that I was going to be using two materials (two thicknesses) I color coded the assets into one file. Then just told the UI what things to cut/engrave. vs having two files. The next step was to set the area where I wanted to engrave so the LED matrix has a pocket to sit in.
Imported and cut/engrave the files and just over a half hour later I had the first mockup/prototype.
Not pretty, but they’ll work. (Yup. I made standoffs for this reason. But didn’t use them.)
Everything looks good. Now to assemble the remaining 7.
Oh yeah. One of the things I had to modify was the location of the reflector. The stock location was the bottom (Right) and the new location with the mount (Left)
Modified Left - Stock Right
While I was assembling everything, my wife thought the clear setup was too ‘abrasive’ in the terms of brightness. So a couple seconds with 180 grit and 220 grit sandpaper in a orbital did the trick. In the video you’ll see all the tests. Far right is frosted. Middle is clear. At the end is clear with a frosted cover over the LEDs. Frosted exterior won. This video shows a small subset of the patterns I programmed in.
So I had to repeat that 7 more times.
Installed. And not 5 mins after this it started to rain. So I was not able to get a good video of it in action. But here are a couple stills.
